Lemon shortbread eggs & rabbits

Method

1. Set the oven to moderately hot, gas mark 5 or 190°C. To make the biscuit dough: Tip the flour into a bowl and stir in the sugar and lemon zest. Add the butter and rub it in until the mixture starts to bind together. Alternatively, whizz all the ingredients together in a food processor or until the ingredients start to bind together.
2. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and use the cutter(s) to cut out shapes. Lay the biscuits on baking sheets and bake in the centre of the oven for 15-18 mins, or until they are a light-golden colour. Remove from the oven and leave them to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
3. Decorate the cold biscuits using the tubes of icing. While the icing is still soft, stick the coloured sweets on to the rabbits for the eyes and noses, and sprinkle the pink sugar on to the rabbit ears. Stick the coloured sugar balls on to the egg-shaped biscuits. Leave the icing to set before serving the biscuits.

Useful info: The cutters and decorations we used were:Cutters: The egg cutter is the Wilton Egg Cookie Cutter, 69p, which is a child-safe plastic cutter, about 7.5 x 10cm (3 x 4in). The rabbit cutter is the Wilton Bunny Comfort Grip(TM) Cutter, £2.99. Both cutters are available from cake-decorating stores, or direct from the British Wilton distributor.Ready-to-use Decorating Icing: Wilton icing, in 11 different colours at around £1.79 a writing tube. Available from cake-decorating stores.Coloured sugar balls: Fiddes Payne Rainbow Pearls available from Asda, Waitrose and Sainsbury's, for around £1.59.Coloured sugar: Wilton Sprinkles, £1.99, from cake-decorating stores.Nutritional values are for maximum number of servingsFeature: Sue McMahon. Photos: Chris Alack. Props stylist: Sue Radcliffe