ALMOND BISCUITS

Preparation 20 minutes, plus resting Cooking 10 minutes Makes 30 Unadorned yet delicious, these almond biscuits are perfect with coffee after a large festive meal.

250g plain flour 1 tsp ground cinnamon 150g butter, softened 90g icing sugar, sifted 1 medium egg, plus 1 yolk, beaten 1 tsp vanilla extract ½ tsp finely grated lemon zest 60g ground almonds

1 Sift the plain flour and ground cinnamon together in a bowl. 2 In a food processor, mix together the butter, icing sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest and a pinch of salt. Add the ground almonds, followed by the flour and spice, and pulse until the mixture comes together. Knead briefly until smooth, shape into a disc, then wrap in clingfilm and chill until firm enough to roll. 3 Roll out the dough to a thickness of 3-4mm on a lightly floured worktop. Cut out leaf shapes with a biscuit cutter. Arrange on 1 or 2 lightly greased baking sheets. Chill for 30 minutes until firm. 4 Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven) gas mark 4. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until golden. Leave to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. The biscuits will keep for up to two weeks in an airtight container.