Rainbow Flower Cookies
Line 2 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 (1/2 tsp) Vanilla Extract.
Sieve over the flour and Baking Powder 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.
Roll out the dough to a thickness no greater than 5mm (1/4inch). Using 5cm (2inch) wide flower 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.
Ten minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Oven, Gas Mark 4). Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until firm and very lightly golden round the edges. Leave to cool on the baking trays for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cookies are cool, they are ready 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 Vanilla Extract and the blended egg white.
Carefully combine the wet and dry ingredients together to make a soft, spreadable icing and beat until smooth and glossy.
Working on one flower at a time, spoon approx. 2 tbsp icing into a small piping bag fitted with a No. 2 size plain piping nozzle. Pipe a line approx. 1mm from the edge of one third of the cookies.
Next, spoon approx. 3.75ml (3/4 tsp) of the icing into the centre and gently spread it to fill the centre, tapping gently to make an even layer and release any air bubbles. Add a little more icing if necessary in order to achieve a smooth, well-covered surface.
Sprinkle with Hundreds and Thousands and place back on the wire rack whilst you ice the remaining cookies. .
The icing will be firm enough to serve after 1 hour. For a firmer set, leave the icing to dry for 4 hours – this icing will not dry out to a crisp but will become more solid the longer it is left to dry
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