Ingredients
1 quantity of biscuit dough (see below)
330 g packet royal icing mix
liquid blue food colouring, to tint
white pearl sprinkles, to decorate (choose decorations of choice such as pearl balls, edible crystals)
string or ribbon, to decorate
Biscuit dough
250 g unsalted butter, chopped, at room temperature
⅔ cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups plain flour
¼ tsp baking powder
Method
- To make dough: beat butter, sugar and vanilla in a small bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Transfer to a large bowl. Add combined sifted flour and baking powder. Stir until well combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured bench. Bring together to form a soft dough. Divide in half. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until firm, before using.
- Roll out each portion of biscuit dough between two sheets of baking paper until ½ cm thick.
- Using a 7½ cm round cutter, cut out 20 shapes, re-rolling dough as necessary. Arrange 4cm apart on two large oven trays lined with baking paper. Using a skewer, make a small hole 1cm from the edge of each biscuit.
- Cook in a moderately slow oven (160C) for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden, swapping trays halfway through. Remove from oven. While biscuits are still warm, insert skewer again into holes to make them slightly larger. Stand biscuits on trays for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Place icing in a bowl. Following directions on packet, gradually stir in 40-50ml of water until a spreadable consistency. Tint with colouring.
- One at a time, spread icing evenly over one side of each biscuit. Decorate with sprinkles, pearls and sugar, as pictured. Stand at room temperature until set.
- Decorate by threading string or ribbon into holes in biscuits.
