diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index dad0915..fce10ec 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ Here's an example recipe, which could be saved to `_recipes/chocolate_cake.md`:
 ---
 name: Chocolate cake
 author: Jane Crocker
+difficulty: 2
 
 ingredients:
 - [1, egg, null]
@@ -47,6 +48,7 @@ time: 240
 ```
 - `name` (string) - The displayed name of the recipe. Does not appear in the URL.
 - `author` (string, optional) - The author of the recipe.
+- `difficulty` (float, optional) - The difficulty of the recipe on a scale of 1 to 5. Will be displayed as a star rating. Half stars (e.g. "2.5") are allowed.
 - `ingredients` (list) - Each entry in `ingredients` is an array consisting of up to four items:
 	- amount (number or array) - The amount of this item to add, e.g. `2` for 2 cups of flour.
 		- If this is `0`, the output will be e.g. "jalepeño chillis to taste" rather than "0 jalepeño chillis".
@@ -94,6 +96,8 @@ The entries in `parents` refer to the filenames of the parent recipes - `chocola
 If a subrecipe does not have at least one valid `parents` entry, it will not appear anywhere on the website.
 
 ## Licensing
+This software makes use of a subset of Font Awesome v4.7.0, which is licensed under the [SIL](https://scripts.sil.org/OFL_web).
+
 This software is licensed under the [Apache 2.0 license](https://choosealicense.com/licenses/apache-2.0/).
 
 Copyright 2020 Lynnesbian
diff --git a/_includes/difficulty_stars.html b/_includes/difficulty_stars.html
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6de745f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_includes/difficulty_stars.html
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+{%- if page.difficulty < 6 and page.difficulty > 0 -%}
+	{%- comment -%} note: these characters are invalid unicode. they will only render properly on the webpage using the bundled "stars" font. {%- endcomment -%}
+	{%- assign empty_star ="" -%}
+	{%- assign full_star = "" -%}
+	{%- assign half_star = "" -%}
+
+	{%- comment -%} build a string of empty stars {%- endcomment -%}
+	{%- assign difficulty = "" -%}
+	{%- for i in (1..5) -%}
+		{%- assign difficulty = difficulty | append: empty_star -%}
+	{%- endfor -%}
+	{%- comment -%} replace the first page.difficulty stars will filled stars {%- endcomment -%}
+	{%- assign page_difficulty_rounded = page.difficulty | floor -%}
+	{%- for i in (1..page_difficulty_rounded) -%}
+		{%- assign difficulty = difficulty | replace_first: empty_star, full_star -%}
+	{%- endfor -%}
+	{%- if page.difficulty != page_difficulty_rounded -%}
+		{%- comment -%} difficulty ends in .5 (or .1, or .9, or whatever) {%- endcomment -%}
+		{%- assign difficulty = difficulty | replace_first: empty_star, half_star -%}
+	{%- endif -%}
+	<span class='stars'>{{ difficulty }}</span>
+{%- endif -%}
diff --git a/_layouts/recipe.html b/_layouts/recipe.html
index dab63da..485530a 100644
--- a/_layouts/recipe.html
+++ b/_layouts/recipe.html
@@ -29,7 +29,8 @@ layout: default
 		{%- assign time = page.time %}
 	{%- endif -%}
 {%- endif -%}
-<p class='subtle'> {{ page.method.size }} steps - Estimated cooking time: {{ time | default: "Not provided" }} {% if page.author %} - By {{ page.author }} {% endif %}</p>
+
+<p class='subtle'>{% if page.difficulty %}Difficulty: {% include difficulty_stars.html %} - {% endif %}{{ page.method.size }} steps - Estimated cooking time: {{ time | default: "Not provided" }} {% if page.author %} - By {{ page.author }} {% endif %}</p>
 {%- if applicable_subrecipes %}
 	<h2> Subrecipes </h2>
 	{% for subrecipe in site.subrecipes -%}
diff --git a/assets/fonts/stars.woff b/assets/fonts/stars.woff
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c79c54a
Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/fonts/stars.woff differ
diff --git a/assets/fonts/stars.woff2 b/assets/fonts/stars.woff2
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..84bc224
Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/fonts/stars.woff2 differ
diff --git a/assets/style.css b/assets/style.css
index f0464c6..4d32097 100644
--- a/assets/style.css
+++ b/assets/style.css
@@ -46,6 +46,10 @@ h4 {
 	margin: 0.75em 0;
 }
 
+.stars {
+	font-family: 'stars';
+}
+
 .ingredients li.optional::before {
 	content: "(Optional) ";
 	font-style: italic;
@@ -169,3 +173,8 @@ footer, .subtle {
 	color: grey;
 	font-style: italic;
 }
+
+@font-face {
+	font-family: 'stars';
+	src: url("/assets/fonts/stars.woff") format("woff"), url("/assets/fonts/stars.woff2") format("woff2");
+}