Strawberry and white chocolate shortbread recipe

Rich and buttery with a hint of strawberry and little chunks of white chocolate, these little shortbread biscuits are irresistible! Why not give them stacked in bundles and tied with pretty ribbons to give as a Valentine's Day gift or just serve them with coffee to your friends? To make different variations, use dark chocolate and ginger chunks or add chopped glace cherries and pistachio nuts. You could also dip them in melted chocolate or drizzle with chocolate for even more indulgence - allow them to set on baking parchment before serving and store them in an airtight tin.

Ingredients

• 280g plain flour
• 200g cold butter, diced
• 100g icing sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp freeze-dried strawberry pieces
• 50g white chocolate, finely chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180 C Fan/Gas Mark 6.
2. Place the flour and butter in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until it makes fine crumbs. Stir in the icing sugar then add the vanilla, egg yolks, strawberry pieces and white chocolate. Bring the mixture together with your hands until it all binds to a dough. Chill for 30 mins.
3. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface and using a cutter, cut into heart shapes.
4. Place the biscuits on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 mins until just turning golden brown at the edges. Allow biscuits to cool for 5 mins then remove from the tray and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Store in a cake tin for up to 2 weeks.