This recipe makes wonderfully delicious buttery biscuits which keep their shape for decorating. As with all dough it freezes well so you can spring into baking action if it’s a rainy day. We let the children’s creative spirit run wild when it comes to the icing!!!

Makes 50-60 biscuits

Equipment

Biscuit cutters
Two baking trays
Rolling pin

Ingredients

• 175 grams soft unsalted butter
• 200 grams caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 400 grams plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the icing

• 300 grams icing sugar (sieved)
• food colouring

Method

1. Cream the butter and sugar together for about five minutes until pale, then beat in the eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and eggs, and mix together gently.
2. Roll the mixture out adding more flour if needed, but do so sparingly as too much will make the dough tough.
3. Halve the dough, form into fat discs, wrap each half in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
4. When you are ready to make the biscuits, preheat the oven to 180ºC/160°C Fan/gas mark 4/350ºF.
5. Sprinkle your surface with flour, place a disc of dough on it (not taking out the other half until you’ve finished with the first) and sprinkle a little more flour on top of that. Then roll it out to a thickness of about ½ cm / ¼ inch.
6. Cut into shapes, dipping the cutter into flour as you go, and place the biscuits a little apart on the baking sheets.
7. Bake for 8–12 minutes, by which time they will be lightly golden around the edges.
8. Cool on a rack and continue with the rest of the dough.
9. When they’re all fully cooled, you can get on with the icing. Put a couple of tablespoons of water into a large bowl, add the sieved icing sugar and mix together, adding more water as you need to form a thick paste. Colour as desired: and let the fun begin!

Adapted from a recipe by Nigella Lawson