Orange & cardamom shortbread biscuits

Split open the cardamom pods and crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar. Using electric beaters, cream the sugar and butter in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the orange zest, crushed cardamom seeds and salt. Sift in the flour and use a wooden spoon or spatula to combine.

Bring the dough together with your hands (it will be a little crumbly) and place on a large sheet of baking parchment. Cover with another layer of parchment and roll out the dough, between the sheets, to a thickness of about 1.5cm. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 170˚C, gas mark 3. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out further to a thickness of about 0.3cm. Remove the top layer of parchment and place on a large baking tray. Stamp out biscuits using a 6cm cutter and carefully transfer to the lined baking tray. (Re-roll any scraps of dough to make more biscuits; you may need to bake them in batches.) Sprinkle with the extra golden caster sugar and bake for 14-15 minutes, until light-golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.