Nigella's Christmas recipes

These festively spiced and beautiful biscuits are the perfect Christmas cookie. Traditionally, they’re made by pressing the dough onto carved wooden moulds, which give the biscuits the look of edible Christmas cameos, but you don’t have to ‘print’ them (as it’s called) but can cheerily roll out the dough and turn them into biscuits with a cookie cutter.

Some time ago, I got my hands on some cookie cutters in the shape of those narrow 17th century houses that line the canals of Amsterdam, and this was too good an opportunity to miss. I also have a special tulip cutter in my collection, so I use this, too. But any Christmassy shape will look charming, and hearts always look lovely.