Ingredients

• 175g butter, chilled, chopped
• 2 1/4 cups plain flour, plus extra for kneading
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 egg whites
• 100g dark chocolate, melted
• 28 red M&M's Minis
• 2 tablespoons coloured sprinkles

Method

• Step 1 Preheat oven to 170C/150C fan-forced. Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.
• Step 2 Place butter, flour and 1/2 cup sugar in a food processor. Process until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add egg and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. Process until mixture just comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently until smooth. Divide mixture in half and shape into 2 discs.
• Step 3 Roll out 1 portion of dough between 2 sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Using an ice-cream cone-shaped cookie cutter, cut ice-cream shapes from dough, re-rolling and cutting dough trimmings. Place on prepared trays, 2cm apart. Using a knife, score the cones to form a diamond pattern. Freeze for 5 minutes or until firm.
• Step 4 Bake 1 tray at a time for 12 minutes or until light golden. Stand on trays for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough portion.
• Step 5 Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add remaining caster sugar. Beat for 8 to 10 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Beat in remaining vanilla. Place mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 5mm fluted nozzle. Return cookies to trays. Pipe swirls of meringue onto the top half of each cookie to form ‘ice-cream’. Bake for a further 2 minutes or until meringue is just firm to touch but slightly sticky. Stand on trays for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (see Notea).
• Step 6 Using the picture as a guide, spoon a little melted chocolate onto 'ice-creams' to form 'chocolate sauce'. Top each with an M&M’s to form a ‘cherry’. Decorate with sprinkles. Stand for 30 minutes or until set. Serve.