Ingredients

300g Coop plain white flour, plus extra for dusting
150g Fairtrade caster sugar
150g local unsalted butter, cubed
1 large 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

Tips

Leave to dry for a least 1 hour before serving