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Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale and creamy, about 10 minutes. Add the egg yolk and beat to combine. Add maple/golden syrup, flour, cinnamon, vanilla, ginger and nutmeg and beat until well combined.
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Divide the mixture into two, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
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Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
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Roll the dough between two sheets of non-stick baking paper, to about 3mm thickness. Use snowflake and star cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the dough. Re-roll and repeat until all dough is used.
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Use a lightly floured offset spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to the baking paper lined trays. If it’s very hot when you are baking, you might want to refrigerate the cut out cookies for 15 minutes prior to baking.
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Bake for 7-8 minutes or until golden. Cool completely on the trays.
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To make the glaze, place sifted icing sugar and water in a bowl and stir until well combined. Adjust the consistency to your liking by adding a little extra water 1/2 teaspoon at a time. Transfer the glaze to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe the glaze onto the cookies, staring with the outline shape and fill in the center. Use a toothpick to smooth out the glaze. Quickly sprinkle the sanding sugar onto the cookies. I did this one by one, piping the glaze and then sprinkling the sugar immediately.
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Allow the glaze to fully dry before stacking or packing away the cookies. Cookies will keep in an air-tight container for 3 days.