Now that Eaglemoss seem to have resolved the over-subscription issues they experienced when Dora's Little Cooks Collection was first released, we have received the next episodes of the magazine and some fab subscription freebies including a box-file for Lara to keep all of her copies in.
In episode 2 Lara received a butterfly-shaped biscuit cutter. The main recipe in the magazine is for cheesy biscuits which really appealed to me but this weekend we decided to make Lara's Grandpa some sweet biscuit using Dora's butterfly biscuit cutter and the original recipe for inspiration. After all, that is one of the great things about teaching children to cook, introduce them to one new ingredient or a new way of cooking and it opens up a whole world of imagination and cookery possibilities.
INGREDIENTS - Makes about 15 large biscuits
250g softened butter or margarine
300g self-raising flour
125g caster sugar
Icing sugar
A little water
Cake decorations of your choice
METHOD
In episode 2 Lara received a butterfly-shaped biscuit cutter. The main recipe in the magazine is for cheesy biscuits which really appealed to me but this weekend we decided to make Lara's Grandpa some sweet biscuit using Dora's butterfly biscuit cutter and the original recipe for inspiration. After all, that is one of the great things about teaching children to cook, introduce them to one new ingredient or a new way of cooking and it opens up a whole world of imagination and cookery possibilities.
INGREDIENTS - Makes about 15 large biscuits
250g softened butter or margarine
300g self-raising flour
125g caster sugar
Icing sugar
A little water
Cake decorations of your choice
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (for electric cookers... fan cookers need to be slightly lower or else the biscuits go brown before they are properly cooked)
- Beat the butter in a bowl until it is really soft - this can be hard work for a toddler so you may want to get it started for them
- Add in the sugar and beat really well and then slowly add in the flour
- Once the flour is all added it will begin to form a soft dough. The dough is REALLY soft but not sticky. It is hard to work with but kids love it!
- Grab a small ball of dough at any one time and roll it carefully on a floured surface until it is about 0.5 - 0.7cm thick
- Cut a butterfly shape and then carefully transfer it to a greased or lined baking tray using a fish slice or palette knife (for some reason Lara loved this bit)
- Cook in the oven for about 10-13 minutes until they have turned golden but not brown then remove and VERY carefully place on a cooling rack. The biscuits will still be very soft at this point but they harden as they cool
- Once the biscuits are cool, make up the icing using a small pudding bowl of icing - I won't dictate how much to use... it's really up to you how messy you want to get! We mixed ours with a few drops of red food colouring and some peppermint essence as well as a dessert spoon of water to make a thick icing
- Ice the biscuits and then sprinkle with decorations until your hearts content
