Valentine's *Love bug biscuits*
- 175g plain flour
- 100g chilled butter, cubed
- 85g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk
To decorate
- 500g ready-to-roll fondant icing
- red food colouring
- 100g icing sugar
- black food colouring
- edible pearly ball decorations
You will also need
- 8cm heart-shaped cutter
- 6cm heart-shaped cutter
-
Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 12 mins
Plus chilling
Easy
Makes 20
- Put the flour, butter, sugar, vanilla
and egg yolk in a food processor.
Dribble in 1 tbsp water and blitz until
the mixture comes together to form
a dough. Tip onto a work surface and knead briefly to bring together, then
wrap in cling film and chill for 20 mins.
- Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
Roll out the dough to the thickness of a £1
coin. Use your 8cm heart cutter to stamp
out heart shapes – you’ll have to re-roll
the trimmings to make 20 biscuits. Put the
hearts on 2 baking trays and bake for
12 mins, swapping the trays over halfway
through, until pale golden and crisp.
Leave to cool on a wire rack.
- Dye your lump of icing with red food
colouring and wrap in cling film until
ready to roll. Mix the icing sugar with
enough water to make a thick icing.
Dye the icing with the black food
colouring. Pour the icing into a piping
bag with a small plain nozzle attached
(or use a small sandwich bag and snip off
the corner). Roll out the red icing to 3mm
thick and use your 6cm
cutter to stamp out
hearts. Stick onto the
biscuits with a little
of the black icing.
- Use the black icing to
give your love bug a head at the pointy end, draw a line down
the centre to give it wings, then add
spots. Stick 2 pearly balls onto each
love bug’s head, then leave to set on
a wire rack. You can pack your love
bugs into boxes or cellophane bags
to give as gifts for Valentine’s Day.