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1
Sift the flour. Place the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Mix. Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
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2
Next add approximately 1/2 of the beaten egg yolk and also add the water. Mix well with your hands. Try to work quickly.
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3
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
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4
Now take the chilled dough and roll out into a large square that is about 1/8 inch thick, using a rolling pin. Cut it into cracker sized squares (1.5 inches square) using a pastry cutter (fluted cutter is great if you have one). Cut the dough into 24 squares.
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5
After that take 12 of the squares and cut a small round hole out of the middle of that using a 1/2 inch round cookie cutter. Now remove the middle round that you've just cut (see photo).
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6
Lightly butter a baking tray and then line with oiled or baking sprayed parchment paper. Place the 24 crackers onto the baking tray.
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7
Bake about 7 minutes at 200C degrees or until the edges are just starting to brown.
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8
Remove from oven. Allow to cool.
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9
For the filling: Using an electric mixer, beat butter in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Gradually add icing sugar and milk, beating constantly until combined. Add vanilla (and food coloring if desired) and mix well.
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10
Now take one cracker (one of the ones without a hole in the middle) and spread 1 1/2 teaspoons of the filling on it and then top with another cracker (one of the ones with a hole in the middle). Press down the top cracker. Repeat with remaining crackers. Next put the remaining buttercream in a pastry bag with a piping tip and pipe the buttercream into the holes on each top of the cracker. I've done this in the photo above.
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11
Serve and enjoy.
