Cream together the sugar and Stork / butter, then mix in the milk, lemon zest and vanilla
Mix in the flour, baking powder and xanthan gum if using until you form a dough. Gluten-free flour may need an extra tablespoon of milk added in
Sprinkle in the poppy seeds and knead through
Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for an hour
Preheat the oven to gas 5 / 190C / 375°F
Roll or pat out the dough to around 5mm thick and cut rounds out with a 3 inch cookie cutter. I get between 24 - 30 depending on the flour I use
Bake for 15 - 18 minutes until golden
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
Mix the icing sugar with just enough water to make a thick but spreadable glaze and pour some into a piping bag
Pipe a white background circle onto each cookie and let set
Remove 6 tablespoons of leftover white icing and colour 3 black and 3 green
Colour the rest red
The poppy emblem used by the British Legion is the shape of a number 8 with a wider bottom or a snowman if you can picture that better. Put the red icing in a piping bag and pipe that outline onto each cookie then go back and fill the shapes in
When the red has set use the black to pipe a dot in the middle of each poppy
Then use the green to make the stems or a leaf if you like
Let set for a good hour before serving
In memory of those who fought for their countries and laid down their lifes in the hope that the future could be lived in peace. Lest We Forget.
