Gingerbread people

1. Place butter and sugar in the small bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add golden syrup and egg yolk. Beat until just combined.

2. Using a wooden spoon, stir flour, soda and ginger into butter mixture until it just comes together to form a dough.

3. Sprinkle a little flour on the bench to stop the dough from sticking. Remove the dough and place on flour. Using the heel of your hand, push and stretch the dough until smooth. Cover dough with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

4. Using a rolling pin, roll dough between two sheets of baking paper until 1cm thick.

5. Using a 9.5cm gingerbread pastry cutter, cut out shapes. Place the shapes, 4cm apart, on two large oven trays lined with baking paper. Re-roll leftover dough scraps until you can cut out 12 gingerbread shapes.

6. Under supervision, cook the gingerbread shapes in a moderate oven (180C) for about 15 minutes, or until biscuits are lightly golden and firm to touch. Transfer biscuits to wire racks and leave until they are cold.

7. To decorate the biscuits, use coloured writing icings to draw faces, hair, clothes and shoes onto each shape. Then use the icing to stick various colours of Smarties and cachous onto each of the biscuits.