Ingredients

• 250 grams butter, softened
• ¾ cup caster sugar
• few drops lemon oil or essence
• grated rind one large lemon
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup cornflour
• ½ cup finely chopped pistachio nuts

Lemon glaze

• juice of one large or two small lemons
• about ¾ icing sugar, sifted

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Grease one or two oven trays.
2. Beat the butter, sugar and lemon oil or essence and lemon rind together until the mixture is very light in both texture and colour. This is best done with electric beaters, lest you wear out your arm! Beat in the egg yolks well.
3. Sift the flour and cornflour together and work into the creamed mixture with the pistachio nuts. Turn out onto a lightly floured bench and bring together. Knead lightly. Roll out to 0.5cm thick.
4. Use biscuit cutters to cut into your preferred shapes, or alternatively, use a knife and cut into squares or rectangles. Place on the prepared trays.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until the shortbread have become a deep golden sandy colour. Transfer to a cake rack to cool.
6. To prepare the glaze, mix the lemon juice and icing sugar together to make a thin glaze. Spread over the shortbreads and set aside on a cake rack until the glaze has set. Kept in an airtight container, these shortbread will keep well for 2 weeks.