Finding the perfect gift is an innate skill.
You are either born with the gift of giving wonderful presents, or must call in reinforcements for every present-giving occasion.
Yet there’s one category of gift that always receives a positive reception: the edible kind. From hampers to luxury chocolate boxes whose tins will inevitably be reused to house sewing kits, you can’t go wrong with a sweet treat.
The rise in decorative iced biscuits, alongside overly iced coquette-core heart-shaped cakes, has revealed a particular trend towards aesthetically pleasing desserts. Gone are the days of messy chocolate lava cakes and endearingly mispelled buttercream icing. The world of dessert gifting has moved onto skilfully crafted, patisserie-level sweet treats.
The search for iced biscuit designs on TikTok has garnered an impressive 10 million views, while the hashtag #CookieDecorating has a whopping 3.1 billion views. Results vary from hyper-realistic cookies depicting celebrities and memorable monuments in capital cities to sets of luxurious biscuits which spell out a hidden message.
To create these intricate designs, bakers use royal icing. This is because it dries hard with a smooth and shiny finish, while remaining entirely mouldable and can also be used to create three-dimensional designs such as flowers and other botanicals. Made from egg whites and powdered sugar, royal icing serves as the perfect sweet compliment to an opulent cookie or biscuit without overwhelming the flavour.
Below you will find a selection of the best luxury biscuits and iced cookies on the market that’ll make any recipient smile, and their tummy rumble in sweet anticipation.
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Fortnums Merry Go Round Musical Biscuit Tin
No one does edible luxury quite like Fortnum & Mason’s, and this musical biscuit tin is no exception to the rule. Aside from containing a feast-worthy selection of the brand’s delicious biscuit flavours – including salted caramel, pistachio, clotted cream, chocolate, and macadamia nut – the tin itself also revolves just like a real-life merry-go-round when wound up. It doesn’t stop there, for once the tin is placed on a flat surface it will begin to play a delicate, twinkling version of ‘La Traviata’.
Buy now £30.00, F&M
SELFRIDGES SELECTION Quadruple chocolate biscuit tin
Enjoy a moment of pure indulgence courtesy of Selfridges. The iconic department store has these quadrule milk chocolate delights housed in a tin destined to show off beside the kettle.
Buy now £9.99, Selfridges
Ladurée Pink Intemporel raspberry and rose macarons box
Though you might not have thought it, macarons are actually considered to be a type of biscuit. Two fluffy, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside meringue biscuits are sandwiched together with a creamy ganache filling to form everyone’s favourite sweet French treat.
What could be more luxurious than that? For a set of 12 delicious macarons housed in a beautiful box fit for royalty, we couldn’t recommend Ladurée more. This set features just the household favourite raspberry and rose flavours, but you can pick up an assorted box as pictured for the same price.
Buy now £36.00, Selfridges
Cartwright & Butler Teatime Shortbread Selection
A brilliant excuse to sit down for a brew with a friend, this value-for-money decorative tin houses more than meets the eye. With a selection of Cartwright & Butler’s famous buttery shortbread in rounds and fingers, there’s something for every afternoon tea occasion. Flavours include classic, chocolate and salted caramel, all total crowd-pleasers.
Buy now £25.00, Cartwright & Butler
18 Chocolat Shortbreads - Biscuits of the Gods
One for the chocoholics among us, Hotel Chocolat’s twist on the classic tea-time biscuit offers an irresistible treat. This selection of 18 shortbreads has been drowned in different variations of the brand’s house chocolate for the ultimate indulgence.
Buy now £27.45, Hotel Chocolat
Mixed Chunky Cookie Selection Box
American-style cookies with a gooey centre and enticing flavours, Cutter & Squidge goodies may be priced reasonably – but they certainly spell luxury in our eyes. We’re particularly big fans of the brand’s iconic S’mores flavour, which features drizzled toasted marshmallows on top. Mouth-watering.
Buy now £12.99, Cutter & Squidge
Van Gogh 'Cypresses' Tiles Biscuits Gift Set, 12 Pieces
Hand-painted to perfection using tasty edible dyes, the recipient of this 12-piece set of delicious biscuits replicating Van Gogh’s iconic ‘Cypresses’ will be awestruck, to say the least. Choose between a base flavour of vanilla, chocolate, lemon zest or vegan vanilla shortbread.
Buy now £25.00, NOTHS
The Drinks Bakery Discerning Drinker’s Gift Set
A sweet biscuit is all good and well with a cuppa, but come cocktail hour we'll be reaching for this savoury sort. From The Drinks Bakery comes this four pack of nibbles, designed to be devoured alongside your favourite tipples. The flavour combinations include cheddar, chilli and almond; cheese and spring onion; pecorino, seaweed and rosemary and parmesan, pine nuts and basil. A scrumptious way to support a small UK business.
Buy now £22.50, Amazon
Biscuiteers Bouquet
Flowers are ephemeral but biscuits … well, they aren’t forever – but at least you can eat them. Plus, they’ll last far longer than flowers if your recipient can manage to savour these delicious treats to ensure they go the extra mile. From the moment the biscuits leave the Biscuiteers kitchen for delivery, they have a shelf life of up to three months.
This ‘Bouquet’ set comes with 16 lemon biscuits featuring an array of beautiful British botanicals including roses, crocuses, daffodils, pansies and primrose. Delicately placed in the brand’s signature squared-off tin, it’s like something straight out of Alice in Wonderland. Plus, these perfectly sweet posies are far more original than gifting a classic, real-life bouquet.
Buy now £49.95, Biscuiteers
Biscuiteers Vegan Best In Show
A vegan option from the master bakers over at Biscuiteers, this set may be filled to the brim with adorable puppies, but the biscuits themselves have certainly been baked for humans. Gluten and dairy free, these delicious gingerbread biscuits are sure to put a smile on someone’s face – no matter what their favourite dog breed is.
Buy now £39.95, Biscuiteers
