Almond and gingerbread trees

Ingredients

Method

Melt butter, sugar and golden syrup together in a saucepan, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly
Whisk egg and butter mixture in a large bowl. Sift flour, spices and soda over the butter mixture and mix until combined into a smooth dough. Flatten into a disc shape, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30-40 minutes or until just firm
Roll out dough on a floured surface to 1/2 cm thickness. Cut into shapes using Christmas tree shaped cutters and use a lifter to transfer onto lightly buttered baking trays. Bake at 180°C for 8-10 minutes or until cooked and lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes on trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely
Pipe a thin line of royal icing across each tier of the Christmas tree and then starting from the bottom tier, stick natural flaked almonds onto the icing, overlapping slightly to form the leaves