Robin gingerbread biscuits recipe

Method

1. Heat the butter, syrup and sugar in a small pan over a low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Cool slightly. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl with a pinch of salt. Pour in the butter mix and stir to combine. Knead into a smooth dough, then wrap in cling lm and chill for 20 mins.
2. On a well floured surface, roll the dough out to 2mm thick, then use an 8cm round cutter to cut out 6 circles. Transfer to a lined tray and chill for 30 mins until firm. Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200°C, fan 180°C.
3. Bake the biscuits for 12-14 mins until dark golden. Cool on the tray for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
4. To decorate, mix the icing sugar in a bowl with 1 tsp water and enough food colouring to get the shade you want. Stir until smooth, adding more water if needed to make a smooth but stiff icing. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe a half circle on each biscuit. Fill with more icing and spread into a thin layer. Sprinkle over hundreds and thousands, then shake to remove the excess.
5. Use the writing icing to pipe eyes and stick on the peel beaks. For the wings, use small blobs of red icing to stick 4 buttons on either side. Leave to set. The un-iced biscuits will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight tin. Once iced, keep cool and eat on the same day.

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