Idwala Spicy Biscuits - as Christmas Tree decorations

These biscuits are a great treat at Idwala and here we have adapted them for Christmas!

Yield 55 biscuits depending on size

250g butter

625ml brown sugar

2 extra large eggs

5 x 250ml cake flour

20ml baking powder

30ml cinnamon

15ml ground ginger

3 bicarbonate of soda

Preheat the oven to 160°. Grease one baking tray.

With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one by one and beat lightly after each addition. Continue to beat until the mixture is light and creamy.

In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour, the baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger and bicarbonate of soda.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter, sugar and egg mixture. Mix well. If the batter is a little dry, add a small amount of water. The dough should be firm and not sticky.

Roll out to 3mm thick and cut out the shape of your choice, using a cookie cutter.

Place the biscuits on the baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes. The biscuits will be light brown underneath, but will be soft when they come out the oven. They harden as they cool so be careful not to take them out too late.

For the newsleeter, we used the elephant shape and decorated the biscuits with green royal icing and a silver ball for the eye. If you want to use the biscuits as decoration make them slightly thicker. When the biscuits are still warm, use a skewer stick to make a hole. You can use ribbon to hang the biscuits form the tree.