Spiced lemon & ginger biscuits

These are grown-up gingerbread biscuits spiced with black pepper and stem ginger. Perfect after dinner with an iced shot of limoncello or a hot toddy.

MAKES 24 PREP 20 mins plus 1 hr chilling COOK 15 mins EASY unbaked dough only

175g butter, softened

85g dark muscovado sugar

11/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper 1 lemon, zested and 3-4 tsp juice 225g plain flour

50g candied lemon peel (or a mix of lemon and orange)

50g stem ginger, chopped into small chunks

100g icing sugar 1 Mix the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon. Stir in the spices, lemon zest and flour, then tip in the candied lemon peel and stem ginger – you might need to get your hands in to bring the mix together as a dough. Halve the dough and shape each half into a log about 5cm across. Wrap in cling film, then chill for 1 hr. You can freeze the unbaked dough for up to three months.

2 Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Slice the logs into 1cm-thick rounds, place on two baking trays lined with baking parchment and bake for 12-15 mins. Cool completely on the tray.

3 Mix the lemon juice with the icing sugar to make a thin glaze. Brush over the biscuits and leave to set. Will keep for three days in an airtight container.

PER SERVING 131 kcals • fat 6g • saturates 4g • carbs 18g • sugars 10g • fibre 1g • protein 1g • salt 0.1g