Party Cookie Recipes - Decorated Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup/75 g all purpose/plain flour

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1/8 tsp salt

• 2 tbsp butter, softened

• 1/4 cup/50 g firmly packed light brown sugar

• 1 tbsp honey

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

• 1/4 cup/90 g apricot preserves or jam

• 7 oz/200 g ready­to-roll fondant icing

• few drops various food colorings

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Method:

1. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

2. Stir in the brown sugar. Add the honey and enough egg to form a stiff dough. Press the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

3. Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C/gas 5. Butter two cookie sheets. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 1/4 inch (5 mm). 

4. Use various shaped cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. Gather the dough scraps, re-roll, and continue cutting out cookies until all the dough is used.

5. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the prepared cookie sheets, placing them 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart.

6. Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until pale gold. Transfer to racks to cool. Spread the tops of the cookies with the preserves.

7. Roll out the fondant on a surface lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar to a thickness of 1/4 inch (5 mm). Cut out the same shapes to top the cookies with the fondant.

8. Place the matching shape of icing on top of each cookie. Use a paint brush to decorate the tops of the cookies with the food colorings.