Spiced chocolate-covered stars recipe

Similar to lebkuchen, these soft spicy biscuits are scrummy with a cup of tea or coffee. They will also make a lovely present to give stored in a special box lined with Christmas coloured tissue paper. If preferred you could decorate with different sprinkles or edible silver balls. To add extra spice you could replace the candied peel with finely chopped stem ginger and use dark chocolate that is also flavoured with spice and orange. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to one week.

If you're looking to try another delicious, spiced biscuit, why not have a go at the German biscuit lebkuchen. A tasty, soft biscuit that's just like gingerbread.

Ingredients

• 350g plain flour
• 2tsp ground ginger
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• 1tsp ground mixed spice
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 75g ground hazelnuts or almonds
• 75g mixed candied peel
• Grated rind of 1 small orange
• 200ml runny honey
• 75g butter
• 200g dark chocolate broken into squares

You will also need

• 100’s and 1000’s for sprinkling
• 1 large star-shaped cutter approx 12cm across

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Fan 160°C/Gas Mark 4. Lightly oil 2 baking sheets and line with baking paper. Sift the flour, spices, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Add the hazelnuts or almonds, the candied peel and the orange rind.
2. Place the runny honey in a pan with the butter. Heat gently, stirring until the butter has melted and the honey is runnier.
3. Pour the honey and butter into the flour and mix well to form a dough. On a well floured surface, lightly roll out the dough to a 11/2cm thickness. Stamp out star shapes and place on the baking sheets. Re-roll trimmings as necessary.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Cool on the tray for a few mins then transfer to a cooling rack.
5. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Don’t let the water touch the base of the bowl or the chocolate may overcook. Heat gently, without stirring, for 5-8 mins until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat. Alternatively melt the chocolate on HIGH/100% for 1-11/2 mins.