Zesty lemon shortbread drizzled with sharp lemon icing – these lemon shortbread bunnies are a lovely contrast to all the chocolate this Easter.
I picture Easter, and images of lambs, chickens, and yellow daffodils come to mind, but as we are in Autumn in Australia, rather than Springtime, I am having to reconsider these. Complicating things further, the daffodil bulbs I planted in the garden a few weeks ago are now starting to send bright green shoots above the soil, which is not Autumn behaviour I expect. The more I think about it, the more confused I become. I’m not sure how much of it I can blame on being a mum to a toddler that is not so fond of sleeping right now.As well the clocks going back at the weekend – which does not help one bit! Back to the shortbread…
I consider lemon to be an Easter flavour, and one which does not seem out of place in an Australian Autumn either, so it seemed only right to bake some lemony biscuits.
This fragrant shortbread is made with some wholemeal flour, not only to add extra nutrients (white flour is more processed), but it also gives the shortbreads a slightly nutty taste. The lemon icing adds an extra touch of sharpness as well as using up the lemon.
I am not very good at icing biscuits, so a flick of the spoon over the biscuits to drizzle the icing over them rather than piping it on is what I opt for. It would look beautiful carefully iced on though! (You may need a little extra icing if you do this.)
What flavours do you associate with Easter?
Lemon Wholemeal Shortbread
Ingredients
55g/ ¼ c granulated sugar
125g/ ½ c plus 2tsp margarine
Zest 1 lemon
90g/ 2/3 c wholemeal plain flour
90g/ 2/3c white plain flour
Icing
140g icing sugar
Juice ½-1 lemon
Method
Oven 180˚C/350˚F
Line two baking sheets with baking paper.
Cream the butter and sugar (Beat vigorously with a spoon), together with the lemon zest until pale, then stir in the flours. Mix first with a spoon and then lightly with your hands until it comes together to a dough.
Roll the dough out between two sheets of baking paper, to a thickness of ½ cm/0.2”, then cut out your shapes. Gently reroll any scraps and repeat the process until all the dough is used up.
The last scraps of the shortbread dough may just have to be an odd shape, but that is a cooks perk!
Bake the shortbread on lined baking sheets for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden.
Leave on tin for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To decorate:
Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl then add the lemon juice a little at a time, beating to remove any lumps, until it is a drizzling consistency.
Drizzle the icing over the cooled lemon shortbread biscuits.
The iced biscuits will keep in an airtight tin for a couple of days. If you want them to last longer, store them un-iced then decorate before serving.
Lovely post, these bunny shortbread look so cute! I bought some Easter themed cookie cutters recently so this recipe interested me. Happy Easter! 🙂 xx
Helen | Helen’s Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle Blog
Happy Easter Helen! Thank goodness for cookie cutters 😉