Lemon Almond Hearts

These delicious cookies are decorative but more importantly very scrumptious and instantly add a romantic touch to your selection of Christmas cookies.

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks
2/3 cup (125 g) superfine sugar
2 cups (250g) ground almonds
Finely grated zest of 1 organic unwaxed lemon

Confectioner's sugar
Egg, beaten, for the glaze

For decoration:
150 g confectioner's sugar
Water or lemon juice to mix
M&M's^TM or similar colorful chocolate candy

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a bowl combine egg yolks and sugar with an electric whisk for 1 minute until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in the ground almonds and lemon zest to make a firm dough. Generously sprinkle a sheet of non-stick baking parchment with confectioner's sugar and roll out the dough. Using a heart-shaped pastry cutter, stamp out as many shapes as you can (re-rolling the trimmings to make more cookies) and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking parchment.

Mark the outside edge of each heart with the prongs of a fork and brush with egg wash. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden-brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Mix the confectioner's sugar with enough water or lemon juice to create a thick icing. Ice the center of each heart and decorate with colorful chocolate candies (M&M's^TM) and leave to set.