• In a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg, molasses and vanilla and beat until combined, while scraping down the sides as necessary, until smooth.
• Sift the flour, baking soda, ginger and salt into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix until you are able to bring the mixture together with your hands to form a ball of dough. Cover with clingfilm or place it in an airtight container if you don't plan to bake them the same day. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / 375°F / Gas 5 and line two baking trays with baking paper or parchment.
• Shaping: Lightly flour your worksurface and roll out the dough to approximately 6mm (¼ inch) in height. Cut out your desired biscuit shapes. I like to use a number of different cutters including my classic gingerbread man. Place the cut outs onto the lined baking trays, leaving a little space between each of them. Repeat this process with the rest of the dough.
• Baking: The size of your biscuits will determine the amount of time they require to bake. My medium size biscuits which are 10 cm (4 inches) in length, take around 10 minutes to bake for a soft version. If you like your gingerbread a little crunchier (harder) then I leave them up to 14 minutes.

  Here is a rough guide:

  Small: 7-10 minutes, medium: 10-14 minutes, large: 12-16 minutes.

  Once baked, allow the biscuits to sit on the baking tray to cool for about 5 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

Royal Icing

• In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the egg whites at high speed until frothy. Add the icing sugar and mix for 3-4 minutes until stiff peaks form. Add enough water to get your desired consistency, I usually find 1 teaspoon works for me, but it may vary.
• Colour the frosting with food colouring as desired. Using a piping bag, pipe the frosting on the biscuits.When icing the biscuits, I recommend going around the edge of the biscuit first and allowing that to dry, before filling in the centre areas. This also applies to using other colours as they will run into one another if not allowed to dry first. You can place any unused icing in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 1 week.