Spring meadow biscuits recipe

Homemade biscuits always taste better than bought, and they're really easy to make, too. Present these pretty ones in a basket wrapped with some cellophane (or in a cardboard egg for Easter) and they'll make a lovely gift.

Ingredients

For this Easter recipe

you will need:

• 125g (4oz) butter, cubed
• 125g (4oz) golden caster sugar
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 175g (6oz) plain flour
• 1 large egg yolk

To decorate

:

• 250g pack ready-to-roll icing
• Pink and yellow paste food colouring
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• Flower decorations (see tip)
• Pink sugar sprinkles
• Wooden skewer
• Flower and butterfly cutters (see tip)
• Tiny piping nozzle

Method

1. Put the butter and sugar in a food processor with the vanilla. Whizz for a few seconds. Add the flour and egg yolk and whizz until it forms a ball. Turn out on to a floured surface and knead the dough lightly for a couple of mins until smooth. Wrap in cling film and chill for 20 mins.
2. Set the oven to gas mark 4 or 180°C. Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of baking parchment. Use the cutters to stamp out shapes, then lift away the dough around them.
3. Carefully lift the biscuits and paper on to a baking sheet and cook for 12-15 mins, until they’re firm and pale golden. Cool for 5 mins, then use a palette knife to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. (The biscuits will keep undecorated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.)
4. To decorate the biscuits: Divide the pack of icing into 3. Dip a wooden skewer into the pink paste food colouring and knead into 1 portion of the icing until evenly coloured. Repeat with the yellow food colouring.
5. Roll out the icing on baking parchment and stamp out flower and butterfly shapes, using the cutters. Brush the biscuits lightly with egg white and place the white, yellow and pink icing on top of the same-shaped biscuit. Also, brush the base of the flower decorations with egg white and secure in the centre of the flowers. Mark indentations on the butterflies, using the tip of the tiny piping nozzle, to create a pattern and add sugar sprinkles.