Chocolate Christmas cookies

Melt the butter in a medium pan over a low heat; cook for 5-7 minutes, swirling occasionally until the butter foams, starts to smell toasty and you can see that the white solids have separated and turned brown. Pour into a large mixing bowl (you should now have about 200g butter) and leave to cool to room temperature.

Add the sugars to the cooled butter; whisk together with electric hand beaters. Add the eggs and beat until combined, then tip in the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda; stir with a wooden spoon to form a dough. Stir through the chocolate and almonds, cover and chill for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC, gas mark 6. Line 4 baking trays with parchment. Divide the dough into 20 portions (about 55g each) and space out on the trays so the cookies have room to spread. Sprinkle with a little salt; bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges have turned golden. Leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. These will keep for up to 10 days in an airtight container, but if you want to get ahead the dough can be frozen (see tip below).