Lemon Stars Food

LEMON STAR BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/ gas 4/fan 160C and grease 2 large baking sheets. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 5mm/¼in and cut out star biscuits using a 10cm cutter. Re-roll the trimmings make more biscuits.
• With a skewer, make a small hole 1cm/½in from a point on each star - this is for hanging the biscuits. Bake for 18-20 minutes until turning pale golden around the edges, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. (If the holes have filled in during baking, re-make them with the skewer while the biscuits are still hot.)
• Put the egg white and lemon juice in a bowl and beat in the icing sugar to make a smooth icing. Using a small palette knife, spread it generously over the biscuits to about 5mm/¼in from the edges.
• Mix the fruits, then scatter them in the middle of the icing with some silver balls. Leave for at least 2 hours to set. Thread with ribbon just before you hang them and eat within 24 hours. They will keep fresh for up to 1 week stored in an airtight tin.

LEMON STARS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extract. Stir in sour cream and zest. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide dough into 3 balls; cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or until easy to handle., Remove 1 portion of dough from the refrigerator at a time. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-in. star cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. , Bake at 375° for 6-8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool., For frosting, in a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, extract, food coloring if desired and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Frost cookies; sprinkle with colored sugar if desired.

ZIMTSTERNE (CINNAMON STARS)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and line a large baking tray (or 2 smaller) with baking parchment. Place the egg whites in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to whisk until foamy. Add the lemon juice and whisk again until they hold soft peaks.
• Slowly mix in the icing sugar and continue whisking until the mixture is stiff. Remove about a quarter of the meringue mixture and set aside to use for the topping. Put the almonds, cinnamon, ginger and lemon zest in the bowl with the meringue and mix to form a stiff, slightly sticky dough.
• To form the stars, put the dough on a piece of baking parchment lightly dusted with icing sugar and dust the top of the dough with sugar, too. Place a second sheet of parchment on top of the dough and roll out to about 0.5cm thick (the dough is a little sticky, so the parchment makes it easier to roll). Peel off the top sheet of parchment and use a 5cm star-shaped cutter to cut out as many cookies as possible. Place them on your prepared baking tray.
• Using the reserved meringue mixture, spread a small amount onto the top of each cookie, covering the entire top - you may need to add a few drops of water to make the meringue a little easier to spread. Put the tray in the oven and bake for 12-15 mins until meringue is set but not browned. Allow to cool fully before storing in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.