Melted Snowman Shortbread Biscuits

Shortbread is my absolute favourite kind of biscuit. I've been searching for the perfect shortbread recipe for ages and it's never turned out quite the way I wanted it to, until I stumbled upon Paul Hollywood's recipe. This one makes the perfect shortbread - buttery, crumbly and with a crunch. This time I thought I'd try and do something different rather than just cutting it into simple shapes. We chose the idea of making melted snowmen, as they can be made so easily and very young children can do them with minimal help from an adult.

The shortbread recipe is extremely simple and fool-proof. It makes 12 biscuits.
You will need:
225g unsalted butter (make sure it is very soft before using, otherwise it will not mix well with the other ingredients and the shortbread will not hold together)
225g plain flour
110g cornflour
110g caster sugar
pinch of salt

For the decorations you will need:
white marshmallows (12)
Writing icing in a variety of colours
smarties
400g icing sugar
cold  water

Method:
1. Lightly butter 2 trays, or line with baking parchment.
2. Put the butter and sugar into a large bowl and cream together, using an electric hand-held whisk or wooden spoon, until light and fluffy. Sift the flour and cornflour into the bowl, add the salt and mix together until smoothly combined. Tip the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and knead to a soft dough.
3. Roll out the dough between 2 pieces of baking parchment to a thickness of 1cm. Prick the dough all over with a fork and cut into circles. Re-roll the scraps once to cut more (if you re-roll too many times the dough may start to get greasy). Put the shortbreads on the prepared baking trays and chill for at least 30 minutes (this is a really important step).
4. Meanwhile, heat your oven to 170°.
5. Bake the shortbreads for about 20 minutes, until just turning golden brown at the edges. Leave on the baking trays for a few minutes to firm up slightly, then lift the shortbreads onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the water a tablespoon at a time, stirring thoroughly until the icing is at the right consistency. You may require more or less water than it states in the recipe, but keep adding water until the icing drips off a spoon, rather than pours.

Spoon on a tablespoon of the icing onto each biscuit. Using a spoon is better than a piping bag/bottle for these - the messier they are, the better they look! The icing should run to the edges of the biscuits and down the sides. If it doesn't, use a palette knife to spread the icing to cover the biscuit or simply tilt the biscuit to make it run. Place a marshmallow at the top of each biscuit and add smartie buttons and leave to dry completely.  

As a final touch, add eyes, noses, mouths and arms using different-coloured writing icing. I did this bit, as it was the fiddliest job. These not only look gorgeous, but they are simple to make and taste delicious too.