Cheddar & hazelnut shortbread
Hazelnuts and cheese are perfect together – rustle up these savoury shortbread biscuits with just five ingredients. They make a great mid-afternoon snack
Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt in a stand mixer to soft peaks, pouring in the sugar while still beating until you have a thick, glossy meringue.
Mix the lemon zest with the ground hazelnuts. Carefully fold the hazelnut mixture into the meringue without losing too much volume.
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Lay the rice paper circles on several baking sheets, if using, or line the sheets with baking parchment. Spoon the meringue mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain nozzle. Place the nozzle in the middle of a rice paper circle and, applying a steady pressure, pipe a blob until only a 1-2mm border on the paper is still visible. Slowly pull the piping bag upwards and remove it. Put a whole hazelnut on the centre. Repeat with the remaining macaroons.
Bake the macaroons for 10 minutes. Don’t let them get too brown or they’ll dry out. Let the macaroons cool down completely, then store them in a biscuit tin.