SWEETSHOP COOKIES

I love the smell of sweetshops.

A combo of sugar, fruit and childhood; it's complete bliss. Although if I'm being honest, it's not the smell that draws me in.

Oh no.

It's the rows upon rows of smile-inducing sweets, from the chewy to the downright inedible. And my love is especially strong now that the traditional "ye-olde-sweetshoppe" seems to be propagating across the country.

So what better way to celebrate these sugary grottos than by shoving a load of their offerings in and on a good ol' biscuit?

If you take anything from this recipe, let it be the Vimto icing. Sure, the popping candy biscuits and chewy sweets are great additions, but the Vimto topping is pretty darn tasty. It's like Purple Ronnie bottled. But less creepy.

INGREDIENTS

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C //350 F //GM 4.

In a large mixing bowl beat together the butter and caster sugar.

Add the egg yolk, and if you have any vanilla essence hanging around a teaspoon of that makes a nice addition!

Mix well until combined.

Open one sachet of popping candy and stir into the mixture.

Sift in the flour gradually, stirring continuously until a dough is formed. You may need to get your hands dirty to make sure all is mixed and the ingredients come together in a ball.

Sprinkle some flour onto a clean surface and a rolling pin before rolling the dough into a flat and even slab, about half a centimetre in thickness.

Using a biscuit cutter [or a glass like me, classy] cut out sections of the dough and lay them on a pre-lined baking tray.

Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until crisp to the touch and baked completely when checked underneath.

Once cooled completely you can move onto the icing, which simply consists of sifting the icing sugar into a bowl and adding the cordial. Mix thoroughly until a spreadable, slightly runny icing is formed.

If you plan to eat the biscuits another time [for which I commend and question you simultaneously] it's probably best to decorate them just before eating - purely because the popping candy does it's thang as soon as it comes into contact with the moisture of the icing.

If you are going to gobble some straight away top each biscuit with the icing, and be sure to leave some in the bowl to eat all for yourself.

Add your sweets of choice [I lucked out on these Vimto 'skiddadles' in Home Bargains, but I can imagine skittles or jelly tots working amazingly] and a dusting of popping candy.

Let the hyperactivity commence.

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