Reindeer Jammie Dodgers

In a food processor, pulse the flour and butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Add sugar and pulse lightly again. Add yolk, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Continue pulsing until the mixture begins to come together.

Roll out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.

Portion into two discs, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes to an hour, until chilled and firm.

Preheat the oven to 170 °C, fan 150°C, gas 3 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll out dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape out one disc to 3mm thick. Using an 11cm tall gingerbread man cutter stamp out the dough, re-rolling the offcuts until all of the first disc of dough is used.

Turn the gingerbread men upside down so their legs are facing away from you and using a 1cm round cutter cut out a circle in the lower half of the head part of each gingerbread man, for the jam-filled nose. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate a second time for at least 10 minutes to set and firm up.

With the second disc of dough, cut out more gingerbread shapes, without nose piercings, for the other side of the Jammie Dodger.

Bake the biscuits for 12-14 minutes, until lightly golden. Set aside to cool completely.

Once cooled, lay the whole biscuits out onto a work space, legs away from you, and spread with a scant teaspoon of jam almost to the edges, on each one.

Using a hand beater, whisk the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract together, until soft and cream.

Thinly and evenly spread over the whole other side of each ‘nose pierced’ cookies with the prepared buttercream. Sandwich on top of the jam-sided biscuit and spoon a little more jam into the nose to fill the hole.

In a separate bowl, sift 25g icing sugar and ½ teaspoon of boiling water. Stir well into a thick, white icing.

Spoon both icings into disposable piping bags and snip off the tips to make precise, piping holes. Using the black icing to pipe mouths, ears, eye outlines and antlers. Allow to dry. Once dried use the white icing to fill in the eyes. Allow to dry and then add the black icing again to make pupils in the eyes.

Allow icing to set completely before serving.