Festive Shortbread Cookie Wreath
The extra festive note comes with the subtly citrusy icing: Divide your batch into portions so use red food colouring to bring on the merriment.
- 250 g flour
- 150 g butter cold
- 80 g icing sugar
- 50 g powdered hazelnuts
- 1 tbsp gingerbread spice
- Pinch salt
- 1 egg
Icing
- 1 egg white
- ½ lemon juiced
- 250 g icing sugar
- red food colouring
- sugar sprinkles
Add flour, butter, icing sugar, hazelnuts, gingerbread spice and salt in bowl of food processor and mix until sandy. Add egg and mix in spurts until dough forms a ball. Flour and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll out dough with rolling pin on floured work surface. Cut out a wreath that’s 20 cm in diameter and 5 cm wide (reserve scraps) and place it on one of the baking sheets. Make a small hole at top of wreath and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Gather dough scraps into ball and roll out. Cut out as many cookies as you can using different cookie cutters. Place cut-out cookies on baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on rack.
Icing
Lightly whisk egg white in saucepan with lemon juice. Add icing sugar little by little, whisking over low heat, until icing is fluid.
Take ⅓ of icing and add few drops of red food colouring. Keep ⅔ white. Decorate cookies as you’d like and arrange them around the wreath, using icing to secure.