Macadamia and Lemon Shortbread Biscuits

With Christmas fast approaching these shortbread biscuits will make excellent Christmas gifts and stocking fillers but more importantly, are super yummy – so beautifully buttery and crumbly.

Makes 15–16 58mm Biscuits

Ingredients

225g butter at fridge temperature
225g or 1 1/2 cups plain flour
120g or 2/3 cup cornflour or potato flour/starch
100g or 1/2 cup castor sugar
Pinch of salt
75g or 1/2 cup dry roasted macadamias, chopped
1 tsp grated lemon zest
Extra plain flour to dust working surface

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C (150°C fan forced). Line two baking trays with non stick baking paper or non stick baking sheets.

2. Chop the butter into pieces and return to the fridge while you measure the dry ingredients*.

3. In a large mixing bowl add the flour, cornflour/potato flour, castor sugar and salt and combine until well mixed.

4. Add the chopped butter to the dry ingredients.

5. Using clean hands, rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.

6. Add the chopped macadamias and lemon zest and mix through with a knife.

7. Turn the mixture out on to a flat floured work surface. Press mixture together to form a dough.

8. Knead the dough until smooth. If the dough becomes too wet because of the ambient temperature, place it in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up. Re-flour the work surface and form the dough into a flat disc 1cm thick.

9. Using a 58mm round cutter, cut biscuits from the disc and place on prepared baking trays**.

10. Re-form the disc with the off cuts and repeat step 7 until all the dough has been used. You should get 15 to 16x58mm (2 1/4″) shortbread biscuits.

11. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until biscuits begin to brown, swapping the trays over halfway through. Remove trays from oven and cool biscuits on trays before serving.