Scary gingerbread skeletons

Preheat oven to 180ºC fan-forced (200°C conventional). Line 4 large oven trays with baking paper. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add golden syrup, beating to combine. Add egg, beating to combine. Sift flour, ginger, cocoa and bicarb over butter mixture, stirring to combine.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until a smooth dough forms. Roll out dough between 2 sheets of baking paper to 5mm thick. Using 13.5 x 10cm and a 8.5 x 6cm gingerbread man biscuit cutters, cut out 8 large men and 9 small men. Arrange pieces on prepared trays 3cm apart. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Bake 2 trays at a time for 12 minutes or until golden and firm to touch. Cool completely on trays.

Meanwhile, to make icing, put egg white in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk on low for 1 minute or until frothy. With motor running on low, gradually add icing sugar, whisking after each addition. Add lemon juice and continue whisking until thick and holding its shape. Spoon icing into a disposable piping bag.

Snip tip to form a 3mm opening and pipe skeleton shapes onto the cooled biscuits. Set aside for 30 minutes or until icing has set hard.

Spoon melted chocolate into a disposable piping bag and snip tip to form a 3mm opening. Pipe faces onto the skeletons and set aside until chocolate has set. Serve.