SUBSCRIPTION FLOWERS RECIPES

Steps:

• To make the biscuits, mix together the butter and sugar in a bowl with a wooden spoon until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla, and continue to beat by hand until fully incorporated. You will need to scrape the edges of the bowl down for this part.
• Tip the flour into the mixture and fold together until fully combined, then shape into a ball. Roll the dough out onto a floured sheet of baking parchment to a depth of around 5mm. Transfer the sheet to a baking tray and put in the fridge for 10 mins to firm up.
• Remove from the fridge and press out your biscuits using a 6cm flower-shaped cutter (you could use any shaped cutters to make these). You will need 16 base biscuits and 16 top biscuits, with small holes or flowers of around 3cm cut out of them.
• Recombine your dough off-cuts and reroll them on a floured surface. Try to be fairly quick doing this, as the mixture will warm up and get sticky. If it does, just pop it back in the fridge to firm up again.
• Once the shapes are cut out, arrange on 2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment and leave to cool in the fridge for 10 mins.
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Bake the biscuits for 7 mins, then take them out of the oven and sprinkle the tops with caster sugar. Return all the biscuits to the oven and cook for a further 5 mins. Take out and allow to cool fully on a wire rack. When cool, spread jam on the bottom biscuit and top with another biscuit, sandwiching them together. Will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Weigh the flour and sugar in a bowl. Add the butter and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles wet sand, with no buttery lumps. Beat the egg with the vanilla, then add to the bowl. Mix briefly with a cutlery knife to combine, then use your hands to knead the dough together – try not to overwork the dough, or the biscuits will be tough. Shape into a disc, then wrap in cling film and chill for at least 15 mins. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
• Dust a work surface with flour. Halve the dough, then roll one half out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use an egg-shaped cookie cutter (ours was 10cm long; you could also make a cardboard template to cut around) to stamp out as many cookies as you can, then transfer them to one of the baking sheets, leaving a little space between the biscuits. Repeat with the other half of the dough. If you want to make jammy biscuits, use a small circular cutter to stamp holes in half of the biscuits (where the yolk would be). If you intend to make both iced and jammy biscuits, only stamp holes in a quarter of the biscuits.
• Bake for 12-15 mins, until the biscuits are pale gold. Cool on the sheets for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully. Once cool, decorate to your liking (see next steps). Will keep in an airtight container for up to five days.
• To decorate the biscuits with icing, add enough water to the icing sugar to make a thick icing – it should hold its shape without spreading when piped. Transfer about a third of the icing to a piping bag fitted with a very small round nozzle (or just snip a tiny opening at the tip). Pipe an outline around the biscuits, then draw patterns in the middle – lines, spots and zigzags work well. Leave to dry for 10 mins. Divide the remaining icing between as many colours as you’d like to use, then use the gels to dye them. Loosen each icing with a few drops of water, then transfer them to piping bags. Use the coloured icing to fill the empty spaces on the biscuits. You may need to use a cocktail stick to tease it into the corners. Once covered, leave to dry for a few hours.
• To make the jammy middle biscuits, dust the biscuits with holes in the middle with a heavy coating of icing sugar. Spread the jam or curd generously over the whole biscuits, then sandwich the dusted biscuits on top of them.