Simple cookie dough recipe
This recipe from BBC Good Food is super-easy to make, can be adapted into your chosen shape with cookie cutters and makes the perfect base for your floral decorations.
What you’ll need:
- 250g Butter, softened
- 140g Caster sugar
- 1 Egg yolk
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 300g Plain flour
How to make them:
Mix 250g softened butter and 140g caster sugar in a large bowl with a wooden spoon, then add 1 egg yolk and 2 tsp vanilla extract and briefly beat to combine. Sift over 300g plain flour and stir until the mixture is well combined. Give everything a really good mix with your hands and press the dough together.
Which flowers to choose
Not all flowers are edible so don’t just pick any from your garden or florist. Choose blooms that have been specially packaged for culinary purposes from a specialist supplier. Pansies, violas and marigolds are ideal for cookies.
How to decorate your cookies with flowers
Now for the fun part – decorating your cookies. We were inspired by this blog post.
Mix a little meringue powder with water, according to the instructions on the meringue powder packet. Brush the surface of each cookie with the mixture using a pastry brush. Carefully position the flowers (stems removed) on the cookies, pressing as flat as possible. If using marigolds, the petals can first be removed and arranged individually. Next, brush a generous amount of the meringue mixture over the petals. Once dry, sprinkle sugar on the top.
TIP: Alternatively, you can use egg white instead of the meringue powder mixture. In this case, you will need to return the cookies to the oven for a further five minutes to set the egg white.
