Cranberry shortbread stars

Using electric beaters, beat the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon zest. Sift in the flour and salt and use a wooden spoon or spatula to bring together to a shaggy dough. Tip in the cranberries and work in until evenly distributed. Bring the dough together in your hands, pat out to a circle about 1cm thick, then wrap in clingfilm. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 170C, gas mark 3. Remove the dough from the fridge and place between 2 large sheets of parchment. Roll out to about 0.3cm thick. Remove the top layer of parchment and place on a large baking sheet. Stamp out biscuits using star-shaped cutters, then transfer to the lined baking tray. (You may need to bake the biscuits in batches, re-rolling any scraps and chilling the dough if it becomes too soft at any point.)

Bake for 10-14 minutes (depending on their size) until just very light golden, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. For the icing, combine the icing sugar and milk (or lemon juice or water) until you have a thick smooth icing. Transfer to a small piping bag and use to decorate the stars. Edible silver or gold balls look festive, too.