Homemade Party Rings (Iced Ring Biscuits)

There aren’t many biscuits which are more appealing to children than party rings. Their pastel hued iced tops immediately give the impression of an occasion, to expect pass the parcel and balloons to magically appear. They’re certainly not the healthy option but I think most people have memories of party rings as children.

Whilst being milk and egg-free they may contain traces of nuts, so poor little Sofe can’t dig in when the plate of party rings appear. She has to sit back and politely say ‘no thank you’ when everyone else dives in with gusto. They’re also not veggie friendly so even if I was tempted I couldn’t indulge in a trip down memory lane!

These vanilla flavoured crunchy biscuits are the perfect carrier for the shiny, crisp iced top. Of course you don’t need to do the multiple colours, they’re just as tasty with a single colour icing, but I went to town with the colours to try to recreate real party rings as best as I could. The icing takes a while to set, so if possible leave them to harden and dry out overnight before packing them up. It might seem odd to put them back in a low oven once iced, but it really does help give a shiny, smooth finish and despite what common sense says, the icing doesn’t melt!

Homemade Party Rings

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

makes lots, at least 28!

2 1/3 cups of plain flour

2 tbsps cornflour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup vegetable fat (I used Trex)

1/2 cup dairy-free spread (Pure)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tsps vanilla paste (or use one and one of another extract)

1/4 cup oat milk (Oatly)

1. Sift together the flour, cornflour, salt and baking powder.
2. In another bowl whisk together the fat, spread and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the extracts and oat milk and whisk again.
3. Add the flour mix and carefully combine
4. Roll out and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake at 180 degrees for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden round the edges
5. Cool on the sheet before moving to a wire rack.

for the royal icing:

4 tbsps aquafaba (water from a tin of beans or chickpeas)

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

4 cups icing sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

dairy-free milk to thin the icing

food colouring as desired

1. In a stand mixer, or an electric whisk, whisk together all the ingredients until a smooth thick paste is created.
2. Colour as desired. I split the mixture into four, and then coloured each with natural food colouring.
3. Thin each colour with a splash of milk to make the icing a good consistency to coat the biscuits (thick, but thin enough to pipe!)
4. Using a plain nozzle pipe one colour onto the rings, then pipe another colour on top and feather together the colours.
5. Let set but leaving at room temperature for a good few hours. If you dare, return the iced biscuits to the oven for a couple of minutes for a smooth shiny finish and then leave to set.