Great British Bake Off put bakers to the test with retro iced gems

Biscuit Week started with the bakers being challenged to make a giant batch of American cookies – producing 30 cookies in two hours, complete with decoration. As always, the bakers were inspired by a wide range of flavours, from tiramisu to lemon meringue pie and strawberries and cream. Our next level chocolate chip cookies are our favourite classic cookie recipe to make on repeat: expect a crisp exterior, chewy middle and chunks of gooey dark chocolate throughout. The recipe makes 10, but could be doubled (or tripled!) if you want a giant batch – and trust us, you'll want plenty of these around. These chunky macadamia and cranberry American cookies are more similar in style to the bakes seen in the show, loaded with fillings and a satisfying chewy texture.

Next up came the technical challenge set by Paul Hollywood which was a throwback to childhood: mini iced gems. Paul hinted that consistency was key, across flavour, texture and colour. Buttery orange shortbread topped with a pastel swirl of royal icing certainly flummoxed some of the bakers – do you bake the meringue or put it in the fridge? Luckily, if you want to recreate them at home you don't need to guess the recipe from taste alone like they did. Follow our recipe below (you could add the zest of an orange to the shortbread to match the flavours from the episode, or mix it up with lemon or lime zest if you prefer) to make your own batch of adorable mini iced gems.

Finally, the four-hour technical challenge required plenty of precision and creativity throughout, as the bakers designed and made giant biscuit mosaics. No crumbling under the pressure! Chosen designs featured the Jamaican flag, sunflowers, veg patches, windmills and much more – as well as a few broken biscuits, spilt icing and tears along the way as the clock began to tick down. Our universal biscuit dough recipe is endlessly versatile if you want to add flavours, colours or cut out creative shapes for your next biscuit bake. Whilst we can't claim to have made a biscuit mosaic ourselves, this cookie dough pizza is a fun take on a giant biscuit.

We'll be tuning in to see what happens in week 3...

Get kids helping to make these cute iced gems, with meringue topping and sprinkles for decoration. They're perfect for a party. We've made ours green, but pick any pastel food colourings to create your own rainbow designs.

Ingredients

• 125g butter, softened
• 75g golden caster sugar
• 1 egg yolk (use the white for the icing, below)
• 4 tsp vanilla extract

For the icing

• 2 egg whites (freeze the yolk for another recipe)
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 140g caster sugar
• green food colouring
• red, white and green round sprinkles

Method

• Beat the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Mix in the flour (you can use your hands or a wooden spoon to combine if the mixture stiffens up), then knead a few times in the bowl to bring together into a dough. Chill for 30 mins until firm.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roll a quarter of the dough out at a time between two sheets of baking parchment or on a floured surface to a 5mm thickness. Use a 4cm cutter to stamp out rounds (you should get 25-30 in total). Transfer to a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and bake for 10-12 mins until lightly golden and dry; they will cook more once the topping is on. You may need to bake them in batches.
• Meanwhile, beat the egg whites in a clean bowl using an electric whisk until foamy and doubled in size. Or, do this in a stand mixer. Add the vinegar and, with the motor running, add 1 tsp sugar at a time, mixing well between each addition until you have a stiff meringue. Beat in a few drops of green food colouring until it is evenly coloured. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a wide star nozzle.
• Reduce the oven to 120C/100C fan/gas ½. Arrange all the biscuits on a tray and pipe a tall meringue tree over each biscuit (hold the piping bag vertically over the biscuits to do this). Scatter with sprinkles and bake for 50 mins-1 hr. Turn off the oven, open the door and leave to cool for 1-2 hrs until the meringues have dried.