Ingredients:

200g plain flour

100g rice flour or semolina

200g room temperature butter

100g caster sugar

60g shelled pistachios, finely crushed

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190C/170 fan/375F/Gas Mark 5.

Sift the two flours together in a large bowl. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy. Put the two mixtures together and work with your fingertips to make a smooth dough. Briefly work in the chopped pistachios.

Place on a work surface and pat or roll out to 5mm thick. A sheet of cling film top and bottom or better yet, a silicone mat, help stop the dough sticking.

Use a cookie cutter or a glass to cut the size you like, then place on an ungreased baking sheet and prick all over – you can just do it randomly with a fork.

Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 10 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3 and bake for another 8-10 minutes. You may need to do them in batches.

Keep an eye on them, they should be pale in colour, not brown. Mine were a bit overdone. Sorry, I haven’t had time to re-cook and re-shoot this week, I’ve been too busy at work, watching rabbits cook over an open fire and visiting a new gin distillery. It’s a varied life, being a food and features writer.

Anyway, back to the shortbreads: let them cool on the baking sheet for five minutes then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. They’ll keep well for a week in an airtight tin, if they last that long.