It’s a good tip to use square wooden dowel runners to help maintain an even
thickness in the dough (see Top tips, page 32). Place the dowel alongside
the dough after the first few rolls and keep rolling until the pin hits the top
of the dowel.

Use a 7cm (2¾ in) round cutter to stamp out the cookies. Immediately
lift them onto the lined baking tray. Collect up the scraps and roll
again. Repeat the process with the remaining portion of dough.

The high ratio of butter keeps the dough tender enough to endure multiple
(up to three or four) re-rolls. The re-rolled cookies may bake with a little
doming, but all will be well when filled.

Before baking, prick three rows of marks in the centre of each cookie
with a fork, so they look like deep-set buttons. Bake for 20–30 minutes
until set (when you can easily lift one up) – they should be fully cooked
and dry looking, but not brown.* Remove from the oven and place the
trays on a wire rack to cool for 20–30 minutes before filling.

The cookies aren’t super sweet but the frosting will bring the saccharine!

While the cookies bake, juice the tangelos (don’t strain) to give you
around 120 g/ml (4½ oz) of juice. Reduce this in the microwave
(preferred method) or on the stovetop to give 30g/ml (1 oz).

See Reduce the juice (page 21).

Place the reduced juice into the bowl of a stand mixer and add the
remaining frosting filling ingredients. Beat with the paddle attachment
on speed 4 (below medium) for 8 minutes, until the frosting is fluffy,
ultra-creamy and pale pastel orange. It should hold its shape and not
be melty or slack.

If the frosting does slump, take the bowl and paddle off the mixer and chill
for 30 minutes. Return to the mixer and keep beating until cool and fluffy.

Lay half the cooled cookies, bottom side up, on a clean tea towel (dish
towel) and pipe (or spoon) a blob of frosting on each one. So the
filling doesn’t form a crust, quickly sandwich with the top cookie and
lightly press (with a little swirly wiggle) to bring the filling out to the
sides, just flush with the cookie. Chill for 10 minutes.

My top tip for piping is to put the nozzle very close and perpendicular
to the bottom cookie. When you squeeze the filling out, it will form a neat,
rounded blob. The blob should be about 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter and
3–4 teaspoons in volume.

* If you have browned the cookies, they are still fill-able and edible. They aren’t
the best cookie to turn into a cheesecake crumb so just call them Toasted
Tangelo Custard Creams. Chin up, baker!
Adaptrix
Other citrus
Any orange-coloured citrus can
be used in place of the tangelos …
mandarins, oranges or blood
oranges (which are my second
favourite flavour).

Passionfruit
My third favourite! Omit the zest,
and instead use 20 g (¾ oz) fresh
passionfruit pulp to beat with the
butter and icing sugar in the dough.

Omit the reduced juice and instead
add 30 g (1 oz) fresh pulp into the
frosting filling.

Custard-less is a melting moment
Replace the custard powder
in the dough with cornflour
(cornstarch). This version is great
with super-cooked-to-smoosh
unsweetened rhubarb whipped
into the frosting filling.