ICED BISCUITS

Prep time: 25 mins, plus an hour to decorate Baking time: 12 mins

325g plain flour

200g butter

125g caster sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

2 egg yolks

TO DECORATE

250g ready to roll icing

Paste food colourings of your choice

1 tbsp warmed, sieved, apricot jam

250g royal icing sugar

YOU WILL NEED Assorted shaped biscuit cutters of your choice; baking trays; piping bag with fine writing nozzle

1. Preheat oven to gas mark 4, 180oC (160oC in a fan oven).

2. Place flour in a bowl and add butter, rub together until mixture looks like breadcrumbs then stir in the sugar, lemon zest and egg yolks, and bring the dough together with your hands to make a ball. Roll out on a work surface lightly dusted with flour to a thickness of about 5mm. Cut out shapes using biscuit cutters and place on the baking trays. Bake for 8-12 mins depending on size – they’re ready when turning golden brown around the edges. Leave on the tray for 5 mins then cool on a wire rack.

3. To decorate, colour the icing as desired, then roll out thinly and use the same cutters to cut out the icing shapes. Brush the biscuits very thinly with apricot jam and place the icing on top.

4. Mix the royal icing as directed on the pack and place in a piping bag with a fine, plain writing nozzle. Pipe decorations on the biscuits as desired.

5. To make little icing roses, roll thin strips of icing about 5mm wide and roll up tightly to make little rose buds. Press on to the biscuits to secure.

TO STORE: These will keep for one week in a cake tin.