Although these cats are perfect for Halloween, these buttery biscuits, flavoured with plenty of cinnamon and speckled with nutty, crunchy black sesame seeds will also make a great tea-time treat at any other time of the year. I’ve kept things quite simple here – all that extra sugar can get a bit much – but there’s nothing to stop you from whipping out your royal icing and piping on a face or some whiskers. Perhaps tomorrow, when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest, my two old cats will pay me a visit. In the meantime, these cinnamon cuties will keep me company. Happy Halloween!

Ingredients for about 32 biscuits:

a cookie-cutter of your choice

450 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1/2 tsp baking powder

a generous pinch of salt

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

4 tbsp of black sesame seeds

225 g golden caster sugar

225 g soft, unsalted butter

1 egg

a few drops of almond extract

one drop of vanilla extract

• Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and sesame seeds in a bowl and set aside.
• In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar.
• Beat in the egg and the almond and vanilla extracts.
• Gently fold in the flour mixture with a spatula and then use your hands to form a soft, slightly crumbly, dough.
• Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film or wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

• Heat the oven to 160 or 180 degrees celcius (fan), depending on your oven.
• Take the dough out of the fridge and divide into two or four pieces. Make sure to keep the unused pieces wrapped up to prevent them from drying out.
• Keep your work surface and rolling pin well-floured and roll out the dough to a thickness of about 0,5 cm.
• Cut out your shapes and carefully transfer the cookies to a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
• At this point you can sprinkle the biscuits with some more sesame seeds, if you want. If you do, gently go over them again with the rolling pin to ensure the seeds stick.
• Bake for about 10-13 minutes until slightly golden brown around the edges.
• Leave to cool and harden completely before putting the biscuits in an airtight container

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