Christmas Series: Ginger and Lemon Biscuit Tree (Vegan)

A nice starter to the Christmas period, suitable for vegans.

You will need:-

250g of sunflower spread (or butter for a non-vegan option)

200g of dark brown sugar

4tsp of golden syrup

600g of plain flour

2tsp of bicarbonate of soda

5tsp of ground ginger

2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

40g of icing sugar

2tbsp of water

40g of caster sugar

A handful of mixed fruit and pistachios

Star and circular cookie cutters

Preheat the oven for 200C and line a baking tray with greeseproof paper. In a saucepan, mix 250g of sunflower spread (or butter), 200g of dark brown sugar and the 4tsp of golden syrup over a low heat, until it forms a thick caramel coloured liquid. In a large bowl, combine the 600g of plain flour, 2tsp of bicarbonate of soda and 5tsp of ginger, then pour in the butter and sugar mixture. Use a wooden spoon to combine (you may need a dash of water to make the soft dough). Take a third of the mixture, place in a separate bowl and roughly mix in the cocoa powder to make a marbled effect.

Roll out the ginger dough on a floured surface (about half an inch thick). Then cut out stars of increasingly smaller size, you may want to make several of the same size. Roll out the dough of the chocolate and ginger dough to a similar thickness, and cut out three circles (make sure the circles are smaller than all of the stars). Place on the baking tray and bake for 10 to 12 mins.

Whilst in the oven, mix 40g of icing sugar and 2tbsp of water (or until it forms a thick paste). Add the zest of half a lemon to the icing and mix thoroughly. When the biscuits have cooled, stack them starting with two large stars on the bottom, then one chocolate biscuit and 2 smaller stars, then a chocolate biscuit, small star, chocolate biscuit and then another small star. Once you have practiced, take the tree apart and place a small blob of the lemon icing in between each biscuit before assembling the tree again. Then, dip the bottom of the smallest star in the icing and stand on the top of the tree.

Use a teaspoon (or even a piping bag with a small tip) to place some of the icing on the end of each "branch", place a piece of dried fruit or nuts on the end of each branch. I used cranberries, yellow sultanas and pistachios to add flavour and colour. Then create a snow effect by dripping the lemon icing over the tree.

Optional: to add some extra decoration, you can use some spun sugar. To do so, follow our recipe here, but use 40g of sugar and a teaspoon of water. Then flick the spun sugar over the tree in various directions.

Tip: The recipe makes plenty of dough, so you can use left overs to make decorations for a Christmas tree. Simply cut out shapes and make a hole in the biscuit large enough to thread ribbon or string through. Bake, ice and thread the biscuits and enjoy some edible tree decorations!

Enjoy! x