Christmas Biscuits

Ingredients:

For biscuits:
350g (12 oz) plain flour, plus extra for rolling
110g (4 oz) caster sugar
225g (8 oz) butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
salt

For icing:
About 450g (1 lb) icing sugar

Instructions:

Put the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt into a food processor then add butter and vanilla extract. Pulse until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Pulse again to bring it together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes. (If you don't have a food processor, you can of course do this by hand).

Roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thick and stamp out biscuits using cutters. Place on baking sheets (you may have to chill again for 15 minutes of so). If you are going to hang the cookies on the tree, make small holes at the top of each shape with a plastic drinking straw. Bake at 350F (180C, Gas Mark 4) for 12-15 minutes. Remove and leave briefly on trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Use boiling water to make up the icing. Decorate as appropriate.

Christmas recipe makes: 2 dozen
Calories per biscuit: 125
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Suitable for freezing at end of step 5.

Gingerbread Tree Decorations

Ingredients:

• flour, plain white 350 g (12 oz)
• bicarbonate of soda, 5 ml (1 tsp)
• ginger, ground 30 ml (2 tbsp)
• cinnamon, ground 15 ml (1 tbsp)
• cloves, ground 2.5 ml (0.5 tsp)
• butter, 125 g (4 oz)
• sugar, soft light brown 175 g (6 oz)
• golden syrup 60 ml (4 tbsp)
• egg, 1

Icing:

• egg white, 1
• icing sugar, sifted
• food coloring

Instructions:

1.       Blend the butter with a mixture of the spices, bicarbonate of soda and flour. Do this until it is breadcrumb like and then mix in the sugar.

2.       Beat an egg into slightly warmed syrup and pour into the mixture from step 1, mixing till it becomes a soft dough. Then knead until smooth.

3.       Make a 5mm (¼ inch) thick dough layer on a floured surface and cut out biscuit shapes using various cutters. Pierce a hole in each one for putting ribbon through later on, for hanging.

4.       Put two non-stick baking sheets on two baking trays.

5.       Place the various shaped cut outs onto the baking sheets and bake at 190 degrees centigrade (375 F) until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool and harden for about 10 minutes before placing on a wire rack till cold.

6.       For the icing add sifted icing sugar to a beaten egg until stiff enough for piping. Add colourings if necessary to brighten up the decorations.

7.       Put icing patterns of your choice on the biscuits. After allowing the biscuits to dry, put ribbons through the biscuit holes, ready for hanging on a Christmas tree.