Ingredients
- 175g (6oz) plain flour, plus extra to sprinkle
- 1tsp ground ginger
- zest 1 orange
- 100g (4oz) cold butter, cut into chunks
- 50g (2oz) caster sugar
- 1tbsp milk
for the decoration
- 454g pack white fondant icing (we used Dr Oetker)
- apricot jam, for sticking
- 500g (1lb 2oz) white marzipan
you will need
- 2 large, non-stick baking sheets, oiled, crown cookie cutters and crown moulds (see page 191 for stockists), and edible gold lustre and silver balls
Method
To make the dough, whizz the flour, ginger, zest and butter with ½tsp salt in a processor until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Pulse in the sugar and milk, turn out and knead briefly on a floured surface until smooth. Shape into a flat disc, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 180C, 160C fan, 350F, gas 4.
To make the cookies, roll the dough out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut out cookies using the cutters and lay them on the baking sheets. Re-roll the pastry as necessary. Chill the biscuits for 10 minutes then bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden. Let them harden slightly on the sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To decorate, roll out the fondant to the thickness of a £1 coin and stamp out shapes with the clean cutters. When the cookies are cool, brush a little apricot jam on each and stick the corresponding fondant shapes on top. Set aside. Break off pieces of marzipan 2.5cm (1in) thick and press into the crown moulds. Invert the moulds to tip out the marzipan, then dust each crown with edible lustre, and stick them on to the biscuits using a little more jam. Press silver balls into the tips of the crowns, if you like. These will keep in an airtight container for 2 days or the undecorated biscuits can be frozen for up to a month.