Gingerbread s'mores biscuits

Heat the butter, dark brown sugar and golden syrup in a saucepan until the butter has melted and the mixture is bubbling.

Combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the wet ingredients, then mix using a wooden spoon until a thick dough comes together. As soon as it is smooth, stop stirring or the biscuits will become tough. Leave the mixture to rest at room temperature for 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4 and line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment. Roll out the biscuit dough to the thickness of a £1 coin and then slice into 50 even-sized rectangles. Arrange on the baking trays and bake for 14-15 minutes or until golden brown round the edges, swapping the trays over for the last few minutes. Allow to cool completely.

To make the filling, place the sugar, golden syrup and 2 tbsp of water into a saucepan and cook on a medium-high heat without stirring until the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage (118°C on a sugar thermometer). If you don’t have a thermometer, the mixture is ready when the bubbles start to stick together and it drips off a spoon in a steady stream. Remove from the heat.

Place the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk until soft peaks form. With the mixer on low speed, carefully pour the hot sugar into the bowl. When all the sugar has been added, increase the mixer to high speed and whip until the sides of the bowl feel only slightly warm and the mixture is thick and glossy. Add the vanilla extract at the end and spoon the mixture into a piping bag.

Pipe the marshmallow mixture onto the bottom of half the gingerbread biscuits, then spread a generous amount of dark chocolate onto the remaining biscuits, or generously pipe over the top of the marshmallow mixture. Sandwich both together to form a s’more.