You will need:

For the vanilla sugar cookie dough:

For the decoration:

• 400g plain flour, sifted, plus extra flour for rolling out the cookies
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 170g caster sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tbsp red food colour paste
• 200g white compound chocolate
• tiny red and green festive-looking sweets, such as Nerds, M&M’s Minis or sprinkles

1

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

2

In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, and the food colour paste and beat until well combined.

3

With the mixer on low, add one-third of the flour mixture and mix to combine. Add the second third of the flour and continue mixing on low speed.

4

Add the final third of the flour mixture, beating just until combined.

5

Pour the mixture onto a work surface and knead with your hands until the dough is no longer crumbly and you are able to form a tight ball, three to five minutes. Split the ball into two.

6

Cover the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least thirty minutes. You can also leave it in the fridge for up to three days or freeze this dough (well wrapped) for up to one month.

7

Preheat the oven to 160°C/ 140°C fan/ gas mark 3. Line the baking trays with baking parchment.

8

Trace the outline of the Christmas stocking and then cut it out of thick card stock to use as a template. (Cut out the central rectangle as well.)

9

Working with one portion of dough at a time, on a floured surface, roll the dough 5mm thick. Use the template to cut out stockings, re-rolling the scraps to cut out as many as you can. You need multiples of three, as each ‘surprise cookie’ is made up of a set of three cookies.

10

Arrange the cookies on baking trays, but turn one cookie out of every set of cookies so it's inverted (toe pointing the opposite way). Use the rectangle part of the template to cut a hole out of every third cookie. Bake until you just start to see the cookies darkening around the edges, seven to ten minutes. Let cool for ten minutes on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack.

11

Grate 35g of the chocolate using a fine grater and set aside.

12

Melt the remaining chocolate and place into a zip-seal bag, cutting a small tip off the corner.

13

Assemble the stocking sets so each has a front, a middle and a back, with the ‘baked side’ of the front and back stockings facing inward.

14

Pipe a thin line of melted chocolate close to the edge of the ‘baked side’ of the back stocking and then take a middle stocking and place it on top.

15

Fill the stocking cavity with the sweets. Do not overfill.

16

Pipe a line of melted chocolate on top of the middle stocking and place the final whole stocking on top, baked side in. Pipe around the toe, heel and top of the top stocking and immediately sprinkle with the grated chocolate to create a fluffy effect.