Recipe Method

1. Line a baking sheet or use a silicone baking mat.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, syrup and egg yolk until pale and creamy.
3. Sift together all of the dry ingredients and add to the batter.
4. Mix until it forms a stiff, smooth and shiny dough.
5. Turn out and bring the dough together.
6. Divide into two balls and flatten each into a disc.
7. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
8. Preheat the oven to 180C.
9. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 5 mm.
10. Cut into Christmas themed shapes and arrange on the baking sheet with at least 2cm between cookies.
11. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
12. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before decorating with rolled fondant, royal icing, or both.

ROYAL ICING

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat the egg whites, icing sugar and lemon juice together.
2. Start on low speed, then increase the speed as the mixture gets smoother until soft peaks form.
3. Use a piping bag with a small round nozzle to pipe the edges of your cookies or for creating patterns on top of the fondant.
4. For filling in spaces, add a few drops of lemon juice or water to make the icing more runny. Always keep your royal icing covered with clingfilm to prevent it drying out.

FONDANT SHAPES

1. Knead the fondant until pliable on a surface lightly sprinkled with cornflour.
2. Flatten the fondant, sprinkle with the tylose, then fold and knead to work in the tylose.
3. Tylose serves as a hardener for the fondant and makes for neat egdes and smooth surfaces, but its use is entirely optional.
4. Wrap in clingfilm and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
5. Divide the fondant into portions according to the colours you will be using.
6. Knead again on a cornflour surface, add small amounts of colourant to each and work into the fondant until your desired colour is achieved.
7. Thinly roll out the fondant and cut into shapes to match your cookies.
8. Use a small amount of the royal icing to serve as a glue to stick the fondant to the cookies.
9. Use any remaining fondant to create small flowers, leaves etc.