Lyle’s gingerbread reindeer

Method Print recipe

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1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/170° Fan, 375°F, Gas 5. While it heats up, you can get started on your dough. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger. Then, rub the butter into the mix until you get fine breadcrumbs. After that, stir through the Light muscovado cane sugar.
2. Create a well in the centre and add in your egg and golden syrup. Mix with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.
3. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until it’s smooth, but don’t get carried away! Gentle hands make softer biscuits.
4. Roll the dough to 5mm (¼”) thick and cut out shapes with a gingerbread man cutter. Place the cut-outs on trays lined with baking paper, leaving space between each one. Repeat the process until all the dough is used and let them rest for 20 minutes before baking.
5. Once rested, pop the trays onto the top and middle shelves of the oven. Bake for 10–12 minutes until your gingerbread has slightly darkened. Leave them to cool on trays for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing. Top tip: Swap your trays halfway through cooking to ensure an even bake.
6. Add your icing sugar to a bowl with a few drops of black food colouring and add water at ½ tsp intervals and mix until you get the right consistency. Then, spoon the mixture into a piping bag. Top tip: If the icing is too runny, just add more icing sugar until you get the consistency you want.
7. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and carefully stir until melted.
8. Simply flip your gingerbread man upside down so the legs point upwards. Spread the melted chocolate over the head and arms to form the reindeer’s face, then press on one chocolate M&M for the nose and add the eyes. Next, pipe antlers onto the legs of the gingerbread man using the icing you prepared earlier, and finish with a scattering of sprinkles. And just like that, your gingerbread man has transformed into a festive reindeer!