1. Preheat oven to 180°/160º fan.
2. Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice and bicarb into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the brown sugar to the dry mix and combine.
4. In a seperate bowl melt the butter and stir in the golden syrup. Allow to cool a little then mix in the egg. You can set aside some of the white for the icing if not using dried.
5. Pour the wet mix into the dry. Using the dough hooks on the Hand Mixer form a smooth dough. It should remain a little sticky. Cover and leave to sit in the fridge for 20 minutes.
6. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
7. Generously flour a large surface area and cut the dough into two halves.
8. Take one half of the dough and roll out to approx 1cm in thickness using flour to stop any sticking.
9. Use Halloween shaped pastry cutters to cut the dough into characters (as close together as you can) such as ghosts, ghouls, bats, pumpkins, skeletons and witches. You could also cut the shapes freehand with the point of a sharp knife if you don't have any cutters. Try drawing characters on paper and using them as templates.
10. Form another ball with the remaining offcuts and repeat the process until all the dough has been used. Follow the same steps with the other half of the dough.
11. Place the cookies on the baking sheets, leaving a little space between each one. Bake in the oven for approximately 7-10 minutes.
12. Remove the cookies from the oven. Whilst they are still soft and on the baking tray, use a skewer or the tip of a wooden spoon to make a small hole at the top of each character. Make a small hole on each of the wings of the bats.
13. Make the icing by whisking together the water and dried egg white until frothy.
14. Add the lemon juice then slowly spoon in the icing sugar and water to form a thick consistency.
15. Portion the icing into four seperate dishes. Add a drop of food colouring to each one, leaving one white.
16. When the cookies have completely cooled, use a piping bag and small nozzle to ice around the edge of each character in your chosen colour. Use a spoon to fill in with more icing, smoothing over until the cookie is covered. Make sure you do not ice over the hole.
17. Thread a liquorice lace through each hole and tie a knot. Hang the Halloween Cookies on a spooky branches for an edible table decoration or give out to trick and treaters.

Top tips:

• Do not add extra flour to the dough mix. Instead, allow it to cool before using extra flour to help roll out
• Use a teaspoon or two of the egg white for the icing
• Use chocolate drops for eyes
• To make the cookies vegan substitute dairy butter for plant-based butter. Replace the egg with either chickpea brine or "oggs" egg substitute
• Use chickpea brine to help harden the icing sugar
• Any unbaked dough can be flattened then frozen in a bag to use for Christmas cookie decorations
• If you prefer your cookies with a crunchier texture, increase the baking time to 10-12 minutes
• The recipe can be halved to make less; halve the flour, sugar, butter and syrup.

Top Top tip!

• Make into Christmas tree decorations and colour with festive greens and reds and edible glitter for perfect tree gifts for the family