Hazelnut Shortbread Trees

• 250 g butter
• 2 teaspoons finely ground orange rind
• 12 cup icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons rice flour
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice
• 2 cups plain flour
• 14 cup hazelnut meal
• silver cachous
• 1 tablespoon icing sugar, extra
• 60 g butter
• 12 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
• 34 cup icing sugar
• 2 teaspoons brandy

1. Beat butter, rind and sifted icing sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Transfer to large bowl.
3. Stir in sifted flours and spice, add hazelnut meal in 2 batches.
4. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth.
5. roll dough between sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick, refrigerate 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 180/160C fan-forced.
7. Grease oven trays or line with baking paper.
8. Using 3cm, 5cm, 7cm star shaped cutters cut 24 of each size star from dough.
9. Place small stars about 1cm apart on an oven tray, place remaining stars about 2 cm apart on oven tray.
10. Bake small stars about 10 minutes, Bake larger stars about 15 minutes, Stand 5 minutes, cool on wire racks.
11. Meanwhile, make brandy butter cream.
12. Sandwich two of each size cookie with butter cream.
13. Assemble trees by joining three different size stars together with butter cream.
14. Decorate trees by joinin cachous to stars with a tiny dot of butter cream, Dust trees with extra icing sugar.
15. Brandy Butter Cream.
16. Beat butter, rind , sifted icing sugar and brandy in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.

butter, orange rind, icing sugar, rice flour, mixed spice, flour, hazelnut meal, cachous, icing sugar, butter, orange rind, icing sugar, brandy

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/hazelnut-shortbread-trees-272398 (may not work)