This festive shortbread is something of a Christmas tradition in our house, though I’ll also admit I’m partial to making them year round. What I particularly like about this recipe is the mixture comes together really well, making it ideal for kids to work with as it doesn’t crumble and fall apart. You can add as little or as much of the spices below as you like. The amounts below will make about 8 biscuits so I tend to double the recipe up. We decorated the biscuits using the handy Dr.Oetker icing tubes (you can usually pick them up in the supermarket or IKEA this time of year) which are ideal for kids as they are small and easy to handle (great for practising fine motor skills!). Alternatively, you can use a piping bag or regular icing with sweets or jellies to decorate!
Ingredients
150g plain flour
50g light brown sugar
115g butter (diced)
1 egg yolk
4 tsp cinnamon (extra or less depending on your love of cinnamon)
1tsp ground cloves
1tsp ground ginger
To decorate: Dr.Oetker Icing Tubes (which I pick up in IKEA or the supermarket).
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C and have two baking trays ready, brush with oil or grease with butter.
- Put flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon into a food processor and mix until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk and form into a dough ball.
- Wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for 1 hour (or alternatively freezer for 10 minutes).
- Knead the dough and roll out to 1cm thick. Cut out shapes using a cutter of your choice.
- Place on the baking tray and cook for 9-12 minutes or until golden brown.
