Ingredients

• 90g of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 100g of caster sugar
• 1 Large egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
• 200g plain flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Food colouring (if you want to)

Method
Cream the butter and sugar until pale and moving towards moussiness.

Beat in the egg and vanilla essence in a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixture, mixing gently but thoroughly. If the mixture feels too sticky, slowly add more flour – but not too much or the dough can become tough.

Halve the dough and form two flat discs. Wrap them in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When you’re ready to make cookies, preheat the oven to 180°/160°C (fan).

Sprinkle the rolling board with flour and place one of the dough discs on it. Sprinkle a bit more flour on top and roll it out until it’s about 5mm thick. Keep dusting it with flour so that it does not stick to the rolling board or pin.

Dip the cookie cutter into flour to coat all the edges, tapping off any excess.

Cut out the cookies and place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Tapping the cutter with the back of a knife can help to release the cookie if the dough is too sticky.

Place the cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking.
Bake for 8 – 12 minutes of until a light golden colour. Take out of the oven and leave to cool.

Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
This recipe will make 12 – 15 cookies.

Ingredients

• 230g unsalted butter, at room temperature for 1 hour
• 60g cream cheese, at room temperature
• 200g granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 360g all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

Method
Place the butter, cream cheese, and sugar in the bowl and beat on medium speed for several minutes, or until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and almond extracts, and lemon zest.
Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and whisk together. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add to the butter and sugar mixture and beat until fully incorporated and a soft dough is formed. If the dough still feels sticky, slowly add more flour.

At this point the dough should be chilled or frozen. If making cookies in the near future, divide the dough into 2 balls and flatten into large disks. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Or freeze the dough balls, wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a freezer bag, for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then proceed with the recipe.

To bake the cookies, heat the oven to 180°/160°C (fan) and prepare baking sheets by lining them with baking parchment. Roll out the dough (using some flour to stop it from sticking) until it is about 5mm thick. Dip the cookie cutters into flour and cut cookies out of the rolled dough and place on the prepared baking sheets. For best results, put the cookies back in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking.

Bake until set, 8 to 12 minutes depending on the thickness of the cookies. Let cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing or decorating.

Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
This recipe will make 24 – 36 cookies.

Ingredients

• 300g gluten-free flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 200g white sugar
• 180g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 2 large eggs

Method
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
Beat white sugar, 3/4 cup butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract together in a bowl using an electric mixer; beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until mixture is smooth.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and form dough into a ball.

Wrap ball with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 180°/160°C (fan).

Roll dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut into shapes using cookie cutters. Dip the cutters into flour to coat all the surfaces, tapping off any excess.

Arrange cookies on a baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven until edges begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
This recipe will make 30 - 40 cookies.

Ingredients

• 150g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 150g light or dark brown sugar
• 200g unsulphured molasses
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 440g all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves

Method
In a large bowl beat the butter for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat on medium high speed until combined and creamy-looking. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

Beat in egg and vanilla on high speed for 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The butter may separate; that’s ok.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves together until combined.
On low speed, slowly mix into the wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be quite thick and slightly sticky.

Divide dough in half and place each onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap each up tightly and pat down to create a disc shape. Chill discs for at least 3 hours. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough. I always chill mine overnight.

Preheat oven to 180°C (170° Fan). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Remove 1 disc of chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator. Generously flour a work surface, as well as your hands and the rolling pin. Don’t be afraid to continually flour the work surface as needed- this dough can be sticky. Roll out disc until 4 – 6mm thick. Cut into shapes. Place shapes 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.

Re-roll dough scraps until all the dough is shaped. Repeat with remaining disc of dough.

Bake cookies for about 8-10 minutes.

Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Once completely cool, decorate as desired.

Recipe Notes
Storage: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Ingredients

• 60g unsalted butter, softened.
• 60g cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 185g icing sugar.

Method
Beat cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth.

Slowly beat the icing sugar into cream cheese mixture until icing is smooth.

Spread onto cooled cookies.