Beat the butter and vanilla extract
together, then add the remaining biscuit ingredients. Bring the mixture
together with your hands. Form the dough into a disc; wrap in clingfilm and
chill in the fridge for half an hour.
Meanwhile, make the
flakes by melting the chocolate in the microwave. Do this in 30 second bursts,
stirring after each one until smooth. Prepare a sheet of baking paper or a
silicone mat on a small baking tray. Transfer the melted chocolate to a piping
bag and pipe lines onto your paper/silicone mat. Freeze for 10 minutes then
chop the chocolate lines into 'flakes' about half an inch long. Add to a
container and return them to the freezer.
Preheat the oven to 190°c/fan 170°c/gas mark
5. Prepare a baking tray with baking paper or a silicone mat. Remove the
biscuit dough from the cling film and roll it on a lightly floured surface
until it is the thickness of a £1 coin. Stamp approx. 50 small rounds using a
biscuit cutter (or an upturned piping nozzle). Any excess dough can be brought
together and re-rolled.
Bake the biscuits for 6-8 minutes, or until
they are ever so slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and allow
to cool on the tray.
Once the biscuits are completely cool, they
can be iced! Put the royal icing sugar into a large bowl and add exactly 20ml
water. Whip with an electric whisk for 3 minutes or until soft peaks form. Fit
a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle and add the icing.
Remove the flakes from the freezer and have
your sprinkles ready. Place the piping nozzle close to one of the biscuit
bases, apply pressure to the bag slowly until the icing reaches the edges of
the biscuit, then stop piping and lift the nozzle upwards to form the classic
'gem' shape. Immediately top with the sprinkles and a flake. Continue to
assemble the iced gems one at a time.
Leave to air-dry until the icing is firm,
then store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
