Baking the Cookies:

Step 1

Preheat oven to 160°C/gas mark 3.

Step 2

Place dry ingredients into mixing bowl. Add butter and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Step 3

Make a hollow in the centre and pour in a beaten egg, golden syrup and vanilla extract. Mix together well until you have a ball of dough.

Step 4

Place the dough in a plastic bag and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Step 5

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 5 mm thick and stamp out the biscuits using chosen cutter. Lightly knead and re-roll the trimmings together again to use up all the dough.

Step 6

Place the biscuits on baking sheets and bake for about 12 minutes until lightly coloured but not crisp.

Step 7

Leave on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Once completely cool, brush clear piping gel or jam on the biscuits.

Decorating the biscuits:

Step 8

Knead your chosen colour of icing on a clean surface until pliable. Grey and Baby Pink icing has been used to cover these cookies.

Step 9

A textured mat or rolling pin can be used to create 3D patterns on the icing when rolled.

Step 10

Use a heart shaped cutter (or another chosen shape) to first cut out the Grey icing. Place this on top of the cookie and smooth over gently.

Step 11

Cut the same shape from the Baby Pink icing, but then use a large circle cutter to cut away both edges, creating a curved effect. Place this over the centre of the Grey icing using a little cooled, boiled water to stick it in place.

Step 12

Prepare a royal icing bag with a No 2 piping tube. Mix your royal icing in the pot and then add enough to your bag to pipe your patterns. Don’t overfill your bag.

Step 13

If you have used a textured mat or pin on the Baby Pink icing then you could pipe over the pattern with royal icing. If the icing surface is smooth, choose your own design to pipe.

Step 14

To create any letters for the decoration, knead Flower and Modelling Paste until pliable then use a stencil or mould to shape the letters. Leave these to firm up before attaching to the cookie with a little water or royal icing. There are a range of Renshaw Flower and Modelling Paste colours that you could use, or you could add gel colour to the white paste to make your own shade.