Day Of The Dead or Día de Muertos Sugar Skull Cookies!
Makes about 15 cookies
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott/Not Quite Nigella
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Decorating time: 30 minutes
- 85g/3ozs. butter, softened
- 140g/4.9ozs. caster or superfine sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 180g-200g/6.3-7ozs. plain all purpose flour
- 400g/14.1ozs. white fondant
- Cornflour/cornstarch for rolling
- Icing colouring pens in red, black, white, yellow, green, purple and blue
- Small sugar flowers
- Skull cookie cutter
Step 1 - Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy and light. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. On the lowest speed mix in the cinnamon and flour. Form into two balls and place on a sheet of cling film. Flatten down the balls slightly and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or overnight.
Step 2 - If refrigerated overnight, take the dough out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you want to roll it. Line two baking trays with parchment. Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment and cut out skull shapes. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
Step 3 - Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Bake the skulls for 8-10 minutes rotating the trays halfway. Allow to cool completely.
Step 4 - Sprinkle some cornflour/cornstarch on a non stick board. Cut out white fondant skulls using the cookie cutter. These ones (by the brand Fred) also had a guide for the patterns but I don't think the actual cutters were sharp edged enough. Adhere these to the cookie with a little water on a paintbrush.
Step 5 - Draw patterns with the icing pens!