I don’t know what I love more, the sweet, buttery smell of Christmas cookies coming out of my oven on a cozy Sunday or the woody, resinous smell of our gorgeous fir tree, which just took over our living room. I think I’ll just move back and forth between my kitchen and the tree over the next four weeks and I’ll be totally happy. There’ll be more cookies and mince pies than we can eat, more mulled wine than we should drink and more cheesy Christmas carols coming out of our vinyl player than two adults should possibly listen to. But I don’t care, I totally fall for this season and it makes me happy – happy 1st Advent!

I started my Christmas baking season with these simple looking but very aromatic bites. Based on traditional Heidesand cookies, a crumbly, buttery shortbread cookie mixed with fragrant marzipan, I refined the German Christmas classic with lots of lemon zest and chopped rosemary. It’s the kind of treat that you can easily eat off a plate by the dozen, and it’s also a quick one to prepare: I replace the usual 2 hours rest time in the fridge with only 15 minutes in the freezer. It works perfectly and you won’t notice the difference. You just have to slice up the dough roll, bake it and enjoy.

In case you missed preparing your Christmas pudding on Stir-up Sunday – like I did while I was in London – here’s the recipe. That’s what I’ll do now, happy stirring!

Rosemary & Lemon Heidesand Cookies

Makes about 60 cookies

butter, soft, 200g / 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons
marzipan, soft, 40g / 1 1/2 ounces
granulated sugar 130g / 2/3 cups
fresh rosemary, finely chopped, 4 teaspoons
lemon zest, freshly grated, 2 teaspoons
fine sea salt 1/2 teaspoon
plain flour 260g / 2 cups

For the topping

granulated sugar 50g / 1/4 cup
fresh rosemary, finely chopped, 1/2 teaspoon
lemon zest, freshly grated, 2 teaspoons

In a large bowl, beat the butter, marzipan, sugar, rosemary, lemon zest and salt with an electric mixer until well combined and creamy. Add the flour and mix with the dough hooks of an electric mixer until combined. Divide the dough in half and scrape each half onto a large piece of cling film. Form a 4cm / 1 1/2″ thick log with your hands, wrap tightly in cling film and freeze for about 15 minutes or until the dough is hard enough to cut with a knife.

Set the oven to 190°C / 375°F (preferably convection setting). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the ingredients for the topping and spread them on a kitchen counter. When the dough is hard, take it out of the freezer, unwrap and roll it in the lemon rosemary sugar until evenly coated. Cut both rolls into slices, a bit less than 1/2cm / 1/4″ thick, and spread the cookies on the lined baking sheets. Bake the cookies for about 8-9 minutes (slightly longer using conventional setting) or until golden. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before you transfer them onto a cooling rack.

When the cookies are completely cool, you can store them in an airtight container for up to 1 week.