Plain iced biscuits

Line 2-3 oven trays with baking paper.

Cream the butter and sugar with an electric beater until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one by one, beating well. Add the vanilla essence.

Sift over the flour and baking powder and fold together to form a soft dough (adding a little more flour if necessary). Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180°C.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 3mm. Use cutters (dipped in flour) to cut out shapes and place them on the prepared oven trays. Re-roll any remaining dough, using as little flour as possible.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until just starting to colour. Leave for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

To make the icing, beat the egg whites until they are becoming frothy. Add the icing sugar, half a cup at a time, mixing until it becomes glossy and is a spreadable consistency. Divide the icing into 2-3 small bowls and add a drop or two of food colouring to each. Ice the biscuits and decorate them with sprinkles and lollies such as Smarties.