Shortbread cookies are quick and easy to make. Place your room temparature butter in a stand mixer then add castor sugar and beat on medium speed then add in lemon rind. Normally this recipe will take around ten minutes in a normal mixer if you have to lift the lid up, scrape the sides down.

With the stand mixer on low speed, add plain flour just slowly until its all incorporated. Once the dough has started to form, place it on your work surface and lightly knead it just to get the shape. Roll it to about a centimetre in thickness then cut through with a cookie cutter and line on a baking sheet. Plac them in teh fridge to firm up for about 20 minutes then into the ovenat 150 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

You can also make lemon icing while waiting for them to finish baking by adding lemon juice to icing sugar and a little water. Pour the icing into a piping bag and start to drizzle over the cookies once they are out of the oven and cooled.

Ingredients;

  • 250g butter softened
  • ½ cup (110g) caster sugar
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
  • 2 ¼ cups (335g) plain flour

Icing;

  • 1 cup (160g) icing sugar, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon milk or water

Instructions;

  1. Preheat oven to 150°C fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
  2. Assemble mixer using the scraper. Add butter, caster sugar and lemon rind in mixer bowl.
  3. Slowly turn the mixer to light mixing setting, beat until butter, sugar and rind start to combine.
  4. Gradually increase to beat setting. Beat the mixture for about 5 minutes or until butter is very pale in colour.
  5. Reduce speed to light mixing setting and gradually add flour.
  6. Once all flour is added increase speed slightly to mix thoroughly for 30 seconds.
  7. Lightly knead the dough on a flat surface. Tip: The buttery texture of the mixture should not need a floured surface but if very sticky on your work surface then lightly flour the surface.
  8. Using a lightly floured rolling pin roll the mixture out to a 1cm thickness.
  9. Using a 5cm round pastry cutter cut rounds of shortbread and place onto prepared trays.
  10. Reshape shortbread mixture to get as many rounds as possible.
  11. Refrigerate shortbread rounds for 15 minutes.
  12. Bake rounds for about 25-30 minutes or until firm. Allow cooling on trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Once cool drizzle with icing.

To make the icing;

  1. Combine icing sugar, lemon juice and milk or water in a small bowl.
  2. If the mixture is still thick add another ¼ – ½ teaspoon milk or water.
  3. Mix well to combine. Spoon mixture into a zip lock bag.
  4. Cut the edge of one corner of the bag, to make a small opening, gently squeeze icing and drizzle over shortbread.
  5. Set shortbread aside until icing has set.