Medal cookies

• butter↗140g g
• light soft brown sugar↗100g g
• golden syrup↗3 tbsp tbsp
• vanilla extract↗½ tsp tsp
• plain flour↗350g g

  plus extra for dusting

• bicarbonate of soda↗1 tsp tsp
• large egg↗1
• pack ready-to-roll icing↗1kg kg
• icing sugar↗
• food colouring↗

  paste, edible glitter and icing pens (optional)

• long colourful ribbons15

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a small saucepan. Mix in the vanilla, remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 mins.

2. 2

   Sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Pour in the melted butter mixture and the egg, and stir together to form a stiff-ish dough. Pop the dough in the fridge for 10 mins to chill and firm up.

3. 3

   Roll the dough out on a floured surface to 5mm thick, then stamp out 15 circles using a 7.5cm round cookie cutter; you may need to re-roll the trimmings to get 15 cookies. Make a hole at the top of each circle with the end of a pencil.

4. 4

   Place on the baking trays and bake for 12 mins until golden, swapping the trays around halfway through. Cool on a wire rack.

5. 5

   To decorate, divide the icing into 4 pieces. Dye 3 lumps of icing with your chosen base colours (we used turquoise, coral and yellow).

6. 6

   Roll out the coloured icing to 2mm thick, then use a fluted 7cm cutter to cut out 15 rounds.

7. 7

   Stick these onto the cookies with a little icing sugar mixed with water.

8. 8

   Roll out the remaining icing, brush it with a little water and cut out 12 stars. Dip each star, sticky-side down, into a dish of edible gold glitter, then stick them on top of the cookies.

9. 9

   Use number cutters to stamp out numbers 1, 2 and 3, dip these into the glitter and stick to the final 3 medals. Using icing pens to add a border, if you like.

10. 10

    Leave the cookies to dry, then push a hole through the icing in line with the cookie hole and tie up with ribbon. Will keep for three days in an airtight container.