My brother and I used to make these with my auntie Erica every year for Christmas.  You can poke a hole in the top of them and then string through some ribbon so you can hang them on your Christmas tree.  They look really great when the sparkly lights shine through!  Do keep an eye on these once they're on the tree though, in our house they always had a tendency to go missing!

The Method

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/ gas mark 4 and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

In a standalone mixture beat together the butter and sugar. Add in the egg and mix through.

Using a wooden spoon mix through the flour, baking powder, salt, mixed spice and vanilla extract until you have a biscuit dough.

Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and roll out to about 1cm in thickness.

Cut out biscuit shapes, place on the lined baking tray, then using a smaller cutter or a small knife cut out the center of each cookie.

Sprinkle the crushed sweets into the centre of the cookie and place in the oven .

Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes.  As soon as they come out of the oven, using a straw poke out a hole  at the top of each cookie.  Allow to cool on a wire wrack.

String through some ribbon and hang on the tree.