The recipe for these delicious little biscuits came from my daughter in law, via her Danish grandmother.

The combination of spices, nuts and peel give them a very Christmassy taste, whilst the thin crispy texture makes them very more-ish. You will need to start making the mixture several hours in advance, so that it can harden in the fridge before baking. The quantity given will produce several dozen biscuits, but you can store any uncooked dough in the fridge and then bake them as you need. Very useful if friends pop over and you want to welcome them with the warm aromas of your freshly baked cookies.

Ingredients

• 150g butter
• 125g soft brown sugar, or caster sugar
• 110g golden syrup
• 250g plain flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 heaped tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp five spice powder
• Or use 2 heaped tsp mixed spice
• 30g flaked almonds, chopped
• 15g mixed peel, finely chopped

Method

In a large pan, heat the butter, sugar and syrup over a gentle heat, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat. Sieve the dry ingredients together and add to the pan with the almonds and peel, stirring well till mixed. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, then form it into two long logs around 2 cm in diameter. Wrap them in foil or greaseproof paper and transfer to the fridge. Once the logs are firm, turn the oven to 170 - 180⁰, and line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Using a sharp knife, slice the log into thin rounds, about the thickness of a £1 coin, and place on the tray, spaced well apart as they will spread. Bake for 7 – 8 minutes, or until they are a rich golden brown. Beware - they burn very quickly! Move them onto a rack to cool and crisp up, then store in an airtight container. The remaining dough will keep for several weeks, wrapped up in the fridge.