white-choc chunky shortbread

250g butter
1 cup pure icing sugar
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup rice flour
180g white chocolate

1. preheat oven to 160° or 140° (fan). Lightly grease a 12cm x 35cm pan.
2. Place all ingredients, except chocolate, in a food processor. Process until mixture is combind and forms a ball around blade. Turn onto a lightly floured surface, scatter over chocolate and lightly kneaded to form a dough.
3. Press dough into prepared pan. Score into 9 fingrs and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until lightly golden. Cool completely in pan. Cut into pieces to serve.

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Shortbread wreath biscuits:

125g Butter, softened
2/3 cup pure icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg
2 cups plain flour
500g pkt prepared white icing
green food colouring
red mini M&M's

1. Preheat oven to 180° or 160° (fan) and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
2. Using electric beaters, beat butter and icing sugar until light and creamy. Add vanilla essence and egg, and beat until combined.
3. Mix in flour with a spoon until evenly combined, then gather dough into a ball. Turn onto a sheet of baking paper and roll out to about 7mm thick. Use an 8.5cm round shaped cutter to cut out biscuits, and place of prepraed trays. Cut 3.5cm rounds from teh centre of each biscuit and add centres to dough scraps. Gently reroll dough and cut more biscuits.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden, swapping trays halfway through cooking. Cool on trays for 5 minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Knead icing until pliable, then roll out roughly. Drop about 30 drops of green food colouring on the icing and knead until evenly incorporated. Lightly dust the work surface with icing sugar and roll out cicing to about 2mm thick. Use a leaf-shaped cutter to cut out leaves.
6. Arrange leaves over the biscuits so each one looks like a wreath. Press M&M's on the leaves. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow icing to harden.

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Courtesy of Coles Christmas magazine 2010