Butterfly Biscuits

Time for a little creativity, it can't always be all work and no play! 

Recently in Hobbycraft the sugar paste icing has been on offer and with so many pretty, Spring like colours I just couldn't resist. Having got it home however, I wasn't sure exactly what to do with it. I have been looking around for lots of ideas but almost had to summon up the courage (and the time) to actually give it a go. Well here was the end result:

It wasn't hard, trust me! 

I started by making the biscuit mixture:

Preheat the oven 160 degrees Celsius.

225g Butter softened (I pop it on defrost in the microwave for about 10-20 seconds)

225g Caster sugar

1 Large egg

1tsp Vanilla Extract

375g Plain Flour

• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (I use a hand held stick blender with the double beater attachment). 

• Add the egg, vanilla and a couple of teaspoons of the flour and mix well. Then add the rest of the flour until the mixture form a dough. 

• Split the mixture into two and roll between two sheets of greaseproof paper until it is about 4cm thick throughout. The greaseproof paper stops any dough sticking to the rolling pin and makes it easier to manoeuvre.

• Pop the dough into the fridge to chill for 1/2 hour. (The longer the dough goes into the fridge, the better the biscuits will hold their shape. I only put them in for 15 minutes so mine spread a little, but still taste great.).

This makes quite a lot of biscuit dough, I have frozen half of mine to use another day. It will last in the freezer for about 3 months. Half of the dough will make about 20 biscuits. 

• Once chilled cut out the cookies using which every shaped cutter you wish, although you need one which has the same shape slightly smaller to layer the icing. 

• Bake for about 10-15 minutes until golden around the edges.

•  Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

If you are very particular about how your cookies look you can use the original cutter to re cut them when first out of the oven and still soft. 

Now the biscuits are cooked you can decide which size cutter would work best for the icing so you get a small margin around the outside of the biscuit.

• Whilst still in the packet squish and squash the icing until soft and pliable.

• Unwrap and place onto a flat surface dusted with icing sugar. I prefer to do this on a granite slab. Roll out using a plastic or silicon rolling pin or use grease proof paper again. Make this about 2-3mm thick. Don't flip the icing over as it will take on the icing sugar which will change the colour and texture.

•  Cut out the shapes and lay on greaseproof paper to harden slightly. This makes it easier to work with.

• Use a butterfly cut and stamper to cut and stamp the butterflies. I then dusted them with edible glitter using a silicon brush and lay face down on the corner of a square baking tray placed upside down. This helps them to take a slightly curved shape. Leave to harden in this position.

• Once the icing has stiffened and the biscuits are cooled, brush water on to the back of the icing shape and stick it to the biscuit. Then brush the underside of the butterfly and stick that in place in the centre of the biscuit.

As time was getting on I made some biscuits with some butterfly indents on which were much quicker and still looked good:

Even if you don't have the time to do all the detailed icing the work, the biscuits are delicious by themselves, or dunked in a cup of tea. 

Happy Baking!