Biscuits

(makes 18)

130g very soft butter
1/2 cup sifted icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup cornflour
pinch salt
zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
extra icing sugar for dusting

Put butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Beat until pale and creamy. Don’t rush this step.
Sift together flour, cornflour and salt.
With beaters running, add the dry ingredients in three lots.
Add the lemon zest and beat until fully combined.Turn mixture out onto a lightly floured board.
Form into a ball and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Halve the dough and roll out the first portion on a lightly floured surface, or between sheets of baking paper, until about 5mm thick.
Cut with 58mm cookie cutter.
Cut a small circle or shape out of every second biscuit if desired. This will give you a product as pictured.
Place biscuits on baking sheets lined with baking paper.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 180C and cool on a wire rack.
Repeat process with second portion of dough.
Re-roll any scraps and cut again.
Sandwich biscuits together with lemon curd or icing.
Dust with icing sugar.

To make lemon icing: Combine 50g of softened butter with 1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar and 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest. Beat together with a few drops of boiling water to make a spreading consistency.

100 g Butter
1/2 c Castor Sugar
1 Egg white, beaten
3/4 flour
1/2 tsp Vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5. Grease a baking tray. Cream butter and caster sugar. Add egg white, a little at a time and continue to cream till all of it is used up. Add flour and mix well. Add vanilla essence and mix it in well.
Transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe roundels of two centimetre diameter onto the greased baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven for fifteen minutes or till light golden on the top. Transfer onto a wire rack to cool.

113 g Butter (unsalted, room temperature)
½ cup (120 ml) Condensed Milk
160 g Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 tablespoon Cornflour
¼ teaspoon Salt

In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cornflour – set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and condensed milk.
Next, add the flour mixture followed by the vanilla extract. Combine well. Cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven at 190 C / 375 F.
Take about a tablespoon amount of dough and roll it into a ball.
Place on a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Icing:
30g butter, 2 tsp golden syrup, melted together. Beat in 113 g icing sugar and 1 tsp ground ginger.

185 g flour
65 g cornflour
1/2 teaspoon salt
225 g butter
115 g sugar

Sift flour, salt and cornflour together twice. Rub in butter with the hands, then work in the sugar, continually kneading and working until the dough is fine and smooth. Press out 1/4 in. thick, cut into shapes, crimp edges with finger. Lift carefully on to tray. If preferred press dough into pie-plate. May decorate with “hundreds and thousands” and chopped nuts. Bake slow oven, not over 350°F, from 1/2 to 3/4 hour. May be flavoured with a dash of nutmeg and a little grated orange rind.

250g butter
160g icing sugar
1 tsp almond essence
150g white flour
200g cornflour
120g chocolate for dipping

Method: Cut butter into cubes then soften thoroughly. This is an important step.
Place butter in beating bowl then add icing sugar and essence. wBeat for at least 7-10 minutes. The mixture should nearly double in volume.
Combine cornflour and flour by tossing lightly with a fork. At this point change the beating attachment on your cake mixer to a dough hook. Slowly add the flour while the mixer runs on medium-low.
Remove dough from bowl, wrap in baking paper and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Set oven at 150C and line cookie trays with baking paper.
Divide dough into four portions. This will make it easier to handle.
Roll each portion and cut into shapes about 0.5cm thick then place on prepared trays.
Bake for 30 minutes then place on rack to cool.
Break chocolate into pieces and place in a bowl. Sit bowl over a pan of simmering water until chocolate has melted. Dip one end of each piece of shortbread in chocolate then place on greaseproof paper to set.
Store biscuits in an airtight container.

Crescent shaped almond shortbread biscuits dusted with icing sugar.

125g unsalted butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 tspn vanilla
1 cup plain flour
3/4 cup finely ground almonds
Icing sugar, sifted, for sprinkling

1. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy, stir in flour and almonds. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth, refrigerate 30 minutes.
2. Divide mixture into 20 pieces, shape pieces into crescents. Place onto lightly geased baking trays.
3. Bake in a moderately slow oven 160C for 15 minutes or until crescents are a pale straw colour. Loosen, sprinkle with icing sugar, cool on trays.

125g butter, softened
1/2 cup pure icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1⁄4 cups plain flour
2 Tbsp cornflour
Extra flour, for kneading

Method
Preheat oven to 160°C. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Put butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Sift flours over butter mixture. Stir until well combined and a soft dough forms. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
Roll out dough between 2 sheets of baking paper to 5mm thick. Using a 5cm round biscuit cutter, cut rounds from dough. Press remaining dough together, re-roll and cut out, to make a total of 24 rounds. Transfer to prepared tray, 2cm apart.
Use a chopstick to make 2 or 4 small holes in centre of each biscuit to make ‘buttons’. You can also use a 4cm round cutter to mark a circle around each button 5mm in from edge, taking care not to cut too deeply into biscuits.
Bake for 15 minutes or until firm to touch. Cool completely on tray. Serve or stack biscuits and thread ribbon through holes to give as gifts.

1 can condensed milk
125g unsalted butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 free-range egg
½ tsp vanilla essence
½ tsp baking powder
2 cups plain flour
200g caster sugar
100g egg white
300g dark chocolate buttons
200ml cream

Method
Ahead of time, place the can of condensed milk into a small pot and cover with hot water. Bring to the boil and continue to boil for 2-3 hours topping up the water as required to keep it well covered. (If the pot is allowed to boil dry the can, might explode). After three hours, remove from heat and allow to cool. Store in the fridge in the can until ready to use.

Biscuit
Preheat oven to 200degC. Beat the butter and caster sugar until very light and fluffy.
Add the egg and mix in well before adding the vanilla, baking powder and flour.
Mix until just combined and roll into a soft dough. Cover with plastic cling wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Unwrap and roll out pastry on a lightly floured bench top until the pastry is 2-3mm thick.
Use a 6cm round cutter to cut pastry discs out.
Place pastry rounds onto a baking paper-lined oven tray and bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden (any offcuts of pastry can be reformed and rolled out to make more discs).
Remove pastry from oven and allow to cool on a cake cooling rack. Spoon a teaspoon of the condensed milk caramel into the centre of each biscuit.

Marshmallow
Place the sugar with three-quarters of a cup of water into a small pot with the second amount of caster sugar and boil rapidly until the water has evaporated and the boiling sugar begins to form thick bubbles without colour.
Remove from heat and in a mixing machine, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. With the machine still running, slowly pour the boiling sugar onto the egg whites.
Continue to whisk whites until the outside of the bowl is cool to touch. Place meringue into a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe it to cover the caramel.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pot of boiling water.
Warm the cream slightly in the microwave until it reaches blood temperature. Stir into the cream until glossy and fully incorporated.
Spoon the ganache over the meringue and place mallow puffs in the fridge for 15 minutes to set the chocolate. Serve with enthusiasm and a cup of strong tea.

250 g softened butter
1 cup caster sugar
6 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
30ml grappa
pinch salt
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 1/2 cups of self raising flour- sifted
strawberry and apricot jam

1. Preheat the oven to
180 deg C.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Slowly add the egg yolks, mixing well.

3. Add the vanilla, grappa,
salt and lemon zest and
mix well. Add the flour and
mix to a soft dough.

4. Take teaspoons of mixture and gently roll them into balls. Place them on baking parchment, gently flattening them with your hands. Push a hole into the middle of each with the tip of your finger.

5. Place small amount of jam in the centre of each biscuit and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden.

These can be flavoured with vanilla essence instead of the lemon if you prefer.

Ingredients
250g butter, softened
50g icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp grated lemon rind
230g plain flour
2 tbsp cornflour

Lemon filling
60g butter, softened
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons rind
150g icing sugar, sifted

Grease baking trays or line them with baking paper.
Cream the butter with the icing sugar and lemon rind until light and fluffy.
Sift together the flour and cornflour, add to the butter mixture and mix until a soft dough is formed. Pinch off pieces of dough and roll into small balls each the size of a walnut. Place on the prepared baking trays about 5 cm apart. Press each one down slightly with the heel of your hand, and then, using a fork dipped each time in cold water, mark biscuits lightly to decorate.
Bake 160°C for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Carefully remove from trays onto wire racks to cool.

For the lemon filling, beat the butter with the lemon juice and rind until pale and creamy. Add the icing sugar and continue to beat until well combined.
Sandwich the cooled biscuits together with the lemon filling. Store in an airtight container.