Well, it is all starting to get exciting isn’t it! This week on The Great British Bake Off it was biscuit week and the contestants were asked to make 24 identical iced biscuits. There was variation on technique and an interesting selection of flavour choices. The judges favourite were Tom’s chai frappacino biscuits in the shape of coffee cups.
I decided to have a go at making iced gems as my contribution this week. I used to love these little biscuits when I was a child, they were sweet and colourful and small enough to be the perfect accompaniment to a dollies tea party.
I love tiny food, I am not sure why but it just tastes better than normal sized food…. petit four, little cubes of cheese on sticks, amuse bouche….it is fact.
For the biscuit base I used a simple shortbread recipe which I used to make with my mother as a child. I am a bit of a traditionalist and I like to use ground rice in my shortbread as it has a much crumblier, gritty texture. It is such an easy recipe and as usual I had a little helper.
Shortbread Recipe
- 300g Butter
- 145g Caster Sugar
- 300g Plain Flour
- 130g ground rice or rice flour
Whisk together the sugar and butter until the mixture because lighter in colour approximately 8-10 minutes.
Fold in the flour and the ground rice until you have formed a dough.
You want to make sure your work surface is well floured whilst working with this dough as it can get sticky as it is rolled out. Roll it out to about 5mm thick.
I didn’t have a cutter small enough so I used a connector piece for a piping bag kit. Basically, use whatever you have to hand which is approximately 2-3cm in diameter.
Place the biscuits on a non stick baking tray, the dough has such a high butter content that greasing the tray isn’t necessary unless you aren’t using a non stick tray.
Bake in the oven on 180 Degrees for about 10-12 mins.
They should be just lightly golden and can over bake quickly especially when cooking shortbread this small.
The colourful star is made with royal icing. I added glycerine to stop it setting solid, otherwise it would be a bit hard on the kids teeth.
Royal Icing
2 egg whites
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp glycerine
400g icing sugar
Whisk the egg whites until they are light and frothy, mix in the rest of the ingredients until you get a think white, shiny icing which peaks. At this stage you can add any colouring you wish.
Pipe the stars out onto greaseproof paper and leave them to dry, it can take about 24hours for them to dry which is why I did not pipe directly onto the biscuits as they would be soft if left out that long. I didn’t want to risk the possibility of a Paul Hollywood glare if my biscuit didn’t have a good snap.
Once they are dry I stuck them to the biscuits, which I stored in a biscuit tin to keep fresh over night, with a small drop of simple icing made from icing sugar and a drop of water.
They look so cute in my gorgeous Emma Ball puffin biscuit tin.
A perfect treat at snack time for the children or an added treat with a cup of tea for me!
As I am full of sugar and therefore in a glorious mood, what better way to end the post than with a great giveaway. I have a copy of Annabel Karmel’s ‘Mummy and Me Cookbook’ and a really fun ‘Let’s get monster messy’ Cooksmart apron for your little kitchen helpers.
Just comment below telling me what your little helper likes to cook with you or other family members, sweet or savoury, and don’t forget to subscribe to the blog as well to be included in the draw. If you need any help please let me know. As always Terms and Conditions apply.
Giveaway Terms and Conditions
Entries must be received by 11pm on 19th September 2016 (UK – GMT). One winner will receive the featured book and apron. This giveaway is open to those aged 18 or over, who are subscribed to this blog either via email or via WordPress and who have commented on this post as described above. The winners will be informed by email within 7 days of the closing date, and must respond within 7 days to claim their prize. The winners names will be published on the blog and social media related to the blog ‘Hooked’, The prize will be despatched by Royal Mail within ten working days of receiving the winner’s address details. No responsibility can be taken by myself for the prizes once they have been posted.
we love cooking cupcakes together, get the kids involved in the decoratinf too. its so much fun x
I bet they get involved in the eating as well!!!! Good luck X
how delightful!
denise
Thank you Denise. X
We always make Christmas Cut-out cookies & decorate with icing & sprinkles! 🙂 She also likes to cook anything I am making. (& always “sprinkles” Love in everything when we are stirring! 🙂
Thank you for chance to win a fun Cookbook for us to enjoy! 😀
Awwwww that is so cute. Good luck X
They look delicious!
Thank you so much. X
Anything sweet
Hmmmm sugar!!!!!! Good luck X
we love cooking victoria sponge!
I made a lot of these as a child. Good luck X
Gingerbread people
Such a fun project with little ones. Good luck X
We love baking cookies togetehr normally just chocolate chip ones !
Chocolate chip cookies are delicious! Good luck X
we like baking every friday and we love chocolate fudge cake 🙂
Wow what a fab mummy! Although I guess that is a lot of chocolate cake so win win really.Good luck X
Viennese whirls
Wow! That is complex! Good luck X
mostly cupcakes
They are great to bake with little ones aren’t they. Good luck X
Skye loves making any kind of cake and especially loves decorating them.
Sprinkles are super fun! Good luck X
This would be so lovely for my niece, whenever she comes we always make cupcakes together. She loves baking and enjoy making allsorts of cupcakes and we have a pinterest board that we look at for ideas
My girls love Pinterest!!!!! Good luck X
irish stew
That is a great recipe for little ones to get involved with. Good luck X
cookies and cupcakes
Yum!!!!!! Good luck X
Biscuits
Good luck with the giveaway. x
My daughter loves to help roll out pastry when I make quiche. I usually save a piece for her to practice on though it’s usually quite grey by the time she’s finished with it.
I used to roll out pastry with my grandma when I was little. x
My little man loves to help make fairy cakes (& get cake mixture all over his face!)
https://postimg.org/image/g2ab6u2zj/
https://postimg.org/image/d67h0qiof/
🙂
That is a super cute!!!!!! Love the pics he is adorable. Good Luck.
My son loves to make any form of cake with me and homemade pizzas.
Pizza are a great way to get involved in cooking. Good Luck. x
Personally in my house we love to bake cupcakes and then enjoy eating them.
The eating is the most important bit. X
Used to like making gingerbread men with my daughter x
Gingerbread men are also really tasty!!!!!!
anything sweet
I have a sweet tooth as well! X
Good luck everyone entering the competition. The iced gems look idelicious…mine love making cakes with me but definitley going to try the iced gems.
I would love to see a picture if you give them a go. Good luck. X
I don’t think they will turn out as well as yours but I will give it my best shot 🙂
I am sure they will be amazing!!!!! X
Edible glitter sprinkled into the icing would look amazing as well! 😬
I think I have some of that from my partners birthday cake so will add it and send you a picture. Still trying to get house back to normal after holidays so that first then baking with the kids 🙂
Tell me about it! I am desperate for a bit of routine now!!!!
We do lots of simple tray bakes like brownie and tiffin. Yum!
Tray bakes are great and taste delicious! If you haven’t already don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to be in the draw. Good luck. X
Muffins and chocolate chip cookies.
Sounds lovely! Good luck. X
My son loves baking cookies with me, so he can decorate them with chocolate chips & sprinkles.
Decorating is definitely the best bit! Good luck! X
Me and the boys love making fudge. We make it often 😁 x
That is a great idea, we haven’t tried that yet. X
We love experimenting making cookies and daddy is his guinea pig taste tester 😉
Lucky daddy!!!! X
we love making cupcakes
Us to! So much fun to decorate as well. X
my daughter loves making gingerbread men.
Aww they are so cute. X
We love to cook shortbread biscuits together!
They are so delicious aren’t they! X
Cookies, fairy cakes & muffins
Sounds like you have lots of fun baking at your house!!!! X
Children love to get involved in cooking and learn so much while doing so! 🍩
I agree Sheila. x
Those cookies look so nice! We like making hedgehog bread rolls for dipping in soup.
THAT IS SO COOL! Watch this space for bread week later in the week, I have something awesome planned!
We are making chocolate courgette cake this week as we have courgettes coming out of our ears.Love the Iced gems, they remind me of the Care Bear colours.
She loves helping my cook most evenings. She’s just learning to chop and has done mushrooms this week.
We have been growing our own mushrooms at the moment with a kit! The girls have loved it. X
mostly fairy cakes (my girls are 2 and 3) they love decorating them in sprinkles, edible glitter and anything else they can lay their little hands on 🙂
Edible glitter is a personal favourite of mine. x
My daughter helps when I make a chocolate cake.
My girls love making coconut and cherry muffins
That sounds like an amazing combination. x
Elsa loves to make cakes and Daddy’s special M&M biscuits!
We use to make smartie biscuits when I was little. x
we like making cupcakes and pancakes together
We do pancakes at the weekends. They love the syrup. x
My little one loves to bake fairycakes so she can lick the spoon afterwards. I so wanna try those ices gems tho, looks so easy
They really are easy, send me a picture if you try them I would love to see yours. Licking the spoon is all part of the process! x
Red velvet cupcakes
Sounds delicous. x
We like making and decorating most types of cakes.
Our favourite thing to bake together is our delicious Oat and Coconut Cookies – my little one nearly knows the recipe off by heart!
They sound amazing, I would love this recipe. x
My little girl, who is now 4 has always cooked with me in the kitchen and absolutely loves it! I don’t think I can get away without making a single meal without having her chop the carrots, or wash the mushrooms!! She loves baking and is better at it than me! As often does it with her grandma. She makes great flapjacks and my husbands work love her rocky road and her blondies!
We are whipping up a batch of flapjacks ourselves this week. x
Either Cookies or brownies, loves to lick the bowl out getting mixture all in her hair!!!
It isn’t proper cooking of you don’t get mixture in your hair. x
We love to bake a lovely chocolate fudge cake together.
Sounds delicious! x
we like to bake fairy cakes
Me to! x
My daughter loves to help me make sandwiches – buttering the bread is her fave bit 🙂
My 4 year old niece loves making tuna wraps. She always has one in her backpack.
My children love making cupcakes with me, but these iced gems looks too cute not to make!
Thank you! Send me a pic if you make them. x
If they last long enough for me to get the camera!!
We love cooking brownies and fairy cakes!
Usually it would be cupcakes or fairy cakes with lots of decorations.
Sprinkles rock! x
My son’s favourite is making cheese straws with me and then eating them while they are warm.
I used to make these when I was a kid from the left over pastry my mum used to make pie or quiche. x
A great way of using leftovers and tasty too
we used to make a lot of biscuits together! Now it is up to the great nieces to have a go.
My two girls love making pancakes and then decorating them with fruit.
They are so perfect and uniform! xx
Thank you. x
Me and my granddaughter loves to bake a chocolate fudge cake
We love baking any cake; cup cakes, layer cakes, brownies, cookies, flap jacks…..
We love cooking brownies
Wow, they look amazing! It is chilli chocolate brownies for us!
Thank you. Chilli chocolate is fab! x
Josh and Kate love cooking and baking, their favourite is banana bread.
My grandaughter and I love making fairy cakes and chocolate crispies and banana cake together. The favourite part for her is licking the bowl ha ha!
My son loves to help me bake – our favourite at the moment is banana bread.
my youngest son loves to bake with his nanny, he enjoys baking jam tarts and cookies best!
my granddaughter lves helping me make jam tarts
We bake loads of cakes, Amber likes weighing the ingredients and stirring. We have just moved onto chipping so we also do fruit salads and soups!!
Amber sounds like a helpful kitchen assistant! 💖
my son loves helping me make and decorate cupcakes
my neice loves helping me do cookies
My munchkin loves to help me make scotch eggs and sausage rolls at the weekend X x
My grandchildren enjoy baking cupcakes as they can go wild with the decorations on them.
me and my son love cooking fairy cakes 😀
My girls love making Pizza and choosing their toppings and kneading the dough
she loves backing fairy cakes and always picks the peppa pig cake mixture when we go shopping
Our grandson helps us
My son likes helping in the kitchen
My Granddaughter and I love making sponge cakes, biscuits and mini doughnuts 😀
My daughter loves to make butter cookies.
My son makes jam tarts – they’re lovely!
We love making meringue kisses , she made them for her class for Valentine’s Day
My boys love making shaped sugar biscuits and decorating them with coloured icing , any leftover fondant icing from birthday cakes and any other decorations they can get hold of! There favourite themes are transport, dinosaurs and Xmas!!
We like good old fairy cakes to bake together
We always have fun making cupcakes and rice crispy cakes thanks
My boys loves to make muffins and pancakes with me.
Fairy cakes and Scones
we love to cook all the time but usually same things, so be nice for new ideas
Butterfly cakes are a firm favourite in this house 🙂
She loves making fairy cakes
Any kinds of biscuits
We made gingerbread men, and decorated them! Was quite a bit of fun
We make a wide range of food, tasting as we go ……………. the fun bit
Cakes, biscuits, cereal bars, picnic food, vegetables
Always give some to different neighbours ……………. especially when hygiene was controlled !!!!!!!!!!!!!
they love to cook fairy cakes with me
it’s usually savoury for us – pizza night has become a regular.
Claire and I love to make cookies together in various shapes. We then decorate them with various icing colours and all sorts of extras on top.
They love cupcakes and goats cheese and beetroot tarts, little girl
Loves seeing the cheese turn pink with the beetroot
my youngest granddaughter, she loves baking fairy cakes
My little nephew loves to bake cakes when he comes to visit us.
I would love this for my daughter, we are always cooking cupcakes and biscuits, yesterday we made puff pastry rolls with nutella and brazil nuts, there were lovely .x
My cousin likes to bake lemon drizzle cake with me
My daughter loves baking cupcakes and icing them 🙂
I am going to teach my nephew how to make fairy cakes.
These look gorgeous and you made it look such fun x
My girls love to make cupcakes
My girls love to make mug cakes – all in one and fun as they can cook them too!
My 18 month old loves to stir the mixture for cakes, but her favorite part is decorating them. We will have her baking us cakes in no time!
I make a chocolate cake with my daughters , they end up eating most of the mixture though
oh i am going to try theses look good . we love to make cupcakes tyler really enjoys helping
my granddaughter loves making fairy cakes
My daughter likes to make cup cakes
We love to bake banana bread or cupcakes
I love to cook monster cakes with my best friends little boy. Basically cupcakes but we make the icing look like hair and stick eyes and horns on them etc.
Me and my daughter love to make little apple pies, using the apple from our garden.
My daughter loves making pancakes 🙂
I love to make fairy cakes with my nephew. I have already subscribed to your blog xxx
My Daughter likes making pasta with me, rolling it out and feeding it through the machine. Eating it is obviously her favourite part,
Mu little ones love making biscuits and buns with me, they love decorating them how they wish
Gingerbread are the definite favourite’s to be baked together 🙂
My great nieces love making fairy cakes; but I think most of the fun is licking the bowl!
My little girl loves making magic stars cookies.
Mine love to make fairy buns with plenty of icing x
We love to make a chocolate fudge cake. So tasty and easyish to make. Eating it is even better!
My granddaughter loves to make muddy cupcakes (cup cakes with chocolate icing)
My daughter loves to make scottish tablet with me, but this book looks fab and would be great to win.
My daughter loves baking cupcakes and cornflake cakes! She especially loves the cornflake cakes, particularly the eating part!
My children love cooking anything, they do both love fruity flapjack as there sweet and for a savoury they like to get messy making meatballs xx
home made iced gems look great fun, our disabled loves cooking well the mix mix mix, she knows from i can cook, but our son loves to help me cook lots of cakes
Fab prize. My 2.5year old son loves baking cakes with me. We don’t have a favourite cake. We bake what we fancy at the time x
We love to cook sweet. Mainly biscuits and cupcakes because they just can’t go wrong. I should do more savoury though to teach them more about cooking.
My daughter loves making Cheesecake with me – usually strawberry xxx
My 3 year old loves baking cupcakes (especially blackberry ones after a morning blackberry picking) and biscuits 🙂 we bake together at least once a week
my daughter has only just turned 1 but loves just mixing things in a bowl or on the floor or on her tray os anything really! mainly she mixes the flour before i start baking
Peppa pig cupcakes!
My son likes to make cookie with smarties or chocolate chips in them and he always eats them instead of putting them in the mixture
my niece likes to make cupcakes
My daughter loves a bit of baking but has also started to help with some dinners now
We do the usual cupcakes and sponges but my children also love making their own soups with me and we’ve created some marvellous winter warmers!
Looking forward to showing my nephew and niece how to bake butterfly cakes