Edible gifts: Christmassy shortbread

It's not too late to make some of these if you're looking for easy edible gifts ...

200 g butter
2 heaped tablespoons icing sugar
200 g flour
0.5 cups ground rice or cornflour
0.5 cups  pistachio nuts
0.5 cups dried cranberries

Cream butter and sugar, add other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Turn out onto floured board and knead well. Form the dough into a log and wrap in foil or baking paper, then refrigerate until firm. (You can keep the uncooked dough in the fridge or freezer for a while before cooking it.) Cut into slices with a sharp knife – each piece should be about 0.5 cm to 1 cm thick. Bake at 150 degrees C until a delicate brown.

Makes about two dozen. Store in an airtight container.