• Put the sugar, butter, molasses and egg into a large mixing bowl. Use a handheld electric mixer to thoroughly combine until any lumps of butter have been dispersed.
• Sift in the flour, baking soda, ginger, cloves and cinnamon and mix on a low speed until the dough starts to cling together leaving the sides of the bowl clean.
• Use your hands to bring the dough into a ball. Lightly flour a surface and turn the dough out on to it. Knead very briefly until smooth then divide into two balls of dough. Flatten each ball of dough into a disc shape then wrap in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350oF. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
• Remove the chilled dough from the fridge. Roll out one of the discs between two sheets of parchment paper to a thickness of about 1cm.
• Leaving the rolled out dough on the parchment, use a dinner plate (ours was 26cm) as a template for a circle. Cut around the edge of the plate with a sharp knife and remove the excess dough. You will be left with a circle.
• Add a smaller plate (ours was 15cm) to the center of the circle of dough. Cut around the smaller plate then remove the dough from the center. This will leave you with a ring of dough.
• Slide the parchment paper with the ring of dough onto a baking sheet.
• Roll out the rest of the dough between sheets of parchment. Use the Gingerbread Man cookie cutters to cut shapes from the dough. You will need at least 10 Gingerbread Men to make up the wreath.
• Gently transfer the cut out cookies on to the lined baking sheet.
• Put both baking sheets in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned.
• Remove from the oven and immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• You may need to work in batches.

Make the Royal Icing:

• Put the egg whites into a mixing bowl and whisk until frothy. Add the powdered sugar a cup at a time and vigorously beat until smooth.
• At this point you will need to check the consistency of the icing. It should easily flow in a thick ribbon from a spatula when picked up and the consistency of toothpaste. If it’s looking a bit thick add more egg whites (or cold water) a tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat until it reaches the desired consistency.
• Transfer the Royal Icing to a piping bag then snip the very end off with a pair of scissors.
• When the cookies have cooled you can decorate them. (Use the images for inspiration.)

To assemble the wreath:

• Add a small amount of Royal Icing to the underneath of a Gingerbread Man cookie and gently press it onto the wreath. Repeat with the remaining cookies working your way around the wreath.
• Tie the ribbon onto the wreath and display it as holiday centrepiece.
• Enjoy!