Peppermint candy biscuits

These heart-shaped cookies with a crunchy mint filling are fun for children to make and give as a present

  • Prep:25 mins
    Cook:12 mins
    Plus chilling
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 99
  • fat 5g
  • saturates 3g
  • carbs 14g
  • sugars 7g
  • fibre 0g
  • protein 1g
  • salt 0.1g

Ingredients

  • 175g plain flour, plus a little extra for dusting
  • 100g butter, cut into small cubes
  • 85g caster sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • about 5 peppermint candy canes

Tip

Equipment you will need
To make these biscuits, you'll need the following equipment: Large mixing bowl; Blunt cutlery knife; Cling film; 2 large baking trays; Baking parchment; Small plastic food storage bag; Tea towel; Rolling pin; 1 big (6cm across) and 1 small (3cm across) heart-shaped cookie cutter; Oven gloves.Before you start
Wash your hands, tie back long hair, if necessary, and put on an apron.For parents
Young children will need help taking the baking trays in and out of the hot oven.

Method

  1. Before you start, read the tips at the bottom of the recipe.

  2. Tip the flour and butter into a bowl. Use your fingers to squash the lumps of butter into the flour, then rub together until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the sugar and egg yolk and 1-2 tbsp cold water. Mix together with a blunt cutlery knife, then your hands, until it becomes a soft dough. (Or, get an adult to help you to do this in a food processor.) Wrap the dough in cling film and pop in the fridge for 20 mins to chill.

  3. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Put the candy canes in a resealable plastic bag, then wrap in a tea towel. Use a rolling pin to bash them to a chunky rubble. Set to one side.

  4. Dust your work surface with a little flour, then use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Cut out heart shapes with your big cookie cutter. Put them on the baking trays, spaced a little apart. Use your small cutter to cut out a little heart in the centre of each big heart. Re-roll your cuttings to make about 20 hearts in total.

  5. Bake for 8 mins. Carefully remove the trays from the oven, then fill each small heart with a little of the crushed candy cane. Return to the oven for 4 mins more, until the biscuits are just starting to turn golden and the candy cane has melted.

  6. Once out of the oven, quickly sprinkle the gooey centre of each heart with a little extra crushed candy cane. Leave to set and cool completely on the trays. Once cool, the biscuits will peel straight off the trays. Wrap them in pretty boxes to give as a gift.

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