INGREDIENTS

• 125g unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1/2 cup caster sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

• 1 free-range egg

• 1 3/4 cups plain flour

• Pinch salt 

• 1 tbsp lemon zest

LEMON ICING

• 3 cups icing sugar mixture 

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 2-3 tbsp full cream milk

• Natural red food colouring

• Natural yellow food colouring

METHOD

Beat butter, sugar and vanilla bean paste together until smooth. Add egg and mix well. Add flour, salt and lemon zest and mix into a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until smooth. Place dough between 2 sheets of baking paper. Use rolling pin to roll dough to 0.5cm thick. Place in the refrigerator to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 160*C.

Using a 3cm cookie cutter, cut shapes into chilled dough. Bake for 12-14 minutes until cook through and pastry is still blonde. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.

Mix together icing sugar and lemon juice. Add milk a little at a time until mixture is a thick, honey-like consistency. Carefully add a very small amount of red and yellow colouring (I use a toothpick) to reach desired colour. Transfer to piping bag or snapback back. Cut a small hole at the tip of the bag. Decorate cookies by piping an outline onto each as if to ‘colour-in.’ Note: Icing will spread slightly as it sets. Allow icing to set before storing cookies in an airtight container.