Guest Recipe: Chikumo's Christmas Biscuits

• Prep Time: 15 - 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 30 - 35 minutes

Serves: 10

Category: Biscuits & Cookies,Christmas

Ingredients

For the shortbread you will need
• 250g plain flour
• 75g caster sugar
• 175g soft unsalted butter

For the decoration you will need

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 4-6 tablespoons water
• 3 tubes of writing icing (black, orange & white)
• Blue food colouring
• 6 white marshmallows
• 100’s & 1000’s sprinkles
• Edible silver pearls
• Smarties/M&Ms

Equipment

• 68mm round biscuit cutter

Method

Shortbread Biscuits

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 365° / Gas Mark 4 (160°C for fan-assisted ovens).
2. Place the butter and the sugar into a bowl. 
3. Beat together with an electric whisk for 40 secs. Stop, scrape down the bowl and mix for a further 40 secs until light and fluffy.
4. Slowly fold in the flour until the mixture comes together and can be held without falling apart. 
5. Lightly flour your surface and roll out your mixture until it is approximately 1cm thick.
6. Cut using a 68mm round biscuit cutter.
7. Place on a baking tray and bake for 14-16 minutes or until the outside starts to turn golden. 

Snowman Decoration

1. Place the icing sugar in a bowl and mix with the water until a thick but slightly runny paste forms.
2. Place half the mixture into another bowl and place to the side.
3. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the white icing onto the biscuit allowing it to overflow on some sides.
4. Take each marshmallow and make small circles for eyes and slightly bigger circles for a mouth (using the black writing icing). For a nose, using the orange icing, draw a line across the middle to form a line.
5. Place the marshmallows onto each biscuit with two smarties/M&Ms and draw stick hands on each side of the marshmallow.

Christmas Tree Decoration

1. Using the left-over icing, add 2 drops of food colouring (use more for a deeper blue) and mix till all the icing is blue.
2. Dip each of the left-over biscuits into the blue icing allowing it to run for 5-10 seconds.
3. Using the white writing icing and starting at the top, draw in a zig-zag motion slowly making the lines bigger as each line goes out.
4. Top each tree with a silver pearl.
5. Leave half of the trees as they are and with the rest, sprinkle some 100s and 1000s.

What did you think of Chikumo's yummy Christmas Biscuits? If you liked this recipe, you'll find more amazing ideas on her food and lifestyle blog Diary of a Chik.