Pumpkin Spice Iced Biscuits

Makes: 12 biscuits

Time: 1 hour

Difficulty: Medium

‍

• For the Biscuits
• 100g Ivy’s Reserve Salted Butter, Softened
• 100g Caster Sugar
• 1 Free-Range Egg, Medium
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 275g Plain Flour
• 2 tsp Pumpkin Spice Mix
• For the Pumpkin Spice Mix
• 2 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Ground Ginger
• 2 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 tsp All Spice
• 1 tsp Cloves
• To Decorate
• 250g Icing Sugar, sifted
• Cold Water
• Food Colouring
• You will need
• Pumpkin-shaped cookie cutters
• Icing piping bags
• Food colouring gel

1. First, make the pumpkin spice mix. Add all the spices into a bowl and mix together until well combined. Store the spice mix in a sealed jar.
2. Beat the butter and caster sugar in a stand mixer or with an electric whisk for 3-4 minutes, until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract, then mix well.
3. Sieve in the flour and two teaspoons of the pumpkin spice mix, then bring everything together to form a dough. Form the dough into a dish and wrap in clingfilm, before chilling in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
4. Place the chilled dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll out using a rolling pin until roughly 5mmthick. Use a variety of pumpkin, squash or leave cutters to stamp out the biscuits.
5. Preheat the oven to 180C / 160Cfan / gas 6, and line two large baking trays with greaseproof paper. Transfer the biscuits to the baking trays, making sure to place them about 2cm apart, then bake for 10-11 minutes until golden and evenly baked. You might need to bake the biscuits in a couple of batches.
6. Leave the baked biscuits to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Tip the icing sugar into a bowl or divide between a couple of bowls if making different coloured icing, and whisking constantly, pour over just enough cold water until a smooth, thick icing forms. Add a few drops of food colouring now, if you like.
8. Transfer the icing to a piping bag and start icing the cooled biscuits as you wish. Allow the icing to dry for30 minutes before eating. The biscuits will keep fresh for up to 3 days in an air-tight container.

Easy swaps

Add a touch of orange zest to the biscuit dough for a refreshing citrus note that brightens the spices.

For an indulgent twist, sandwich an iced and uniced biscuit together with a maple cream cheese filling. This adds a smooth, tangy layer of sweetness that compliments the spiced biscuit base perfectly.

If colouring the icing, opt for food colour gel instead of liquid food colouring. Gels give richer colours without altering the consistency of your icing, ensuring it stays thick and easy to pipe.

‍