CHRISTMAS BUTTER COOKIES RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat butter and sugar until blended. Increase speed to high, beat until light and creamy. At low speed, beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in flour, baking powder, and salt just until blended. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Wrap each piece with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 1 hour. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll 1 piece of dough 1/8 inch thick. With floured 2- to 3-inch assorted cookie cutters, cut dough into as many cookies as possible, wrap and refrigerate trimmings. Place cookies, 1 inch apart, on large ungreased cookie sheet, sprinkle cookies with colored sugar now if you like, or frost with Ornamental Frosting after baking. Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. If you like, brush colored sugar remaining on cookie sheets onto piece of waxed paper to use again. Repeat with remaining dough and trimmings. When cookies are cool, prepare Ornamental Frosting if you like, use to decorate cookies as desired. Sprinkle colored sugars as desired on frosting before it dries. Allow frosting to dry completely, about 1 hour. Store cookies in tightly covered container up to 2 weeks.

Steps:

• 1. Put your butter into a bowl. Really finely chop the cranberries and add to the bowl.
  2. Pick the thyme, rosemary and sage leaves, then chop, sweep and run your knife through the herb leaves until really finely chopped. Add to the butter with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
  3. Grate in the zest of your clementine and mix so the butter softens and everything is combined. Divide the butter roughly in half.
  4. Get your turkey and use a spoon to work your way between the skin and the meat. Start at the side of the cavity just above the leg and work gently up toward the breastbone and towards the back so you create a large cavity.
  5. Pick up half of your butter and push it into the cavity you’ve created. Use your hands to push it through the skin right to the back so it coats the breast meat as evenly as possible. Do the same on the other side, then rub any leftover butter all over the outside of the bird to use it up.
  6. If you've got any herb stalks left over, put them in the cavity of the turkey for added flavour as it cooks.
  7. Cover the turkey in clingfilm and put in the fridge until you’re ready to cook it the next day.