SPICED STAR BISCUITS (aka Tree Biscuits)

[Spanish Teckels]

SPICED STAR BISCUITS

2tbsp runny honey
25g (1oz) unsalted butter
50g (2oz) light muscovado sugar
finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
finely grated zest of 1/2 orange
225g (8oz) self-raising flour
1tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp ground ginger
pinch of ground cloves
pinch ground aniseed or drop of aniseed liqueur
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of sea salt
1tbsp finely chopped candied orange peel
50g (20z) ground almonds
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/2 tbsp milk
TO DECORATE
150g Icing sugar
1 1/2 tbsp aniseed liqueur or plain water
Silver balls, edible gold glitter, etc. to taste

1. Put the honey, butter, sugar and citrus zests into a small pan and stir over a low heat until the butter has melted and the ingredients are well combined.
2. Sift the flour, spices and salt together into a bowl, then add the chopped candied peel and ground almonds.  Add the melted mixture, beaten egg and milk, and mix until the dough comes together.
3. Knead the dough briefly until smooth, then wrap in cling film and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.  At this stage you can also freeze the dough to use later but it does lose some fragrance once it has been frozen.
4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface ( I use no flour and use a silicone/ silpat sheet) to a 5mm (1/4 inch) thickness.  Stamp out stars, using a cutter or freehand, and put on baking sheets.  I line mine with silpat or baking parchment so they don´t stick.  DON´T FORGET to poke a small hole in each for threading ribbon through or cut a circle out of the centre to thread ribbon through.
5. Bake at 180ºC ( 160ºC fan oven) mark 4 Gas for 15-20 minutes or until just beginning to brown at the edges.  Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack to cool and harden. If you forgot to poke a hold or cut a circle you can still do so whilst the biscuits are soft and on the baking tray.  Store in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks or decorate, hang on tree and enjoy the fragrance and taste.
6. To decorate, mix the icing sugar with 1 1/2 tbsp aniseed liqueur or plain water to make a smooth icing.  Coat some of the biscuits with icing, drizzle others, as you like.  Pipe icing dots on biscuits and stick on silver balls or gold glitter to taste.

Makes about 30 biscuits, take around 15 mins preparation plus chilling time, baking takes around 15-20 minutes.

Hope you have a go and like them, Merry Christmas everybody!

[Spanish Teckels]

There are really easy actually and you don't even need to decorate them if you are not making them for the tree. I just corrected the recipe yield since I originally typed 3 instead of 30 - would have a load of work just for 3 biscuits! 
Hope you enjoy them