This easy shortbread stars recipe with lemon butter filling is a wonderful treat to serve over the holidays and around Christmas. These shortbread stars also make for a wonderful edible gift idea.
Prep 25 min (plus 30 min chill time)Cook 15 minServes 8Makes Approx 16 sandwiched biscuits
Ingredients
Method
Shortbread
1 ½ cups (225 g) plain flour
2/3 cup (120 g) rice flour
½ cup (110 g) caster sugar
225 g cold Western Star Chef’s Choice Unsalted Cultured Butter, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Lemon butter filling
120 g Western Star Chef’s Choice Unsalted Cultured Butter, softened
2 cups (320 g) pure icing sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Red and white icing
2 cups (320 g) pure icing sugar
2 tablespoons boiling water
4 drops red food colouring gel
White and silver cachous, to decorate
Shortbread
Preheat oven to 160°C (fan forced).
Put the flour, rice flour and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until it resembles sand.
Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface and knead gently until smooth. Shape into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until firm.
Roll out to 5mm thick and use 6.5 cm, 7.5 cm and 9 cm star-shaped cookie cutters to cut out stars. Place on large baking trays lined with baking paper. Cook for 12–15 minutes or until light brown. Set aside on trays to cool completely.
Lemon butter filling
Put the Western Star Butter, icing sugar, lemon rind and lemon juice in a large bowl. Use electric beaters to beat until light and fluffy.
Place filling in a piping bag and pipe small dots of the filling over half the biscuits (alternatively you can spread the lemon butter filling over half the biscuits). Carefully sandwich with the remaining biscuits.
Red and white icing
Place the icing sugar and boiling water in a bowl and mix well to combine. You may need to add a few drops more of boiling water if the icing is too stiff.
Divide icing between 2 bowls. Add the red food colouring gel to one bowl and mix to combine.
Place the red icing in a piping bag with a 1 mm nozzle or use a zip-lock bag (see tips). Pipe the red icing around the outside of some of the biscuits. Spoon the plain icing colour into the middle of these and decorate the points with cachous (see tip). Repeat with the white and red icing decorating as you like. Allow to set for 15 minutes.
