Oh, Christmas tree! Did you know that the Christmas tree is said to have originated in Germany in the 1500s? It was made popular in England by Queen Victoria’s German husband, Prince Albert, in the 1830s. From there, it spread to the states and eventually across the world. Use a skewer to poke a hole at the top of our Christmas tree biscuits before baking. Once cooked, thread ribbon through for edible decorations.

MAKES 20 biscuits // COOKING TIME 30 min

INGREDIENTS
¼ cup sugar
110 g butter, at room temperature
¾ cup flour, sifted
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
20 almonds
Silver balls, to decorate
Icing sugar, to dust

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 160°C and grease a baking tray.
2. In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter together. Add the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix to form a dough. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for five minutes.
3. Between two sheets of baking paper, roll out the dough to roughly half a centimetre thick. Cut into tree shapes with a biscuit cutter or carefully using a sharp knife.
4. Place the biscuits on the baking tray and decorate with almonds (for tree trunks) and silver balls. Bake for 5–10 minutes.
5. Leave to cool on a wire rack, then dust with icing sugar and pack into gift boxes.