BISCUITS WITH ICING RECIPES

Steps:

• Put the flour, butter, 85g of the icing sugar, the vanilla and egg yolks in a food processor and pulse in bursts until combined (alternatively, rub together the butter and flour with your fingertips and mix in the sugar, vanilla and egg yolks). Add ½ tbsp water if the mix feels a little dry. Tip the rough mixture onto a work surface and briefly knead until the dough has come together. Wrap and chill for 30 mins.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll the dough out to around 3mm thick. Cut 24 rounds from the dough with a 7cm cutter. Bring the remaining scraps of pastry together and reroll to make more biscuits. Line up the discs of dough on the baking sheets, then bake for 10-12 mins or until lightly golden brown around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
• Mix the remaining icing sugar with 2-3 tsp of water to make a very thick icing. Spoon or pipe the icing over the top of half of the biscuits, leaving a border around the edge of each one. Top with a small piece of glacé cherry in the centre, then leave to set for 30 mins. Spread the jam over the un-iced biscuits and sandwich together with the iced halves. Will keep for two days in an airtight tin.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Lightly grease two baking trays lined with baking paper.
• Measure the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk. Sieve in the flour and spices and add enough milk to make a fairly soft dough. Bring together, using your hands, to make a soft dough.
• Halve the mixture and set half to one side.
• For the traditional currant biscuits, add the currants to half of the mixture and knead lightly on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to a thickness of about 5mm/¼in. Cut into rounds using a circular cutter. Place on the prepared baking trays. Sprinkle with caster sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Keep a careful eye on the biscuits – it doesn’t matter if you open the oven door to check. Sprinkle with more caster sugar and lift onto a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.
• For the iced biscuits, knead the remaining half of the biscuit dough lightly on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to a thickness of 5mm/¼in. Cut out Easter biscuits using an assortment of shaped cutters, such as bunnies, Easter eggs, chicks or spring flowers.
• Lightly grease two baking trays lined with baking paper.
• Place the biscuit shapes on the prepared baking trays and bake in the preheated oven for 10–15 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift onto a wire rack to cool.
• To make the icing, pass one teaspoon of lemon juice through a fine sieve, to remove any pips or bits. Mix the icing sugar with the lemon juice and then add about two tablespoons of cold water, adding it little by little until you have a relatively stiff but smooth icing. Add a splash more sieved lemon juice if necessary.
• Divide the icing into separate bowls and mix in food colourings of your choice into the separate bowls of icing, until you achieve the desired shade.
• Spoon a little icing into a piping bag and pipe your decorations onto the biscuits. For a smooth finish, you can pipe the outline of your design in the firmer icing, then slacken it down a bit by mixing in a little more water, giving the icing more of a runny consistency, and use this to fill in the designs.