Cream the butter and icing sugar (powdered sugar) until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the egg yolks and vanilla.

Beat lightly until the egg yolks are incorporated.

Measure the flour, almond meal and salt into a large bowl.

Add the flour mixture, one tablespoon at a time, to the egg mixture.

Keep beating the mixture as you add the flour.

Once all of the ingredients have been added, the mixture should form a soft dough.

Gently knead the dough together on the kitchen bench until if forms a soft ball.

Divide the ball of dough into two.

Place one ball of dough between two sheets of baking paper.

Roll until the dough is about 2-3 mm thick.

Repeat with the other ball of dough.

Place both rolled out sheets of dough onto a large baking tray.

Place the tray into the fridge and leave the dough to chill for 1-2 hours. At this stage, the dough can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Use a round cookie cutter (about 5 cm/2 inches in diameter) to cut out shapes from the dough. You will need to cut out an even number of cookies.

Transfer the cut out cookies to a large baking tray lined with baking paper.

Any unused dough can be re-rolled. As the dough will be quite soft, I recommend re-rolling the dough between two sheets of baking paper, and chilling the dough in the fridge again if necessary.

For half of the cookies, cut out small shapes from the centre using a small cookie cutter. Typical Christmas shapes include a star, bell, heart, Christmas tree, snowman. If you are using a special Linzer cookie cutter, simply push down the centre knob to stamp out a shape in the centre of the cookie.

Place the tray of cut out cookies in the fridge for the dough to chill. It is best to bake the cookies when the dough is very firm and cold, so as to ensure that the cookies will keep their shape upon baking. I recommend chilling the cut out cookies for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F (without fan).

Place a metal tray on the middle shelf of the oven.

Place the tray of cut out cookies on the pre-heated metal tray.

Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies are just starting to turn golden at the edges. The cookies should otherwise be quite pale. The baking time will depend on the size of your cookies, as well as your oven. If you prefer your cookies more crisp or crunchy, bake them for slightly longer until they are lightly golden.

Once the cookies are baked, leave them to rest on the hot baking tray for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Place the cookies with holes cut out on a large sheet of baking paper.

Dust these cookies with icing sugar (powdered sugar), as little or as much as you like.

For the cookie bottoms, dollop a small teaspoon of jam in the centre.

Sandwich the cookies together gently with the dusted cookie on top.