• Spread 20 g of sugar evenly on the bottom of a small saucepan, let it turn into dark caramel over low heat (It took me about 15 minutes.) and boil until bubbles form all over the surface. During this process, the sugar melts very slowly at first, gets a transparent color, then turns light caramel and then dark caramel.
• As soon as the caramel boils, take it off the heat and immediately add hot water in batches, stirring very carefully (keep your hand to the side of the saucepan while stirring, as very hot steam rises and the mixture could splash) and then stir until the caramel has completely dissolved in water.
• Add 220 g sugar, cinnamon, ginger powder and nutmeg and heat (do not boil), stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved.
• Take the mixture off the heat, immediately add 200 g of flour, stir it to a homogeneous mass and let it cool to warm.
• Add melted and cooled butter and egg and mix until homogeneous.
• Add baking soda and the remaining flour in portions and knead briskly for a short time to form a very soft, somewhat sticky dough.
• Form about 18 balls from the dough (for me, each ball weighed 48 g), spread them on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving plenty of space between them, and press the balls slightly flat.
• Bake the pryaniki in a preheated oven at 392 °F (200 °C) for about 10 minutes and let them cool down.

Making the sugar icing

• Put sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly so that the sugar dissolves before it boils.
• Let the sugar icing boil over medium heat, without stirring it, until it reaches 230 °F (110 °C).
• Remove the icing from the heat and leave to cool to approx. 167 °F - 176 °F (75 °C - 80 °C) for 7 - 10 minutes.

Glazing the pryaniki

• Dip a kitchen brush briefly into the icing again and again and rub it quickly but vigorously over the surface of each pryanik in turn (be careful, it's hot).
• Spread the caramel pryaniki on baking paper and allow the icing to dry.