How cute is this gorgeous idea of combining a simple biscuit recipe with a Mother's Day card? Such a fun idea, and the perfect gift for any mum or granny. Get handy with a piping bag and treat her to a pretty card and lots of yummy biscuits for tea time too! Do make sure you read the recipe through a couple of times before starting, especially the icing part. It sounds complicated, but follow the instructions to the letter and you'll be fine!
Mother's Day Biscuits
Makes about 40 - freeze half for another day
Ingredients
110g unsalted butter, softened
75g Tate & Lyle Fairtrade Golden Caster Sugar
1 large egg yolk
200g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
1 lemon, finely grated rind
1½ tbsp milk
For the icing – enough for about 20 biscuits:
500g Tate & Lyle Fairtrade Royal Icing Sugar
75ml water
violet, mint green & rose paste food colours
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan180°, 400°F, Gas 6. Lightly grease 2 baking trays.
2. Cream the butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg yolk, then sift in the flour, add the lemon rind and mix well.
4. Add the milk a little at a time to make a fairly soft dough.
5. Knead the mixture on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a thickness of 5mm (¼”).
6. Use a small flower-shaped biscuit cutter about 4.5-5cm (1¾-2”) in diameter to cut out around 40 biscuits.
7. Place on the baking trays, spaced apart and bake for 7-9 minutes until golden, swapping the trays round halfway through.
8. Remove the biscuits to a wire rack to cool as quickly as you can.
9. To make the icing, put the water in a bowl, sift over the icing sugar and mix with a wooden spoon until thick, smooth and the consistency of toothpaste.
10. You will need about one-third of the icing for piping and the rest for covering the biscuits. Divide the icing between 3 small bowls and colour with your chosen colours, using a toothpick to add a tiny amount, then mix well to achieve the desired shade.
11. Add a few drops of water at a time to one of the bowls, stirring until the mixture is smooth and just pourable, a little thicker than double cream.
12. The two bowls of icing for piping should be thick enough to hold their shape. Check by dragging a flat-bladed knife through the surface of the icing and count to 10. If the icing surface becomes smooth in anywhere between 5-10 seconds it’s ready. If not, the icing is too thick, so add a splash of water. More sifted icing sugar can be added if it becomes too runny. Divide this icing between 2 piping bags. Cover any unused icing with cling film placed directly on the surface.
13. Snip a tiny piece off the tip of the piping bags with a pair of scissors. Pipe an outline border with your chosen colour by holding the icing bag 1cm above the biscuit, lifting the bag away from the biscuit so that the icing falls onto the surface. This makes it easier to control the piping. Let the icing dry for 10 minutes.
14. Next, fill in the middle of the biscuits with the flooding icing using a teaspoon and a zig-zag motion. Gently shake the biscuit to help settle the icing. Pop any air bubbles with a pin or toothpick right away otherwise it will pop on its own and leave a hole. Wait for 30 minutes or so until the icing has firmed up, then decorate the middle of the flower biscuit using a contrasting colour.
15. Place the decorated biscuits on a baking tray and dry out in the oven 140°C/Fan120°, 275°F, Gas 1 for about 15 minutes, slightly longer if you are making larger biscuits. Cool on a wire rack.
16. To attach the flower biscuit to the card, pipe a little icing over the outline of the back of the biscuit and lightly place it on the card to ‘glue’ it in position. Leave to dry flat for a few hours.
Et voila!
Mother's Day Biscuits
Makes about 40 - freeze half for another day
Ingredients
110g unsalted butter, softened
75g Tate & Lyle Fairtrade Golden Caster Sugar
1 large egg yolk
200g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
1 lemon, finely grated rind
1½ tbsp milk
For the icing – enough for about 20 biscuits:
500g Tate & Lyle Fairtrade Royal Icing Sugar
75ml water
violet, mint green & rose paste food colours
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan180°, 400°F, Gas 6. Lightly grease 2 baking trays.
2. Cream the butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg yolk, then sift in the flour, add the lemon rind and mix well.
4. Add the milk a little at a time to make a fairly soft dough.
5. Knead the mixture on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a thickness of 5mm (¼”).
6. Use a small flower-shaped biscuit cutter about 4.5-5cm (1¾-2”) in diameter to cut out around 40 biscuits.
7. Place on the baking trays, spaced apart and bake for 7-9 minutes until golden, swapping the trays round halfway through.
8. Remove the biscuits to a wire rack to cool as quickly as you can.
9. To make the icing, put the water in a bowl, sift over the icing sugar and mix with a wooden spoon until thick, smooth and the consistency of toothpaste.
10. You will need about one-third of the icing for piping and the rest for covering the biscuits. Divide the icing between 3 small bowls and colour with your chosen colours, using a toothpick to add a tiny amount, then mix well to achieve the desired shade.
11. Add a few drops of water at a time to one of the bowls, stirring until the mixture is smooth and just pourable, a little thicker than double cream.
12. The two bowls of icing for piping should be thick enough to hold their shape. Check by dragging a flat-bladed knife through the surface of the icing and count to 10. If the icing surface becomes smooth in anywhere between 5-10 seconds it’s ready. If not, the icing is too thick, so add a splash of water. More sifted icing sugar can be added if it becomes too runny. Divide this icing between 2 piping bags. Cover any unused icing with cling film placed directly on the surface.
13. Snip a tiny piece off the tip of the piping bags with a pair of scissors. Pipe an outline border with your chosen colour by holding the icing bag 1cm above the biscuit, lifting the bag away from the biscuit so that the icing falls onto the surface. This makes it easier to control the piping. Let the icing dry for 10 minutes.
14. Next, fill in the middle of the biscuits with the flooding icing using a teaspoon and a zig-zag motion. Gently shake the biscuit to help settle the icing. Pop any air bubbles with a pin or toothpick right away otherwise it will pop on its own and leave a hole. Wait for 30 minutes or so until the icing has firmed up, then decorate the middle of the flower biscuit using a contrasting colour.
15. Place the decorated biscuits on a baking tray and dry out in the oven 140°C/Fan120°, 275°F, Gas 1 for about 15 minutes, slightly longer if you are making larger biscuits. Cool on a wire rack.
16. To attach the flower biscuit to the card, pipe a little icing over the outline of the back of the biscuit and lightly place it on the card to ‘glue’ it in position. Leave to dry flat for a few hours.
Et voila!
Recipe c/o Tate & Lyle
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