Nadiya Hussain’s Lemon Basil Shortbread
Buttery and crisp, Nadiya Hussain's lemon basil shortbread biscuits are sandwiched with tart raspberry jam and white chocolate.
From the book
Nadiya’s Fast Flavours
Clever, flavour-focussed recipes from Nadiya Hussain
From midweek meals to celebration centrepieces
Including plenty of Nadiya's signature bakes
Introduction
These buttery shortbread biscuits are just joyous. They are flavoured with fresh basil and filled with jam and white chocolate. If you can resist eating them all by yourself (which is not easy!), they make great presents, tumbled into a jar and tied with a ribbon.
Ingredients
| 250g | unsalted butter, softened |
| 110g | caster sugar, plus extra for dusting |
| 15 | fresh basil leaves, finely chopped |
| 1 | lemon, zest only |
| 1 tsp | vanilla bean paste |
| 400g | plain flour, plus extra for dusting |
| For sandwiching: | |
|---|---|
| 4 tbsp | raspberry jam |
| 50g | white chocolate, grated |
Method
Mix the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add the chopped basil, lemon zest and vanilla and mix to incorporate well. Add the flour and mix till you form a dough. Be sure not to knead, simply bring together.
Flatten into a round, wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for at least half an hour. Have four baking trays lined with some baking paper ready.
Take out the dough, dust the surface with flour and roll the dough out into a sheet about 3mm thin. Using a 6cm round cutter, cut out rounds and place on the trays with a gap of 1cm between them. Keep cutting, bringing together the excess and re-rolling till you have 48 biscuits, or have used up all the dough.
Prick the surface of each biscuit twice using a fork and pop the trays into the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ fan 160°C.
Take the trays out of the fridge and generously sprinkle each one with sugar. Bake in the oven for 10–12 minutes, till lightly golden. Take out and leave to cool completely on the tray before removing.
Mix the jam and the white chocolate. Dollop some jam on the underside of a biscuit and top with another biscuit. Do this to all the biscuits. Once you have made all your biscuits, enjoy and store in an airtight container if there are any left, if being the operative word!
