Cookies for Teacher Thank You

Put 100 g sugar and 100 g butter into a pot.

Add 60 g water and 1/2 tsp salt. Measure out 1 tsp liquid aroma of vanilla and add it to the pot as well. Use a measuring spoon here for accuracy.

Heat everything, stirring from time to time. As soon as the mixture boils, take the pot off the stove and let it cool at room temperature for about 20 minutes. This scent will take you right back to your childhood, it smells just like real Petit Beurre!

After the 20 minutes, put 250 g flour and 1 tsp Baking powder into a large mixing bowl.

Pour the butter and sugar mixture in and mix on low speed with the flat beater until sprinkles form. Finish the rest by hand until a smooth dough forms.

Careful, don't knead for too long: otherwise the gluten develops and the cookies will rise during baking. We want nice flat cookies here.

Roll the dough out between two sheets of baking paper with a large rolling pin. With 3 mm guide sticks it will be the same thickness everywhere.

Slide the rolled-out dough onto a baking sheet and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes. In the meantime, prepare a perforated baking mat on the perforated baking tray, so the cookies bake evenly.

Use the fluted rectangle cookie cutter (7.5 cm) to cut out Petit Beurre and place them on the perforated baking mat.

For the pencils, cut the dough with a knife along a paper stencil of a pencil and place them on the mat as well.

Use the message set to write small messages on the Petit Beurre. It contains 85 letters, numbers and symbols, plus a letter strip.

Insert the letters into the strip so that the message appears the right way round when stamped. If in doubt, a mirror or the selfie camera on your phone will help. Press the strip evenly and quite firmly into the dough, but not so hard that the letters pierce it. By the way, this is easier on dough at room temperature than on frozen dough. Need ideas? "Thanks", "Teacher", "Have a nice holiday"…

To make the pencils look more realistic, press the lead and the grooves into the dough with the back of a knife.

Place the cookies in the freezer for another 15 minutes so they keep their shape while baking. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180 °C convection.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes in the middle of the oven, then let them cool completely.

Now the pencils get some colour! We have chosen two pastel shades, yellow and skin pink. Dust the work surface with Magic roll-out powder so the Fondant doesn't stick, and roll it out to 2 to 3 mm thick with a small rolling pin.

Place the cookie on the Fondant and carefully cut around it with a knife. We only cover the lower part of the pencil, the tip stays uncovered.

Use the brush to apply a little food glue onto the cookie, then carefully lay the Fondant over the lower half.

Use the back of a knife to press the two typical grooves of the pencil into the Fondant. For the lead, place a Chocolate flavour pen in a Mug of boiling water for five minutes so the chocolate becomes liquid.

Use the Chocolate flavour pen to draw the lead onto the pencil tip. Do the same with all the pencils. We have left a few without Fondant, but of course you're welcome to decorate all of them.

Put some wood wool or tissue paper into a small box and place the biscuits on top. We put in two Petit Beurre and two pencils, you can use as many as you like.

For a delicate floral touch, add a yellow and a pink sugar daisy. Close the box, tie a pretty ribbon around it, and your sweet thank-you is ready!