Ingredients:

• 180g plain flour 
• 40g ground almonds 
• 120g butter (room temperature) 
• 65g icing sugar 
• 1 teaspoon almond essence 
• 15 glace cherries  

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 160°C (fan oven) and line a baking tray with baking parchment 
2. Chop the butter into small cubes and add to a large mixing bowl. Cream the butter using a stand mixer or handheld whisk 
3. Add the icing sugar to the butter and mix gently. You want to mix just long enough for the ingredients to combine into a smooth paste 
4. Add the plain flour, ground almond, and almond essence to the bowl and mix until the ingredients are combined, and you get a crumbly texture. If using an electric mixer, mix on a low speed 
5. Chop up your cherries into quarters and add to the mixture. If you want to chop them into slightly smaller pieces, then you can. Mix gently with your hands until the cherries are mixed evenly into the dough 
6. Gather the dough together into a ball and remove from the bowl. If the dough needs bringing together more, you can gently fold and knead it a couple of times 
7. Dust your worktop with flour and roll out your dough. Use cookie cutters to create the shapes you want 
8. Put the shortbread onto your baking tray and bake in the oven for around 15 minutes (check them after 10 minutes to make sure they aren’t overcooking). They’re ready when they start to turn a light golden colour 

Ellen’s top tip:

I use salted butter, but you can also use unsalted. You can also use caster sugar instead of icing sugar, if you don’t have any in the house!