Ingredients
60g (2oz) butter
2/3 cup golden syrup
1 ¾ cups plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon mixed spice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons plain flour, extra
Icing
Egg white
1 ½ cups icing sugar
lemon juice
Procedure
Melt butter over low heat in a medium-sized saucepan, add golden syrup, bring to the boil, remove from heat; stand 10 minutes.
Add sifted dry ingredients and milk, stir with a wooden spoon until smooth, cover, stand at room temperature for 2 hours; mixture will become thicker during this time.
Turn mixture onto surface dusted with the extra flour, knead lightly, working in only enough of this flour until mixture loses its stickiness.
Roll out to a thickness of about 1 cm, cut shapes, form a uniform ball with the scraps, then roll again, cut more shapes. Repeat until all the dough has been used.
Place shapes on a lightly greased baking tray, leaving enough space between each shape for spreading.
Bake in a moderate oven for 8 – 10 minutes. Allow to cool on trays, then lift on to a wire rack to completely cool.
Sift icing sugar into a bowl, add egg-white, mix to a smooth paste by adding lemon juice to give a consistency for piping. Place into a piping bag and decorate the shapes. If adding other decorations, place onto piped icing immediately if they are to stick. Allow to dry at room temperature until the icing has set hard.