Gingerbread biscuits

1.Preheat the oven to 160°C and line two baking sheets with baking paper or grease them lightly.

2.Heat the sugars, spices and treacle in a heavy-based pan, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes to the boil. Add the baking soda and stir again until the mixture froths up and turns a pale gold.

3.Remove from the heat and pour onto the butter in a mixing bowl. Stir well with a wooden spoon until the butter melts. Add the egg, followed by the flour and mix thoroughly to make a soft dough.

4.Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and gently knead until smooth. Cut in half and shape each piece into a rectangle. Wrap in waxed paper and put in fridge for 10 minutes.

5.Roll out one half of the dough on a floured board to about 3-5mm thick. Cut out shapes and place on the prepared baking sheets. The dough will be quite soft to begin with and you may need to use a spatula to lift the biscuits. You can re-roll the scraps several times since this won’t toughen the dough.

6.Bake for about 10-15 minutes (I bake one tray at a time so I can watch it carefully). The biscuits are cooked when they are firm to the touch and just beginning to brown. Cool on racks and store in an airtight container.

7.To make the icing, put the egg white and the icing sugar into a bowl and mix on slow speed with an electric beater until the icing sugar is moistened.

8.Increase speed to high and beat for 5 minutes. When you lift the beaters, icing should stand in small peaks with tips bending over slightly. Mix in lemon juice, which helps keep the icing white.

9.Spoon icing into a piping bag and cut off the tip to make a small opening. Pipe designs onto biscuits and remember that even a free-form squiggle looks good and tastes wonderful, so don’t get hung up on perfection. The icing sets quickly.

10.Store biscuits in airtight tins with waxed paper between the layers.