Recipe: Shortbread leaves with flowers

Makes about 44 biscuits

2 cups (300g) plain flour
30g cornflour
50g rice flour
250g unsalted butter, softened
150g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
Crystallised violets and rose petals*, to decorate

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Sift flours and 1/2 tsp salt in to a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time until mixture comes together.
2. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until 4- to 5mm-thick and cut into 6cm leaf shapes, or use a biscuit cutter of your choice. Place cut-outs on a double baking paper-lined tray. Using the back of a small knife, mark a line down the centre of each leaf. Press pieces of broken crystallised violets in to one half of each leaf and crystallised rose petals into the other half.
3. Bake biscuits for 12 minutes or until pale golden. Sprinkle hot biscuits with extra sugar and allow to cool on trays. Serve.

*Crystallised violets and rose petals are available from The Bay Tree and cake decorator supply shops.

 

Recipes: Sophia Young. Photography: Ben Dearnley. Styling: Amber Keller. Food Preparation: Lisa Featherby. Stylist’s assistant: Nick Banbury. Fashion styling: Nadene Duncan. Hair & make up: David Novak-Piper.