Lovebug Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Put the flour, butter, sugar, vanilla and egg yolk in a food processor. Dribble in 1 tbsp water and blitz until the mixture comes together to form a dough. Tip onto a work surface and knead briefly to bring together, then wrap in cling film and chill for 20 mins.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roll out the dough to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use your 8cm heart cutter to stamp out heart shapes - you'll have to re-roll the trimmings to make 20 biscuits. Put the hearts on 2 baking trays and bake for 12 mins, swapping the trays over halfway through, until pale golden and crisp. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
• Dye your lump of icing with red food colouring and wrap in cling film until ready to roll. Mix the icing sugar with enough water to make a thick icing. Dye the icing with the black food colouring. Pour the icing into a piping bag with a small plain nozzle attached (or use a small sandwich bag and snip off the corner). Roll out the red icing to 3mm thick and use your 6cm cutter to stamp out hearts. Stick onto the biscuits with a little of the black icing.
• Use the black icing to give your love bug a head at the pointy end, draw a line down the centre to give it wings, then add spots. Stick 2 pearly balls onto each love bug's head, then leave to set on a wire rack. You can pack your love bugs into boxes or cellophane bags to give as gifts for Valentine's Day.

Steps:

• Mix together 1/2 cup royal icing with the black or brown food coloring until desired shade is reached. Transfer to a small squirt bottle. To create the head of the ladybug, outline the area with black or brown icing (see template). Draw several zigzags across entire surface of the outlined area. If necessary, use a toothpick to spread evenly. Using tweezers, add silver dragees to create eyes. Sprinkle head with black or brown sanding sugar. Let dry.
• Mix together 1 cup royal icing with the red or pink food coloring until desired shade is reached. Set aside 1/4 cup red or pink icing and transfer remaining red or pink icing to a small squirt bottle. To create body, outline the area with red or pink icing (see template). Draw several zigzags across entire surface of the outlined area. If necessary, use a toothpick or offset spatula to spread evenly. Using tweezers, add white dragees to create spots. Let dry.
• To create black or brown spots on cookie, squeeze two 1/2-inch dots of black or brown icing about 1/2-inch apart from one another in the center of the body (see template). If necessary, use a toothpick to spread evenly. Using tweezers, add a heart candy to each spot. To create remaining black or brown spots on cookie, squeeze dots of black or brown icing about the same size as the white dragees over body (see template). If necessary, use a toothpick to spread evenly. Let dry.
• Add more red or pink food coloring to reserved 1/4 cup red or pink icing to create a darker shade of red or pink. Transfer to a small squirt bottle. Using dark red or pink icing, make an outline around the body of the ladybug and down the center (see template). Let dry.

Steps:

• Using a hand mixer with the beater attachments, beat together meringue powder with 1 cup water until peaks form. Add sugar and continue mixing until smooth. If mixture seems too thick, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix until desired consistency is reached. If mixture seems too thin, add confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.