In case on the few summer days when we get a bit of rain(!) you need something to do inside, we’ve put together a how to for our Summer Biscuit Gift Set. The sun is always shining when there’s biscuits!
Plus we have a discount code for you if you’d like to order some biscuits – use FRIENDS13 for 10% off!
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies (makes about 30)
200g soft butter
200g caster sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
400g plain flour
Royal Icing
500g Icing Sugar
80ml egg white (about 2 eggs)
1 teaspoon glycerine (optional)
500g Sugarpaste (also known as fondant or ready to roll icing, available in most supermarkets)
Red, blue and green food colourings (we prefer gel colours)
Ice cream, strawberry and boat shape cookie cutters
Sugar sprinkles (for the ice cream)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla essence, then add egg and beat until well combined. Add flour and mix to form a dough. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour.
2. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface and cut shapes using the cookie cutters.
Place on a greased baking tray and bake for about 8-10 minutes, until they turn slightly golden at the edges. Transfer to a wire rack until completely cool.
3. Make the royal icing by combining the egg white and icing sugar (and glycerine if you have it) – the icing should form soft peaks. You can adjust the consistency by adding a little icing sugar if too runny, or water if too stiff.
4. Divide the icing into four bowls and colour one red, one green, and one blue by adding a few drops of food colouring and mixing well. Leave one bowl white, and add a few drops of water to make the white a bit more runny than the other colours for the sails and ice cream. Place in piping bags, and snip the tips off to leave a small hole.
5. Divide the sugar paste into thirds and colour one third blue, one third brown and one third red by adding a few drops of food colouring and kneading until an evenly coloured. If the sugarpaste become too wet add a little icing sugar. Roll out the sugarpaste on a flat surface dusted with icing sugar, and cut shapes using your cookie cutters.
6. Pipe a little white icing onto your biscuits one at a time (to act as glue) and place the sugarpaste on top. Using your royal icing pipe details onto the biscuits. Leave to dry overnight, and prepare to impress your friends and family!
They will keep in an airtight tin for up to a month.
P.S. We make a LOT of biscuits, and they don’t all turn out perfectly – far from it. So don’t worry if your biscuits have a rustic look. If it goes really wrong can always cheat and buy ours – we won’t tell if you don’t.
