Almond butterfly cookies

Name: Almond butterfly cookies
Total time: 10 min
Yield: Makes 40
Ingredients: 125g (4 1/2oz) unsalted butter, softened 125g (4 1/2oz) caster sugar 1 large egg yolk and 2 egg whites ¾ tsp almond extract 200g (7oz) plain flour 1 ½ tsp baking powder 50g (2oz) ground almonds 300g (10oz) icing sugar Natural red food colouring Soft shimmer pearls to decorate

Cook: 10 mins

125g (4 1/2oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4 1/2oz) caster sugar
1 large egg yolk and 2 egg whites
¾ tsp almond extract
200g (7oz) plain flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
50g (2oz) ground almonds
300g (10oz) icing sugar
Natural red food colouring
Soft shimmer pearls to decorate

Grease and line 3 large baking trays. Whisk the butter and caster sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Whisk in the egg yolk and ½ tsp almond extract.

Sieve in the flour and baking powder, add the ground almonds and mix together until the mixture resembles a crumble. Using your hands, bring the mixture together to form a firm dough. On a lightly floured surface knead the dough until smooth and pliable.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of ½ cm. Using a 7cm wide butterfly shaped cutter stamp out cookies. Arrange on the baking trays, prick the cookies lightly with a fork and chill for 30 minutes.

Ten minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until firm and lightly golden. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, adding the remaining almond extract and the egg whites. Mix until combined.

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 sifted icing sugar, 1 tbsp at a time. Beat until smooth and glossy.

Put about 2 tbsp of the icing in a small bowl and add a little red food colouring to make a pale pink shade.

Spoon a further 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.

Working on one butterfly at a time, spoon ½ tsp 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.

To finish, decorate the wings with shimmer pearls.

This recipe is brought to you by Dr. Oetker Baking Range

Serves
Makes 40

Cooking Time
10 minutes

Main ingredients
Flour, Sugar

Recipe Type
Party Food, Cakes & Baking, Kids Food, Cookies & Biscuits

Special Info
Pregnant Mums