SHORTBREAD WREATH

MAKES 30 BISCUITS PREP 20 MINS + CHILLING COOK 20 MINS

✦ 2 cups plain flour ✦ ¹⁄ 3 cup pure icing sugar ✦ 2 tbsp rice flour ✦ 250g unsalted butter, chilled, chopped ✦ silver and white cachous, to decorate ROYAL ICING ✦ 1½ cups pure icing sugar, approximately ✦ 1 egg white ✦ ½ tsp lemon juice

1 Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 3 oven trays with baking paper.

2 Sift flour, icing sugar and rice flour together into a large bowl.

3 Rub in butter, using fingertips, until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Press mixture together to form a firm dough.

4 Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently. Divide dough in half. Chill 30 mins.

5 Roll half the dough out between 2 sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Cut into discs, using a 6cm fluted round cutter. Cut out holes from middle using a 3cm cutter. Re-roll dough and continue cutting. Arrange on trays. Repeat with remaining dough, using a 4.5cm fluted cutter and 2cm round cutter.

6 Bake 15-20 mins until lightly golden. Cool on trays 5 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

7 ROYAL ICING Sift icing sugar through a very fine sieve. Lightly beat egg white in a small bowl with a wooden spoon. Add icing sugar, a heaped tablespoon at a time. When icing reaches desired consistency, add juice. Beat well. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle.

8 Pipe icing over a few biscuits at a time, then arrange cachous on icing. Set aside at room temperature for icing to harden.

9 Thread ribbon through large then small biscuits to create a wreath shape.