Recipes

Follow these steps

• Using an electric whisk, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the vanilla paste and whisk again to combine.
• Mix together the flour and cornflour then add to the creamed mixture. Mix to form a crumbly dough then bring together with your hands. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 160degC / 140degC fan and line two baking sheets with baking paper. Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll out the biscuit dough to the thickness of a pound coin. Using a gingerbread man cutter, cut out as many shapes as you can, rerolling the scraps as you go.
• Arrange the shortbread shapes on the prepared trays, leaving enough space between each shape to allow for spread. Bake for 20-25 minutes until baked and golden in colour.
• Allow to cool on the trays for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the icing, place the icing sugar, egg white and lemon juice in a bowl. Beat together for 2-3 minutes to form a shiny icing. Add a drop of water if the icing seems dry, just enough to create a consistency suitable for piping.
• Set aside a tablespoon of the icing and colour it black using gel food colouring. Scoop the remaining white icing into a piping bag fitted with a small round piping nozzle. Pipe a skeleton onto each shortbread shape. Using a clean icing bag, use the black icing to add eyes, a nose & mouth.
• Leave to set, then store in an airtight container.
• Makes around 10 skeletons!