Gingerbread men

What's christmas without a little ginger? This is my favourite gingerbread recipe, they're nice and soft and it's very easy to eat a few thousand once you've started, okay, maybe not a few thousand. I made a batch of these for a family gathering last year and they were gone in about 10 minutes. I personally prefer the miniature gingerbread men although when I'm making them I forever feel like I'm rolling out and lining up little soldiers but I can guarantee they're well worth it.

Ingredients
340g/12oz Plain flour (2 3/4 cups)
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
115g/4oz butter/margarine (1/2 cup)
85g/3oz dark brown sugar (2/5 cup)
85g/3oz light brown sugar(2/5 cup)
4 tbsp golden syrup
1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas mark 5
Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger into a bowl and rub in the butter/marg. Add in the sugar and mix well then add the golden syrup. Add in the egg and mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Knead thoroughly until the dough is smooth and pliable.
Roll out the dough on to a heavily flour surface to about 1/8" thick. Cut gingerbread men out and transfer on to a baking tray. Keep re-rolling the dough until all the mixture is gone.
Bake in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, bake small men for 6 minutes.

These are perfect to have a jar full of lying around the house so people can have a nibble