Want to make your own showstoppers? Try these delicious recipes inspired by The Great British Bake Off’s Biscuit Week

1. Using an electric whisk, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and softened. Add the vanilla, egg yolks and flour and continue to whisk together to make a soft dough. Wrap in clingfilm for 1–2 hours until firm.

2. Heat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the dough to the thickness of a pound coin. Using a 7.5cm cutter, stamp out 12 circles. Using a small cutter (try a 2cm circle or a heart or star shape), stamp out the centre of each biscuit. Place on a large, lined baking sheet.

3. Add any trimmings to the rest of the dough then roll out and use to make a further 12 rounds. Place on a second large, lined baking sheet. Bake the biscuits for 10–12 minutes until pale golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool and firm up on the baking sheets.

4. Place a large teaspoonful of jam in the centre of the base biscuits and spread out a little. Press on the top biscuits and dust with a little more icing sugar, to serve.

1. Preheat the oven to 190oC, gas mark 5. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.

2. Whisk the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Whisk in the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour and oats until evenly combined. Divide the dough into 16 and roll into balls. Place on the trays, slightly pressing the balls flat.

3. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden. Cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack.

4. To make the filling, whisk the cheese, sugar and vanilla paste until smooth. Place in a piping bag with a 1cm nozzle and pipe onto the base of 8 cookies, top with the remaining cookies and chill.

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C, gas mark 3. Line two large baking sheets with baking parchment.

2. Chop the stem ginger into very small dice and set aside. Place the brown sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl and, using an electric handheld mixer, beat together until creamy.

3. Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice, cinnamon and ground ginger into the bowl. Stir in the stem ginger and syrup, until everything comes together to form a dough. Tip onto a work surface and gently knead until smooth.

4. Break up the dough into 24 even-sized pieces and roll into balls. Place 6 on each of the prepared baking sheets, spaced well apart. Flatten each ball a little, then bake for 15 minutes until golden. They will still feel a little soft but will firm up as they cool. Repeat with the remaining dough until you have used up all the mixture.

Cook’s tipThe uncooked dough freezes well. Roll into balls, flatten slightly and freeze layered up between baking parchment. To bake, take out the number you want and bake from frozen for 3-4 minutes longer.

1. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until starting to turn pale. Add the vanilla extract and break in the egg, then mix until combined.

2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
Add this dry mixture to the butter and mix until a rough dough forms. You might need to gently knead the dough to make sure it holds together. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 160°C, gas mark 3. Roll the dough out between 2 pieces of baking parchment (this stops it sticking to the work surface) to a thickness of around 0.5cm. Cut 5cm circles out using a cutter, and punch a smaller hole in the middle of each to create a ring (I used the small lid of the vanilla extract bottle). Transfer to a lined baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes. You want the biscuits to be slightly golden, but not too dark.

4. To make the icing, mix the sugar with enough water to make a thick white paste. Divide the mixture between 3 bowls, then add a tiny amount of the colourings of your choice (I used pastel yellow, purple and pink) to each bowl and mix until you have the shade you desire. Spoon 1 tbsp of each colour into separate piping bags.

5. Dip each biscuit face down into one of the bowls of icing, then working quickly, drizzle lines of a different colour from a piping bag across the top. Drag a cocktail stick through the stripes to create a feathered effect. The icing does start to set quickly, so decorate one biscuit at a time. Repeat with the remaining biscuits using different combinations of colours, then leave to set for a few hours before sharing out.