Ingredients
- 225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 225g caster sugar
- Grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
- 1 egg, beaten
- ½ tsp vanilla or lemon extract
- Pinch of salt
- 450g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
Icing
- 500g royal icing sugar
- 75-100ml cold water
- Food colouring pastes
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4
- Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and light.
- Add the lemon zest, egg, vanilla or lemon extract and salt and mix well.
- Gradually add the 450g of flour and mix until combined and smooth.
- Using your hands, bring the dough together into a ball. Flatten into a disc, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 2 hours or until firm
- Lightly dust the work surface with the remaining flour. Roll the dough out to a thickness of around 3-4 mm, use Easter themed shaped cookie cutters to stamp out the biscuits. Re-roll the dough off-cuts and stamp more shapes.
- Place on the Baking Tray and Bake for about 12 minutes on the middle shelf of the preheated oven until lightly golden and firm to the touch.
- Leave the cookies to cool on the baking tray for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack until cold.
- Decide how many colours you’d like to use, and divide the icing into the appropriate amount of bowls. Tint each with food colouring pastes.
- Spoon 1-2 tbsp icing into an icing bag with a small nozzle and pipe an outline around the edge of each cookie.
- Leave to dry for 10 minutes.
- Add a drop more water to the remaining icing so that it is slightly runnier than the outline icing.
- Using a teaspoon, carefully and evenly ice inside the outline.
- Leave to dry before piping on any detail.