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150g caster sugar
150g soft butter
1 free range egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
fondant icing, red & white
edible food paint
sugar pearls
Christmas ornament cookie cutter
These Chinese New Year cookies are an American interpretation of how a Chinese cookie at New Year should look ;) Nowhere in all of China will you find a cookie that looks a bit like this, during the Chinese New Year. But the kids love the red lantarns so we make an effort. But decorating the biscuits as smooth as an American baking perfectionst can will never succeed at snazzie. But we do have fun with it and to us that's the main thing!
How to make Red lantern biscuits
Mix the butter with the sugar until combined and creamy.
Beat the egg and the vanilla extract in the cream.
Add the flour mixed with baking powder to it.
Mix it all together until you have a coarse dough.
Knead the dough quickly smooth by hand.
Place the dough 1 hour in the fridge.
Roll the dough to 1-1.5 cm thickness.
Preheat the oven to 175°C
Cut out biscuits, place them on waxed paper.
Slide the tray in the middle of the oven.
Bake the biscuits in 10 minutes golden brown.
Allow the biscuits to cool on a wire rack.
To decorate the biscuits
Knead the icing fondant until soft.
Roll it out until as thin as possible.
Cut out circles using the same cookie cutter.
Stick the circles on the biscuits with a drop of water.
Roll long, thin snakes of red icing fondant.
Stick the red snakes vertical on the circles.
Cut small rectangles out of white fondant, press in pearls.
Paint the rectangles gold then allow them to dry.
Stick all parts on the biscuits to your own idea.
Are these biscuits delicious? The young mini-monsters think so ;) if you like fondant.
On the plus side: they are very pretty!