Gently melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan, stirring until smooth. Leave to cool for 10 mins.

Put the flour, spices and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl. Add the syrup mixture and the milk, then gently knead in the bowl until smooth. Wrap and chill for 30 mins.

Heat the air fryer to 160C. Cut the dough into quarters and roll out one piece (return the rest to the fridge) between two sheets of baking parchment to a thickness of 3-4mm. Stamp out 4-6 gingerbread people, depending on the size of your cutters and air fryer.

Put a square of parchment in the air fryer basket and arrange the gingerbread people on top, leaving a little space between each one. Cook for 7-8 mins until dark golden. Leave to cool and firm up for a couple of mins before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat the process to use up the remaining dough. Decorate your gingerbread people with icing, if you like.