Cherry Shortbread Dough

In a bowl whisk together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Stir in the flours, salt and cherries until it starts to come together.

Using clean hands, bring the dough together by gently kneading it.

Split the dough into 6 and roll each into a sausage with a diameter of 5cm.

Sprinkle the demerara sugar onto a tray. Roll each sausage in the sugar to coat the outside completely. Wrap well in cling film and refrigerate.

To wrap for gifting, cut 6 pieces of baking parchment into 30cm x 30 cm and wrap each biscuit dough. Secure with ribbons at either end to form a cracker shape.

Write the cooking instructions (see step 8), on a label and attach to the ribbon. Give as heartwarming ready to bake gifts.

To cook, preheat the oven to 180°C  (fan 170°C, gas mark 4). Grease and flour a baking sheet. Slice the dough into 10 even sized discs and bake for 15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.