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Have yourself a hauntingly good homemade Halloween this year and have a go at baking and decorating your own sugar skull snacks. This recipe has been created by Peter Sawkins winner of the Great British Bake Off in 2020.

1. Ask a grown-up to preheat the oven to 160°C fan (350°F/gas 4)

2. Cream the butter and sugar, by smoothing the ingredients together with the back of a spoon against the sides of the bowl, or use an electric mixer, until light and fluffy.

3. Stir in the egg yolk, vanilla extract, salt and plain flour until the mixture begins to form clumps. Use your hands to gently press and knead the mixture into a dough ball.

4. On a lightly flowered surface roll out your dough until it is a little less than 1/2cm thick - the perfect biscuit size.

TOP TIP: To be super neat, place the dough between two sheets of baking paper and roll. 

5. Cut out your skull shapes using a skull-shaped cutter. If you don't have a cutter use a plastic cup to make circle shapes or use a butter knife to make your own shapes, which will work just fine.

6. Place your shapes in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

7. Line two baking trays with baking paper and carefully lay down your biscuits. Ask a grown-up to bake them for 10-12 minutes until lightly browning around the edges.

8. Leave your biscuits to cool on the baking trays before moving.

1. Sift 150g icing sugar into a bowl and add one tablespoon of water and combine. The mixture should coat the back of a spoon and drizzle in a slow, thick flow.

2. Carefully hold a biscuit by the sides and dip into the icing mix. Shake your biscuit slightly to encourage any excess icing to drip off.

3. Leave this layer to set for at least one hour.

1. Add the pasteurised egg white, lemon juice, and 245g icing sugar to a mixing bowl. Whisk with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes until it's smooth and falls off a spoon slowly in large clumps. If you have a hand whisk it'll take a little longer. If the mixture is too thick add some water, if it's too thin add more icing sugar.

2. Split the icing at this stage and colour different portions with gel colouring. Cover any royal icing not being used immediately with a layer of cling film to prevent it from drying out.

3. Fill a piping bag with the colour of your choice and cut a tiny hole in the end. Gently squeeze onthe bag and create your design. 

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