Iced easter biscuits

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas mark 4). Lightly grease 2-3 baking trays.

Place the butter, flour and sugar in a food processor and blend until it makes fine crumbs. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract then continue to blend until the mixture clumps together. Alternatively, if you are making the recipe by hand, rub the butter into the flour until it forms bread crumbs, then stir in the sugar and egg yolks and beat with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly into a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins.

Roll the mixture out on a lightly floured work surface, then using cutters cut out your shapes.

Bake for 10-15 mins depending on size and thickness, or until just pale golden. Allow to cool for 10 mins on the baking trays then cool completely. If liked, sandwich the biscuits together with jam or buttercream and dust them with a little icing sugar.

To decorate make up the icing as directed on the packet. Once the right consistency is achieved split into batches to make different coloured icings.

To colour the icing, dip a cocktail stick into the desired colours and mix well into the icing mixture.

Spoon the icing into piping bags with a plain fine nozzle and pipe the outlines of the biscuits. Allow some time for the icing to set slightly.

Spoon the rest of the icing over the biscuit or pipe into the outline.

Once the icing has set on the biscuits, decorate as desired with writing icing.