Fireworks Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Sift flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a large bowl.
• Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, then vanilla. Refrigerate dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut out cookies using a 1 3/4-, 2 1/4-, 2 3/4-, or 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, rerolling scraps once. Transfer to a baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Bake until edges just start to brown, 17 to 19 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
• Decorate the cookies: Pipe an outline of white icing around edge of 1 cookie, leaving a 1/4-inch border, then "flood" with more white icing to cover.
• Immediately pipe a red or blue dot in the center of cookie. Then pipe concentric rings of colors around the center dot (using the same color as the dot, or alternating colors).
• Immediately drag a toothpick through the colors to create bursts, starting from the center dot and working toward the edge, then alternate dragging inward and outward as you work around the cookie. (Or drag around the cookie in 1 direction or curve the lines for a pinwheel effect.) Let dry. Repeat with remaining cookies and icings.

Steps:

• Knead the all-purpose flour into the sugar cookie dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth, about 5 minutes. Divide the dough into thirds.
• Knead the red food coloring into one piece of dough, the blue food coloring into another piece and leave the third piece plain. Flatten and wrap each piece in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
• Roll each dough piece between 2 pieces of parchment to a roughly 11-by-7-by-1/8-inch rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate again, about 20 minutes.
• Stack the dough rectangles in red, white and blue order using the parchment to help you transfer them. Use the parchment to help you roll the dough stack into a tight spiral, forming an 11-inch-long log. Pour the sprinkles onto a baking sheet, then roll the log in the sprinkles so it is completely covered in them. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and freeze until solid, about 2 hours.
• Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Cut 1/4 inch off each end of the log with a very sharp knife to reveal the swirly pattern. Cut the log into slices about 1/4 inch thick. Arrange the slices about 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the cookies are crisp and just starting to turn brown on the bottom, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• Beat the butter and sugar together with an electric whisk for 4-5 mins until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg until combined. Add the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon and ginger, and continue to beat until the mixture comes together into a dough. Put the dough between two pieces of baking parchment and roll out to a 6mm thickness using a rolling pin.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Remove the top layer of parchment and cut out cookies using a 6cm round or star cutter. Re-roll the offcuts and continue to cut out cookies until all the dough has been used (you should get 20-22, depending on the cutter).
• Arrange the cookies on a large baking sheet lined with baking parchment, spacing them at least 2cm apart (you may need two baking sheets). Bake for 7-10 mins until slightly golden at the edges. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Once cool, make the icing. Beat the egg white with an electric whisk until just starting to froth up, about 1 min. Add the icing sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, whisking continuously at a medium-high speed until combined. Add the lemon juice and whisk to stiff peaks, about 5 mins - the icing should be shiny. Add more icing sugar if needed to help it stiffen up.
• To decorate, divide the icing into bowls and colour with the gel food colourings (we left some icing white, then coloured three bowls with blue, yellow and red). Spoon the coloured icing into separate piping bags fitted with small round nozzles (or snip off the ends). Pipe lines on the biscuits to create firework-like 'burst' patterns or swirls. While the icing is wet, decorate with star sprinkles, if you like. Leave to set slightly, then serve. Will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.