Funny Faces Cookies Recipe

These funny little characters can be made by using almost any type of cookie mix, as long as the baked cookies are quite big and not too craggy. Funny faces cookies are great fun for kids of all ages to help decorate to unleash their creativities.

Ingredients: (Makes 14)

115g/4oz/½ cup unsalted (sweet) butter, at room temperature, diced

115g/4 oz/generous ½ cup superfine (caster) sugar

1 egg

115g/4oz light corn syrup

400g/14oz/3½ cups self-rising (self-raising) flour

For the decoration:

75g/3oz/6 tablespoons unsalted (sweet) butter, at room temperature, diced

115g/5oz/1¼ cups icing (confectioners') sugar

Strawberry, apple or liquorices strands

Candied (glaced) cherries, halved

Red and black writer icing

Small multi-colored candies (sweets)

Method:

Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until pale and creamy. Beat in the egg and light corn syrup, then add the flour and mix together to make a thick paste. Turn the mixture on to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap (clear film) and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Grease two baking sheets. Roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out rounds using a 9cm/3½ in cookie cutter. Transfer the rounds to the baking sheets, re-rolling the trimmings to make more cookies.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until they just turn golden around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. To decorate, beat together the butter and icing sugar in a bowl until smooth and creamy.

Using a small palette knife (metal spatula) spread a little buttercream along the top edge of each cookie, then secure the strawberry, apple or liquorices strands. Either snip the strands to make straight hair, or twist the strands to make curly hair.

Use a dot of buttercream to secure a glace cherry to the middle of each cookie for a nose. Pipe eyes and mouths using the winter icing, then add halved sweets, attached with buttercream, for the centers of the eyes.

Happy Baking,

Carol