Halloween Piñata Cookies

Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla bean paste together until it has become pale and fluffy. Sift in the flour and mix just until a soft dough is formed. Wrap in cling film and chill for a minimum of 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / gas mark 4 and line 2 baking trays with nonstick baking parchment. On a well-floured surface roll out the dough until 3mm thick. Using your cutters cut out 3 cookies of each desired shape and transfer onto the baking sheet.  Repeat with any remaining dough before chilling for 10 minutes on the trays. Once chilled use a knife to cut out the center of each of the shapes so you have a total of 3 cookies for each piñata cookie – 2 whole cookies and 1 with a cut out centre.

Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until pale golden in colour. Remove and allow to cool before transferring to a wire rack.

Once cooled mix the icing sugar with a little water until a paste is formed. Use a small amount to stick together a cut out cookie onto a full cookie. Fill the cut out centre of the cookie with a mini smarties, taking care not to overfill so the top cookie can lie flat. Secure the top cookie onto the cut out again using a little icing.

Decorate the cookies using ready to roll icing in desired colours to match the chosen shape. Enjoy your Halloween piñata cookies!