I love baking, and I’m told that my bakes taste lovely. The only problem is that they don’t generally look very good, all substance no style! Now I’m not claiming my bejewelled bear biscuits are a work of art, but they are kinda cute and the kids loved them. They were also particularly popular at the school bake sale. Here’s how I made them.

Bejewelled Bear Biscuits:

Ingredients:

• 125g butter
• 175g plain white flour, sifted
• 50g caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 18 coloured boiled sweets such as Fox’s glacier fruits
• glace icing
• decorative sprinkle strands
• Bear biscuit cutter

Method:

1. Prepare three baking trays with baking parchment.
2. Mix the butter, flour, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl until it forms a dough. Add a drop of milk if it looks too dry. Bring the dough together on a lightly floured surface. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees c, gas mark 4.
4. Roll out the dough until it’s about 3mm thick.
5. Cut bear shapes. Using a small cutter cut a small circle from the tummy of each bear. Tip, I used a bottle top. Place a sweet in each hole.
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the biscuits are pale golden brown and the sweets have melted. Leave to set for a minute then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. When the biscuits are completely cool decorate with glace icing and sprinkles.