funny faces
- 125g butter, chopped
- ½ cup (90g) brown sugar
- ⅔ cups (160ml) golden syrup (or treacle)
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of (baking) soda
- 2 cups (300g) plain (all-purpose flour), sifted
- ½ cup (60g) malt powder
- wooden ice-cream (popsicle) sticks, to decorate
- 100g candy-coated chocolates
- 120g licorice strap, cut into long thin strips (for mouths) and short thin strips (for eyelashes)
- 2 cups popped popcorn
icing
- 4 cups (640g) pure icing (confectioner’s) sugar, sifted
- 4 eggwhites
- Preheat oven to 180ºC (355ºF). Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 10–12 minutes or until light and creamy. Add the golden syrup, bicarbonate of soda, flour and malt powder and beat until a smooth dough forms. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Divide into 2 and roll out between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper to 5mm thick. Use a 9.5cm-round cookie cutter to cut rounds from the dough. Place on baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper, leaving room to spread. Press ice-cream sticks into the biscuits. Bake for 12–14 minutes or until the biscuits have spread and are just firm around the edges. Allow to cool.
- To make the icing, place the icing sugar and eggwhite in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Spread on the biscuits and decorate with candy-coated chocolates, liquorice strips and popcorn to make faces. Set aside until the icing is set. Makes 12.
© DONNA HAY GROUP
