Crafting Wedding Biscuits: A Step-By-Step Guide For Bakers

Wedding biscuits are a great way to add a personal touch to your big day. They can be used as wedding favours, place cards, or even as decoration for cocktail glasses. Making your own wedding biscuits is a fun and creative way to add a bespoke element to your wedding. You can choose to make them from scratch or use a pre-made biscuit mix, and then decorate them with icing, sugar flowers, or even gold paint. Whether you're a baking expert or a disaster chef, making wedding biscuits is a unique way to add a special touch to your celebration.

Choosing a biscuit recipe

Type of Biscuit

Do you want to make a simple sugar cookie, or something more elaborate like a filled biscuit or a biscuit with icing or decorations? Sugar cookies are a good option if you're looking for something quick and easy, while filled biscuits or iced biscuits can be more time-consuming but offer more opportunities for customisation and decoration.

Ingredients

Consider what ingredients you have available and choose a recipe that uses those ingredients. For example, if you have butter, flour, and sugar, a basic sugar cookie recipe would work well. If you have additional ingredients like eggs, vanilla extract, or food colouring, you can explore more complex recipes.

Time and Equipment

Biscuit recipes can vary in terms of the time and equipment required. Some recipes may require multiple steps, chilling or resting time, and special equipment like cookie cutters or icing tips. Consider how much time you have available and what equipment you have access to when choosing a recipe.

Personalisation

If you want to personalise your wedding biscuits, look for recipes that offer guidance or suggestions for customisation. This could include adding names, dates, or other details to the biscuits. You can also get creative with the shape and design of the biscuits to match your wedding theme or colour scheme.

Taste and Texture

Think about the taste and texture you want your biscuits to have. Do you prefer a crispy or soft biscuit? A nutty or fruity flavour? A simple butter cookie or a more complex flavour profile? Choose a recipe that aligns with your taste preferences and those of your guests.

When choosing a biscuit recipe for your wedding, consider the type of biscuit, the ingredients you have available, the time and equipment required, the possibilities for personalisation, and the desired taste and texture. By taking these factors into account, you can find a recipe that will result in delicious and memorable wedding biscuits.

Making the biscuit dough

To make the biscuit dough, you'll need the following ingredients:

• 190g Stork
• 240g Caster sugar
• 400g plain flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt

Start by creaming together the sugar, vanilla extract, and butter. You can do this by hand or using a stand mixer. Next, add half of the flour, a pinch of salt, and the egg. Mix until the flour is incorporated, then add the remaining flour and knead by hand until you form a ball of dough.

Wrap the dough in cling film and chill it in the fridge for a minimum of two hours. Chilling the dough is an important step as it helps to prevent the cookies from spreading too much during the baking process. Once the dough is chilled, lightly knead it into some flour on a clean work surface. You may need to add more flour to the worktop to prevent the dough from sticking.

Now it's time to roll out the dough. Place a piece of greaseproof paper underneath your rolling pin to prevent the dough from sticking, and roll it out to your desired thickness. If the dough is sticking to your rolling pin, you can place it between two sheets of greaseproof paper.

Once your dough is rolled out, use a cookie cutter to cut out your desired shapes. Place the cut-out cookies onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof baking paper and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This helps to firm up the dough before baking, ensuring the cookies hold their shape.

Preheat your oven to 160°C. Bake the cookies for 9-15 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden. Be careful not to let them burn! Once they're baked, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before decorating.

Shaping the biscuits

First, make sure your work surface is clean and sprinkle some flour on it to prevent the dough from sticking. Then, lightly knead the cookie dough into the flour. You may need to add more flour to the worktop to avoid sticking.

Next, roll out the cookie dough using a rolling pin. It's a good idea to place a piece of greaseproof paper underneath the rolling pin to avoid sticking and make the process easier. Once the dough is rolled out, you can start cutting out the cookies. Use a cookie cutter of your choice—it can be a simple circle or a more intricate shape like a heart or a wedding bell. Cut out as many biscuits as you can from the dough.

After cutting out the cookies, place them on a baking tray lined with greaseproof baking paper. It's important to space them slightly apart to avoid them sticking together during baking. Once you've arranged the cookies on the tray, place the tray in the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes. This step helps the cookies retain their shape and prevents them from spreading too much during baking.

Finally, bake the cookies according to the recipe instructions. Keep an eye on them to ensure they don't burn. The baking time may vary depending on your oven and the size of your cookies, but as a general guideline, bake them for 9-15 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden.

Once the cookies are baked, let them cool completely before decorating or icing them. This will ensure that the icing sets properly and doesn't melt or slide off the cookies.

Baking the biscuits

Preheat your oven to 160°C. While the oven is heating, lightly knead your chilled cookie dough into some flour on a clean work surface. You may need to add more flour to the worktop to stop the dough from sticking.

Roll out your cookie dough using a piece of greaseproof paper and a rolling pin. Cut out your cookies using a cutter of your choice. Place the cookies onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof baking paper and put in the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes.

Bake the cookies for 9-15 minutes at 160°C, or until the edges begin to turn golden. Be careful not to let them burn! Once baked, leave the cookies to cool.

If you are icing your biscuits, roll out some sugar paste to a thickness of approximately 3-4mm. Using your cookie cutter, cut out the desired amount of icing. You may need to use some white vegetable fat to stop the sugar paste from sticking to your work surface.

Using some buttercream, apply a small amount to your cookies and lay the icing on top. Smooth the icing with your thumb and run your finger around the edges to ensure a smooth finish.

Decorating the biscuits

Now it's time to decorate your biscuits! You can decorate them however you like – why not make use of shop-bought or handmade sugar flowers, letter stamps or sugar pearls? You could also add some personalised details, such as your guests' names, or the date of your wedding.

Presenting the biscuits

Once you've finished decorating, present your biscuits in clear cellophane treat bags and tie with twist ties and ribbon.

Decorating the biscuits

Next, apply a small amount of buttercream to your cookies and lay the icing on top. Smooth the icing with your thumb and run your finger around the edges to ensure a smooth finish.

Now for the fun part! Decorate as you wish. You could use shop-bought or handmade sugar flowers, letter stamps, or sugar pearls to achieve your desired style. You could even add some edible gold paint for a touch of elegance and glamour. If you want to use your wedding favours as place cards, you can stamp your cookies with your guests' names. Present your beautiful creations in clear cellophane treat bags and tie with twist ties and ribbon.

Frequently asked questions