Easter biscuits (V)

These biscuits are perfect to hide for an Easter hunt... and definitely super tasty to enjoy afterwards too!

Ingredients

• 300g Co-op plain white flour, plus extra for dusting
• 150g Fairtrade caster sugar
• 150g Co-op unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 large Co-op British free range egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 500g Fairtrade icing sugar
• Food colourings of your choice

Method

1. Put the flour and caster sugar in a bowl, add the butter and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
2. In a bowl, beat together the egg, vanilla extract and lemon zest
3. Stir into the flour mixture before briefly kneading the dough with your hands
4. Try not to overwork the dough as this will make for tough biscuits
5. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for at least 30 mins
6. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4
7. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll the dough out to a thickness of 5mm
8. Stamp out the biscuits using an egg-shaped cutter – you may need to re-roll the dough
9. Arrange on lined baking trays, ensuring you leave space around each
10. Bake for 12-15 mins, until just golden
11. Allow to cool for a few mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely
12. Mix together the icing sugar with 5 tbsp water, and transfer a third of the mixture to a piping bag
13. Divide the remaining icing mixture between two small bowls and add a few drops of different food colouring to each, plus an extra ½ tsp water
14. Mix until well combined, then transfer into piping bags
15. Using the slightly thicker white icing, pipe an outline around the edge of each cookie, adding details in the middle – dots, zigzags and wavy lines all work well
16. Leave to dry for 10 mins before flooding the gaps on the biscuits with the coloured icing - you can use a cocktail stick to tease it into the corners
17. Leave to dry for a least 1 hour before serving