These are ideal for a giving away as a Christmas gift. They taste great and look wonderful.

Ingredients

• 175 grams unsalted butter
• ½ cup caster sugar
• grated rind of 1 orange
• 2 eggs
• 1½ cups finely chopped dried apricots
• 1¾ cups flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp ground cardamom (or use ginger)

Butter Icing

• 150 grams softened butter
• 2 cups icing sugar

Method

1. Cream the unsalted butter and caster sugar and orange rind until light.
2. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and cardamom together and fold into the creamed mixture with the dried apricots.
4. Divide mixture evenly between 48 mini paper patty cases. Alternatively cook in 24 well-greased muffin tins.
5. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 16-20 minutes until cooked. They will not brown in this short cooking time. Cool on a wire rack before icing.

Butter Icing

1. Beat the butter or icing until pale in colour and very smooth. Divide the mixture into 1/4 and 3/4.
2. To the smaller amount (1/4) add sufficient food colouring to colour to your liking and mix well. Decorate as wished, writing the words Merry Christmas.