We have a simple and delicious sugar biscuit recipe that we love in our house! It’s perfect for school holidays and the kids love to roll and cut their dough.
The recipe halves very easily, so it is perfect for smaller batches.
We have made this recipe many, many times at home, and each time I notice the kids skill level increasing – from being able to measure properly, crack the eggs and cream and mix properly, it is always wonderful to see how they have developed!
Ingredients:
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 225g butter
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
Method:
Cream the softened butter and sugar. We use a silicone spatula, and it works really well.
Add the vanilla essence, and eggs one by one, beating well after each egg. Add the salt and mix well.
Add in the flour, cup by cup and mix well.
An excellent Greek baker, once told me that once the flour goes into the biscuit mix, don’t use any utensils for mixing. It makes the biscuits lighter and tastier! We are always happy to mix with our hands, so are happy to follow this advice!
At this point, if the dough is still sticky, you can add a bit more flour. That is what is nice about using your hands, you can feel the texture of the dough.
Remember you want to be able to roll the dough without it sticking onto the roller, but the dough must not be too hard either.
Once you have the dough at the right consistency, it is time for the cookie cutters!
Prepare your surface by rubbing flour on the table where you are going to roll the dough, and also dust your roller.
Take some dough, and roll into a ball. The kids had great fun rolling it out. It was wonderful to see how good they have gotten with rolling!
Next it’s cookie cutter time! I always marvel at the length of time it takes to select the perfect cookie cutter!
At this point, I usually turn the oven on to warm 180 degrees Celsius.
Getting the balance right in terms of the biscuits easily coming off the prepared surface, and not being too thick either, remains a challenge.
I pack the small, thinner cut cookies in the front of my oven, and the thicker ones at the back, as the back seems to cook faster in our oven.
Once the tray is full, pop it into the oven. These biscuits are not supposed to be very thick, and usually cook within 8 minutes (depends on how thick the kids have rolled the dough).
Once the biscuits are golden brown underneath you know they are ready to come out of the oven. Once the biscuits have cooled it is time to ice them. 
Icing:
We usually mix at least 4 colours.
Icing ingredients:
- Icing sugar
- Water
- Liquid food colouring
Method:
Mix 4 large tablespoons of icing sugar, then add the food colouring. You only need a drop. Mix and then add a tablespoon of water. If you want runnier icing, add more water, go slowly though so you get the right consistency. 
The kids love to ice the biscuits, and I love to hear the delightful sounds that come from the kitchen on biscuit making day!
Contributed by Charmaine Papazian of Clamber Club Babies – Craighall Park
Cell: 073 165 4759
Email: craighallbabies@clamberclub.com
Website: www.clamberclub.com