Chocolate Gingerbread Houses

MAKES 10 PREP & COOK 1 HOUR

■ 100g unsalted butter, chopped, at room temperature

■ ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

■ ²⁄³ cup golden syrup

■ 1 egg yolk

■ 2½ cups plain flour

■ ¼ cup cocoa powder

■ 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

■ 1 tsp ground ginger

■ 1 cup White Choc Melts, melted (see Tip)

■ Red and green baby jelly beans, mini M&M’S,

Christmas sprinkles and icing sugar, to decorate

1 Grease 3 large oven trays and line with baking paper.

2 Beat butter and sugar in small bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add syrup and yolk. Beat until combined. Add sifted flour, cocoa, soda and ginger. Beat on low speed until just combined.

3 Turn out onto a lightly floured bench. Bring dough together with your hands. Divide into 2 portions. 4 Roll out each portion of dough between 2 sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Using a 6.5cm square cookie cutter, cut out shapes from dough, re-rolling dough as necessary to make 30 in total. Arrange on prepared trays, 3cm apart. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5 Cook in a moderately slow oven (160C) for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until firm to touch. Cool on trays.

6 Place half the melted chocolate in a snap-lock bag. Squeeze into one corner. Twist bag. Snip tip.

7 Place a gingerbread cookie on a clean surface. Using another 2 cookies, assemble to make a house shape as pictured, piping melted chocolate as glue. Repeat with remaining cookies to make 10 houses in total. Stand until set.

8 Decorate houses with melted chocolate, jelly beans, mini M&M’S and Christmas sprinkles using melted chocolate as glue. Stand until set. Dust with icing sugar.