Marigold and orange shortbread

The orange colour of marigolds is a familiar sight in many gardens and I thought they would work perfectly teamed with orange to make a shortbread biscuit. The shortbread would be delicious served with a cup of tea in the afternoon or indeed eaten when you fancy something sweet.

Ingredients

• 200 g plain flour

• 50 g caster sugar

• 125 g butter

• zest of 1 orange

• 1 tsp vanilla essence

• handful marigold petals

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 175C

2. Rub the butter into the flour and sugar mixture until a dough is formed.

3. Add the orange zest, vanilla and marigold petals and mix though.

4. Roll out the dough and cut into biscuit shapes using a cutter.

5. Place on a baking tray and bake for fifteen minutes until golden

The marigold adds an interesting colour to the biscuit as well as a delicate taste that works well with the orange. I think the strands of petals look pretty and add an interesting texture. If you didn’t know flowers had been used to make the biscuits you would not notice.