sugar & spice cookies

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp runny honey
• 30g (1oz) unsalted butter
• 60g (2oz) light muscovado sugar
• 250g (8oz) self-raising flour
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, plus 2-4 tbsp juice
• 60g (2oz) ground almonds
• 1 large egg

To decorate:

• 50g (5oz) icing sugar, sieved
• Silver balls
• Parchment paper and baking sheets
• 5cm (2in) biscuit cutters
• Small plain piping nozzle
• Paper piping bag

Method

1. Put the honey, butter and sugar into a small pan and stir over a low heat until the butter is melted.
2. Sieve the flour, ginger and cinnamon into a bowl. Add the lemon zest and ground almonds.
3. Pour the egg, melted mixture and lemon juice into the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together.
4. Knead the mixture on a lightly floured surface for a couple of mins, then wrap in cling film and pop in the freezer for 30 mins to firm up.
5. Set the oven to Gas Mark 4 or 180°C. Roll out the dough to a 5mm (¼in) thickness, on a parchment-lined surface, and stamp out the biscuit shapes. You should be able to get about 20. Push the tip of a tiny plain piping nozzle near the top edge of each biscuit, and lift out to make a hole.
6. Put the biscuits on to parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 15-20 mins until pale golden. Cool on a wire rack.
7. To decorate: Mix the icing sugar with 4 tsp hot water, to make a smooth icing. Spoon into a paper piping bag with the nozzle. Pipe icing on the biscuits and decorate with silver balls. Leave to set

goodtoknow.co.uk