These cookies are extremely delicate and have a melt-in-your-mouth texture thanks to the use of potato starch. You can replace this with plain flour, but it will result in a more ordinary shortbread. Make the pictured fruit and veg, any other shapes you like or just leave them plain: either way, you won’t regret it.
Makes: about 15-20
Prep time: 20 minutes, plus shaping time
Bake time: 12 minutes
125g salted butter (cubed, room temperature)
40g icing sugar
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
125g potato starch
80g plain flour
Gel food dyes: orange, purple, red, yellow, green and brown
White sesame seeds
Put the butter and icing sugar in a mixing bowl and cream together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla bean paste and mix again until combined. Sift in the potato starch and plain flour, then combine into a ball using a spatula. Avoid overmixing.
Divide the dough among five bowls and colour using gel food dye. You will need orange dough for the carrots, purple for the aubergines, red for the strawberries and yellow for the bananas, plus green to make stems.
Shape the fruit and veg using your hands. The dough will be a little sticky and tricky to handle, so dust your hands with potato starch or flour to stop it sticking to you. Try to handle the dough lightly, and the minimum amount possible. The less you handle it, the more the biscuits will crumble and melt in your mouth. Press the sesame seeds on to the strawberries to make them look more realistic. Use a butter knife to mark the carrots with indentations. Mix a little brown food dye with water, then use a paintbrush to “ripen” bits of the bananas.
Place the shapes on a lined baking tray and chill for 15-30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/325F/gas mark 3.
Bake for about 12 minutes. They will expand slightly but will hold their shape very well. Eat them straight away or leave to cool for a few minutes on a wire rack.
Baking with Kim-Joy: Cute and Creative Bakes to Make You Smile is published by Quadrille on 22 August. To order a copy for £15.84 (RRP £18), go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £15, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99.
