Spiced Cinnamon Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°fan forced) and line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and creamy.
3. Add sifted flour, spices and salt to mixture while continuing to mix on low speed until ingredients come together in a soft dough.
4. Chill in fridge for 1-2 hours.
5. Roll dough out to a thickness of 4mm on lightly floured work surface, or between two sheets of baking paper sprinkled with flour.
6. Cut shapes out of dough using a round scalloped 45mm cookie cutter. For half the cookies, cut out 25mm stars. Repeat until all dough has been used.
7. Place cookies on a baking tray, widely spaced (3-4cm apart) to allow cookies room to spread during baking.
8. Bake for 8-11 minutes in the middle of the oven, until cookies are golden, then remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack. Ideally bake one tray at a time to allow the cookies to bake more evenly.
9. When cookies have completely cooled, sandwich them together in pairs by piping vanilla buttercream around the periphery and filling with roasted cherries. Dust with sifted icing sugar to serve.

Roasted Cherries

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan forced).
2. Wash cherries, remove stems and place in oven-proof dish, tossed with zest, sugar and cinnamon.
3. Roast for 34-45 minutes, removing from oven to toss cherries every 10-15 minutes to prevent the juices and cherries burning
4. When cherries are well roasted and soft, remove from oven and allow to cool. Remove seeds, then place cherries in a food processor and blitz to a puree. Add lemon juice to taste as cherries are processing for a smoother puree.

Vanilla Buttercream

1. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until very light and fluffy.
2. Depending on the buttercream consistency, add milk to slightly soften and lighten the buttercream. 

Enjoy!