Make Casper cookies with This Esme

What you’ll need:

Biscuits:

• 125g butter, softened
• 50g caster sugar
• 125g plain flour, plus extra to dust
• 50g cornflour

Icing:

• icing sugar, to dust
• white sugar paste 
• silver, brown and black writing icing

Tools:

• mixing bowl
• wooden spoon
• sieve
• rolling pin
• Casper template (download below)

• sharp knife
• wire cooling rack
• Making the biscuits

Makes 8–10 cookies

Making the biscuits

1. Cream the softened butter and sugar together in a bowl with the wooden spoon, or use an electric mixer, until it’s light and fluffy. 
2. Sift in the plain flour and cornflour then mix together until it forms a dough. Turn this out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Then, flatten the dough into a circle, wrap it in clingfilm and pop it into the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
3. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use the Casper template and a sharp knife to cut out the biscuits. Put them on a baking tray, cover with clingfilm and chill for another 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 170°C, 150°C fan, gas 3. Bake on the middle shelf for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Once baked, transfer onto your cooling rack until they’re ready for decorating.

Top tip

Don’t throw your template away, you’ll need it again later!

For the decoration

1. Once the biscuits are completely cool, it’s time to ice them. First, dust a work surface with a little icing sugar.
2. Use the rolling pin to flatten out the white sugar paste until it’s smooth and thin. Then use the template and knife to cut out enough ponies for each of your biscuits – you may want to do a spare one, too! 
3. Carefully lay each icing pony onto a biscuit and give it a couple of (gentle) goes over with the rolling pin to stick it down.
4. Use the writing icing to draw on the details. For Casper, I used brown for his bridle, black for his eyes and nose, then silver for his mane!