Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Name: Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Yield: 21
Cuisine: Australian
Ingredients: 125g salted butter, at room temperature; 2 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted; 1 lemon; 1/2 cup plain flour; 1/2 cup rice flour; 50g salted butter; 1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted; 1 tablespoon lemon juice

I created these lemon shortbread cookies by accident. I started thinking about classic Aussie melting moments – but I didn’t have any cornflour so substituted rice flour, which gave my cookies more of a shortbread texture. I still made the lemon buttercream filling, but instead of using it to sandwich 2 cookies together, I spread it (rather generously) on top of each one. You could enjoy these with a cup of tea or coffee at any time, but I prefer them as an after dinner treat with a good grappa, such as Marolo Grappa di Arneis. Store any leftover cookies (without topping) in an airtight container for up to a week, store the buttercream covered in the fridge and combine them just before serving. See the video below for another easy Aussie sweet treat.

Makes about 20

Ingredients

125g salted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted
1 lemon
½ cup plain flour
½ cup rice flour

Lemon Buttercream

50g salted butter
½ cup icing sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Place butter and icing sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, finely grate lemon zest over the top and beat together until fluffy.
Sift in combined plain flour and rice flour and mix to combine well.
Turn onto a clean, dry work surface and knead lightly to form a soft dough.
Gently pat and roll into a rectangle about 15 x 20cm.
Cut into 21 pieces and place onto a baking paper-lined baking tray with a little space between them.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until just starting to colour around the edges.
Meanwhile, make Lemon Buttercream: beat butter, icing sugar and lemon juice together until fluffy; refrigerate until needed.
Remove cookies from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
When ready to serve, spread Lemon Buttercream on top of them and enjoy.