Biscuits Biscuits and Cookies Recipes

Homemade Party Ring Biscuits (British Party Rings)

Last Updated on June 17, 2025 by becky

A recipe for homemade party ring biscuits. Featuring a crunchy vanilla biscuit and sweet, vibrantly colored icing, these ring-shaped iced party rings look just like the classic biscuits sold in British supermarkets.

A bowl of party ring biscuits

Why Make These Homemade Party Ring Biscuits?

Not long after relocating to the UK to pursue my pastry studies at Le Cordon Bleu London, I discovered (and developed an affinity for!) iconic tea-time biscuits like custard creams, pink wafers, Jammie Dodgers, malted milk, and bourbon biscuits. These days I always keep plenty of biscuits in my kitchen cabinet, and Party Rings are almost always amongst the choices.

Manufactured by Fox’s Biscuits, a British baking company based in West Yorkshire, England, you’ll recognize Party Rings by their distinctive ring shape and pastel pink, white, yellow, and purple icing. (In 2025, Fox’s introduced several spinoffs: Under the Sea Minis (fish-shaped biscuits), strawberry Party Rings, and Chocolate Minis.) Sold in bright blue packaging, these colorful, crunchy cookies have been a staple at children’s parties since 1983, although plenty of adults also love them with their daily cuppa.

This homemade version celebrates the vanilla flavor, ring shape, and colorful icing decoration of the classic Party Ring. They really do look and taste just like the the real thing!

Party rings arranged on a white surface

Ingredients for Making Homemade Party Rings

To make your own party ring biscuits, start by gathering the following ingredients:

  • All Purpose Flour – You’ll need 192 grams (1 1/2 cups) of all purpose flour, or plain flour if you’re in the UK.
  • Caster Sugar – While granulated sugar works in many of my recipes, for these biscuits I recommend using caster sugar (superfine sugar) because the finer granules produce a smooth, easy-to-roll dough.
  • Cornflour – Cornflour (or cornstarch, in some parts of the US) is a tasteless, powdery white substance. It is often used as a thickening agent (like in my mixed berry compote) but in this cookie dough, cornflour creates a softer, slightly chewier biscuit.
Ingredients for making homemade party ring biscuits
Ingredients for making homemade party rings
  • Kosher Salt – I test my recipes with Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
  • Unsalted Butter – For this recipe, you’ll add cold, cubed butter to the dry ingredients via the “rubbing in” method, mixing everything together with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Do not use softened butter.
  • Egg – To make the dough you’ll need 1 medium (45-50 gram) egg, at room temperature.
  • Vanilla Extract – Opt for a good-quality vanilla extract from a brand like Nielsen-Massey or Taylor & Colledge.

A bowl of party ring biscuits

Making the Icing for Iced Party Rings

Whether store bought or homemade, the best part of party rings is always the icing. To make it, you’ll need:

  • Confectioner’s Sugar – Confectioner’s sugar (or icing sugar in the UK) forms the base for the sweet, smooth icing.
  • Corn Syrup – You’ll need corn syrup (I like Golden Barrel), light Karo syrup,  or liquid glucose to create the slightly shiny finish.
  • Whole Milk – I tested the icing with whole milk, but feel free to substitute skimmed, semi skimmed, or plant milk.
Ingredients for making party ring biscuit icing
Ingredients for making the icing

Icing the Cookies

Use your hand to dunk each cookie, top side down, into the bowl of icing. Gently move the cookie from side-to-side to evenly distribute the icing, or allow it to rest in the bowl for a few seconds.

Dunking a ring shaped cookie in purple icing

A ring shaped cookie in pink icing

Slowly pull upward, holding the cookie above the icing for a few seconds and allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl.

Hand dipping a cookie in pink icing

Place each dipped cookie on a wire rack. (Don’t forget to position your rack over a sheet of parchment to catch the drips!) Repeat until you’ve coated all of the biscuits.

Yellow, purple, pink and white party rings on a rack

To add the decorative zigzags, scoop the remaining colored icings into disposable piping bags and pipe a freeform pattern atop the top of each biscuit.

Hand holding a piping bag of yellow icing

Iced party ring biscuits on a wire rack

Hand holding pink and white biscuit

Notes on Feathering

I allowed the dipped icing to set for about 10 minutes before piping, because I wanted the zigzags to stay smooth and clearly defined.

If you prefer a feathered look similar to the “real” Party Rings, use a wet-on-wet technique: Pipe the stripes immediately, then use a toothpick (cocktail stick), fondant tool, or metal skewer to feather the two colors together.

Cutting the Party Ring Biscuits

To replicate the iconic round shape, I used a party ring biscuit cutter from my set of British biscuit cutters. (I love this set and use it frequently, not just for Party Rings, but also to make bourbon biscuits and Jammie Dodgers!)

Hand holding a box of biscuit cutters

Hand holding a pink round biscuit cutter

If you don’t have a special cutter, you can use a basic 2-inch round metal cutter instead.  Cut the dough into discs, then use a 1/2-inch round cutter to cut a hole in the middle of each one. A small bottle cap (like the cap from a bottle of flavoring or extract) also works great for creating the center cutouts.

Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions

To make ahead: You can prepare the cookie dough up to 24 hours in advance. Flatten into a disc, wrap in clingfilm/parchment, and refrigerate until ready to use.

To freeze: Freeze unbaked cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature. Ice prior to serving.

To store: Layer homemade party rings between sheets of parchment or wax paper and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. To avoid damaging the icing, make sure it’s thoroughly set before transferring the cookies to the container.

Homemade party rings

Other British recipes you might enjoy:

Bourbon Biscuits
Eton Mess
Lemon Posset
Bara Brith
Clotted Cream Fudge

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!

 

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Homemade Party Ring Biscuits

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Featuring a crunchy vanilla biscuit and sweet, vibrantly colored icing, these homemade party ring biscuits look just like the British supermarket classic.

  • Author: becky
  • Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Chilling Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 12-15 minutes
  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Yield: 36 2-inch cookies
  • Category: Biscuits and Cookies
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: British

Ingredients

Scale

Biscuits:

192 grams all purpose flour (1 1/2 cups)
100 grams caster sugar (1/2 cup)
22 grams cornflour (3 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
113 grams unsalted butter (4 ounces; 1/2 cup), cold and cubed
1 medium egg, at room temperature (about 48-50 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing:

200 grams confectioner’s sugar (1 1/2 cups), sifted, plus more to adjust consistency
40 grams light corn syrup or liquid glucose (2 tablespoons)
30 milliliters whole milk (2 tablespoons), plus more to adjust consistency
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Pink, yellow, and purple gel food coloring (I used Chefmaster Neon Brites)

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, caster sugar, cornflour, and kosher salt.

A bowl of flour with a whisk

Add the butter to the dry ingredients. With your fingertips, rub the mixture together until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Cubed butter in bowl of flour

Butter rubbed into dry ingredients in a bowl

Hand holding crumbly mixture of butter and flour

In a small bowl, whisk together egg and vanilla extract.

Egg in a bowl

Form a well in the dry ingredients. Add the egg and use a fork to mix until a dry, clumpy dough forms.

Adding egg to dry ingredients

Mixing cookie dough ingredients with a fork

With your hands, finish bringing the dough together until a soft dough forms.

Cookie dough in a bowl

Shape into a 7-inch disc. Wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap and refrigerate, at 1 hour or overnight.

Cookie dough wrapped in plastic wrap

Line 2 half sheet rimmed baking trays, or 3-4 smaller trays, with parchment or a silicone mat. Set aside.

On a silicone rolling mat or lightly floured countertop, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness.

Rolled dough on a rolling mat with rolling pin

With a 2-inch round cutter, cut dough into discs, then use a 1/2-inch round cutter to cut a hole in the middle of each. (I used the party ring cutter from this set of classic British biscuit cutters.)

Hand holding pink party ring cutter

Cut biscuits on a rolling mat

Cutting party ring dough on a rolling mat

Re-roll scraps and cut remaining cookies.

Round cutter cutting cookie dough

Arrange on prepared trays. (If using a single half sheet rimmed baking tray, I recommend starting with 24 cookies, then baking the rest in a second batch. Don’t overcrowd the cookies on the tray, and do not bake multiple trays at once.)

unbaked party ring biscuits on a tray

Freeze cookies on tray for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350° F / 176° C.

Bake in preheated oven for 13-15 minutes, or until very lightly golden brown around the edges.

Tray of ring shaped cookies after baking

Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Un iced party rings on a wire rack

Icing:

Line a half sheet rimmed tray with parchment, wax paper or clingfilm/plastic wrap. Sit a wire rack over top.

wire rack with parchment underneath

In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, whole milk, and vanilla bean paste.

icing ingredients in bowl with whisk

Divide icing into four small bowls. If necessary, add more confectioner’s sugar to adjust the consistency. The icing should be thick enough to hold its shape when piped, yet thin enough for dunking and drizzling.

bowls of white icing

Tint with pink, yellow, and purple food coloring. (I used Chefmaster’s Neon Brite line, but you can choose any colors you’d like.

Bowls of colored icing with spoons

Turn each cookie upside-down and dunk in the icing color of your choice. Lift upwards and allow the excess icing to drizzle back into the bowl.

Yellow icing in a bowl with a round cookie

Dipping a cookie in yellow icing

Hand holding a yellow iced party ring

Repeat with remaining cookies. As you dip, sit each cookie icing side up on prepared wire rack, allowing excess icing to drip onto the parchment-covered tray below.

Iced party rings on a rack

Set aside and allow the icing to set, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, transfer remaining icing into disposable piping bags. (You will need a separate bag for each color).

piping bags of purple, pink, yellow and white icing

Once cookie icing is firm to the touch, pipe contrasting zigzags over each cookie. (Note: If you want to achieve a “feathered” look, pipe the zigzags while the cookies are still wet, then use a fondant tool or toothpick to feather.)

Iced party rings on a rack

hand holding pink and yellow iced cookie

Allow cookies to sit at room temperature until icing sets, about 5-10 minutes.

Party rings on a wire rack

Store party rings in an airtight container, layered between sheets of parchment, for up to 5 days.

Hand holding a yellow cookie

 

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a comment below or share a photo on Instagram and tag me @bastecutfold.

becky

Rebecca Frey is a freelance recipe developer, food writer, photographer, stylist, and pastry chef. She earned the Diplôme de Pâtisserie (French Pastry Techniques Diploma) from Le Cordon Bleu London in 2020 and an MSc in Culinary Innovation from Birkbeck, University of London in 2022, where she focused her dissertation research on Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. She also holds a Professional Chocolatier’s Certificate from Ecole Chocolat. Rebecca has developed recipes for websites including Serious Eats, The Spruce Eats, Wine Enthusiast, and others. Follow her on Instagram @bastecutfold.

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