There’s no denying that these Easter cookies are fairly traditional, but it’s a recipe that is great for getting the kids involved. For a little variety, why not leave some cookies plain before piping your designs – and why not add a little food colouring to some of the icing?
Makes 28
For the cookies:
- 100g butter, softened
- 75g caster sugar
- 1 egg, separated
- 200g plain flour
- 1-2 tbsp milk
To decorate:
- 200g white ready-to-roll icing
- 50g icing sugar
- 1 tbsp water
1. Preheat the oven to 200C / Gas 6. Lightly grease 3 baking trays.
2. Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and cream together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk. Sift in the flour and mix well with enough milk to give a fairly soft dough.
3. Knead the mixture gently on a lightly floured surface and roll out to 5mm thick. Cut into your chosen cookie shapes, place on the prepared baking trays and bake for about 8 minutes.
4. Lightly beat the egg white. Remove the cookies from the oven, brush lightly with the egg white and return to the oven for another 4-5 minutes or until pale golden brown. Lift gently onto a wire rack to cool.
5. Roll out the icing and, using the cookie cutters, cut out shapes to match your cookies. Brush the back of the shapes with a little water and attach to the cookies.
6. Mix the icing sugar with enough water to form a smooth paste. Place into a piping bag with a writing nozzle and pipe your chosen designs onto the cookies.