Lemon stars

Fill up the biscuit tin for the Christmas holidays with these gorgeous lemon star biscuits with a lemon curd filling. They make a lovely mid-morning treat

Prep:20 mins
Cook:15 mins
plus 1 hr chilling

More effort

Nutrition per serving

kcal 158
fat 10g
saturates 4g
carbs 13g
sugars 9g
fibre 0g
protein 3g
salt 0.1g

Ingredients

120g softened butter
120g caster sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
150g ground almonds
icing sugar, to decorate
1 lemon, zested and juiced
90g caster sugar
1 egg
60g unsalted butter, chopped
¼ tsp ground turmeric
star-shaped biscuit cutters (approx. 5cm and a small one for the centre)

Method

Put all the curd ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 5 mins. To check if it’s ready, dip a wooden spoon in and blow on it gently. If a wave-like pattern forms, remove from the heat and sieve into a bowl. It will thicken more as it cools. Tip into a sterilised jar and leave to cool completely.
Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Mix in the egg yolks and the vanilla extract, then add the flour, almonds and a pinch of salt. Work everything into a smooth dough with your hands, then wrap and put in the fridge for 1 hr.
Heat the oven to 170C/150C fan/ gas 3. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to a thickness of 4mm. Press out stars using the larger cutter, then make a hole in the middle of half of the biscuits with the smaller star cutter. Re-roll the excess, making sure you don’t overwork the pastry, and stamp out more biscuits. Put the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment, and bake for 10 mins until golden. Leave to cool on the baking sheet.
Spread the lemon curd on the biscuits without a hole, and put a biscuit with a hole on top of each one. Dust the biscuits with icing sugar. Will keep in an airtight container for up to three days.Recipe adapted from Let it Snow by Agnes Prus (£7.99, Hardie Grant). Photographs © Frauke Antholz.