Cinnamon sugar holiday tree with butter cookies

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. For the cookies, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl.

2. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth, then add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.

4. Roll the chilled dough out to 1/2 cm thick and cut out shapes with a star cutter. Place on a lined and greased baking sheet, brush the tops with a little melted butter and sprinkle very generously with Staffords Cinnamon Sugar.

5. Bake the cookies at 180°C for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.

6. For the tree, spread one roll of puff pastry out on a lined baking tray. Sprinkle Staffords Cinnamon Sugar generously over a tree-shaped area. Roll out the second piece of pastry, place it over the first and press down gently to bond. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

7. Return the tray to your work surface (leave the pastry on the tray) and cut out a tree shape, with a trunk that is wider at the bottom than the top. Cut the sides into branches every 2 cm with a 1 cm gap between each branch, and remove the gaps so the pastry can expand. Don't cut all the way to the top: leave 2 to 3 cm of flat pastry. Twist each branch as many times as you can.

8. Brush the trunk and any untwisted areas with melted butter and sprinkle with Staffords Cinnamon Sugar.

9. Bake the tree at 220°C for 20 to 25 minutes, until fully puffed and golden brown.

10. Serve with the star cookies placed along the branches and at the top of the tree as baubles.