Peppermint petticoat tails shortbread

A clever decoration technique for this classic tea time biscuit – use a doily to dust on a pretty lace pattern in icing sugar

  • Prep:20 mins
    Cook:25 mins
  • Serves 8
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 445
  • fat 26g
  • saturates 16g
  • carbs 48g
  • sugars 15g
  • fibre 1g
  • protein 3g
  • salt 0.8g

Ingredients

  • 250g butter, softened
  • 100g caster sugar
  • ½ tsp peppermint essence
  • 250g plain flour, plus a little extra for rolling
  • 100g cornflour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • icing sugar, for dusting

Method

  1. Put the butter, sugar and peppermint essence in a food processor and whizz until pale and creamy. Add the flour, cornflour and salt, and pulse until the mixture clumps together into small pieces. Tip onto a lightly floured work surface and bring the dough together as a ball, but don’t overwork it. Roll the dough to a 25cm circle, about 1cm thick. Trim around a large plate to give a really neat edge. Transfer to a large baking sheet. Use 2 fingers to crimp all the way around the edge of the dough then, using a fork, mark dotted lines to portion the shortbread into 8 wedges. Put the tray in the fridge and chill for at least 30 mins.

  2. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Cook the shortbread for 25 mins until golden and cooked through. Leave to cool completely on the tray. To decorate, place a lacy doily over the shortbread and dust with a generous layer of icing sugar. Pull the doily away to reveal the beautiful lacy pattern. Keep in a tin for up to 5 days.

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