Shortbread stars with lemon butter filling

Prep: 25 min (plus 30 min chill time)

Cook: 15 min

Makes: Approx 16 sandwiched biscuits

Serves: 8

Difficulty:

Cuisine:

Saved:

Australian

138

Recipe by: Western Star

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.

Credit: Whisk Media Group

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Shortbread stars with lemon butter filling

Method:

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.

Tips & Hints:

For a less festive look, omit the Red and White Icing and swap out the lemon butter filling for Nutella or jam.
Make your own piping bag by adding lemon butting filling and/or icing to a zip lock bag, seal then twist and cut one corner. Start small then increase size of hole until desired size.
Cachous are decorative sugar pearls available in the baking isle.