Christmas Trees, Angels and Stars

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 150degC. Cream together the butter, sugar and salt until pale and fluffy. Sift the flour and beat into the creamed ingredients to make a rough dough. Divide the dough into four pieces and and flatten each one into a patty shape about 4cm thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 -2 hours or until firm. Remove from fridge one at a time and roll each piece out between two sheets of baking paper to about 5mm (1/4inch) thickness.  Use Christmas cookie cutters (Christmas trees, angels, bells, stars, gingerbread men) to cut out shapes. Transfer shapes carefully, using a palette knife, to trays lined with baking paper. Repeat with remaining dough.  Bake cookies for 20 minutes, then turn down heat to 100degC (200degF) and bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and transfer to cake racks to cool. Decorate when cold. Fit a piping bag with a nozzle with a fine point and half fill the bag with white frosting.  Pipe decorative patterns over cookies and decorate with cachous and coloured sugars. For the White Frosting: Sift the icing sugar. Whisk the egg whites until stiff in a mixing bowl and gradually add the icing sugar, lemon juice and glycerine (if using).  Keep beating until thick. Cover tightly with plastic wrap until ready to use, or put into a plastic container with tight fitting lid (the frosting dries out quickly when exposed to air).