Makes 40 butterflies
Ingredients:
125g (4 1/2oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4 1/2oz) caster sugar
1 large egg yolk
3.75ml (3/4tsp) Dr. Oetker Almond Extract
200g (7oz) plain flour
7.5ml (1 1/2tp) Dr. Oetker Baking Powder
50g (2oz) ground almonds
1 sachet Dr. Oetker Egg White Powder
300g (10oz) icing sugar
Dr. Oetker Natural Red Food Colouring
Dr. Oetker Soft Shimmer Pearls to decorate
Method:
1. Line 3 large baking trays with baking parchment. Put the butter and caster sugar in a bowl and whisk until pale and creamy. Whisk in the egg yolk and 2.5ml (1/2tsp) almond extract.
2. Sieve over the flour and baking powder, add the ground almonds and carefully mix together to make a mixture that resembles a crumble topping. Using your hands, bring the mixture together to form a firm dough. Turn on to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and pliable.
3. Roll out the dough to a thickness no greater than 1/2cm (1/4inch). Using a 7cm (2 3/4inch) wide butterfly shaped cutter stamp out approx. 40 cookies, re-rolling the dough as necessary. Arrange on the prepared baking trays, prick lightly with a fork and chill for 30 minutes.
5. Ten minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven, 350°F, Gas 4). Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until firm and lightly golden round the edges. Leave to cool on the baking trays for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To ice, make up the egg white powder with 50ml (10 tsp) warm water as directed on the packet. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the remaining almond extract and the blended egg white.
7. Carefully combine the wet and dry ingredients together to make a soft, spreadable icing – if it is too stiff add a few drops of water, or if too dry, add some more sifted icing sugar, 15ml (1 tbsp) at a time. Beat until smooth and glossy.
8. Put about 30ml (2 tbsp) of the icing in a small bowl and add a little food colouring to make a subtle pink shade.
9. Spoon a further 30ml (2 tbsp) of the white icing into a small piping bag fitted with a No: 2 size plain piping nozzle. Pipe a line approx. 1mm from the edge of all of the cookies, marking out the wings and body.
10. Working on one butterfly at a time, spoon approx. 2.5ml (1/2tsp) of the white icing into the centre of each butterfly wing and gently spread it to fill the centre. Flood the centre of the biscuit with a little pink icing to make the body.
11. Decorate the wings with shimmer pearls and place back on the wire rack whilst you ice the remaining cookies.
