Gingerbread bunnies

Easter biscuits make a wonderful gift.

Easy/Prepare ahead/Freeze

• Ready in 45 mins, plus chilling

• Makes 20

350g plain flour, plus extra for rolling 1tsp bicarbonate of soda

2tsp ground ginger

1tsp ground cinnamon

125g butter

175g light soft brown sugar

1 large free-range egg

4tbsp golden syrup for the icing

4 free-range egg whites 900g icing sugar a few drops of food colouring, from supermarkets or craft shops (just a tiny amount to make pastel colours) you will need rabbit-shaped cookie cutters (ours are from bakestore.co.uk), disposable piping bags and fine-tip piping nozzles

1 Mix together the dry ingredients and put into a food processor. add the butter, whizz together then add the remaining ingredients and pulse until it comes together. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 20 mins. Roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin and cut out the shapes. Heat the oven to 180C, gas 4. Put the biscuits onto lined baking trays and bake for 12-15 mins until light brown. Cool then put onto a wire rack. 2 to make the icing, whisk the egg whites and sugar together until smooth. separate the mixture into 3 bowls and colour each one separately.

3 to decorate, fill 3 piping bags fitted with nozzles, with half of the mixture from each bowl. outline the edges of each cookie with icing, doing a third in each colour. add a little water to the remaining mixtures. Fill 3 more piping bags and fill the centres with the corresponding colour of icing. leave to set. once hard, pipe on faces with the lining icing. >>