Halloween spitzbuben with icing and filling

Cut the room-temperature butter into cubes. It's ready when you can press a finger gently into it and leave a small dent. Add the sugar, salt and vanilla and beat everything with the hand mixer for two to three minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Let the beaten egg run in in a thin stream while the mixer is running. Then add the flour: mix only until no dry flour is visible. The less you stir, the more tender your Spitzbuben will be.

Press the crumbly mixture together briefly, flattening it into a disc. Wrap it in cling film and chill it in the fridge for about one hour.

Preheat the oven to 190 °C fan-assisted. Roll the dough out to 3 mm thick on a little flour. Use rolling guides on both sides and it will be nice and even all over.

Using the round base shape of the Mix and Match cookie cutter, cut out 30 rounds. For half of them, these are your lids, additionally cut out a motif in the middle: hat, pumpkin or ghost. Place everything on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving some space between them.

Bake the cookies for 8 to 9 minutes at 190 °C fan-assisted, until the edges just begin to colour. Let them cool down completely on the tray.

Add the lemon juice to the egg white, sieve the icing sugar over it and whisk everything for two to three minutes with the hand mixer. Divide the icing into three bowls: leave one white and colour the others with a little Gel color orange and purple.

For dipping, the icing should be thick but still run smoothly off the spoon. If it is too stiff, stir in a little lemon juice or water, a few drops at a time.

Dip the lids top side down into the icing, let them drip briefly and turn them over. Use a toothpick to remove excess icing from the cut-out motif and pop any small air bubbles.

Now for the fun part! While the icing is still wet, add the decorations: Candy eyes, a bat made from wafer paper or a border of Halloween sprinkles. Then let the lids dry for at least an hour until the icing is firm.

Bring the double cream and butter to the boil, pour both over the dark couverture, let it stand briefly and then stir to a smooth, glossy ganache. Let it set slightly so it can be piped easily.

Fill apricot and berry jam as well as the ganache each into a piping bag and pipe a dot into the centre of the bases. Just enough that it fills the motif when you place the lid on, but does not spill over the edge.

Carefully place the glazed lids on the filled bases and press them down very gently. Your Halloween Spitzbuben are ready!