Favourite biscuit recipes?

[scullion]

hi, this is a recipe pulled from a magazine about 35 years ago! the biscuits are extremely more-ish and i always have to leave some of the uncooked dough for my 'kids' otherwise they complain! (that's if i haven't eaten too much of it first)

Priory biscuits

3 ½ oz sr flour
3 oz rolled oats
6oz demerara sugar
6 oz margarine
¼ tsp bicarb soda
1 dsp water

Mix the flour, rolled oats and sugar together
Melt the margarine over a low heat and pour on to the dry ingredients and mix well
Dissolve the bicarb in the water then add to the mixture and mix thoroughly with a fork
When well blended, cover and leave in a cool place for 4-6 hours
Knead on a lightly floured board until soft and pliable
Divide mixture into golf ball sized pieces and place about 3” apart on a lightly greased baking sheet (don’t be tempted to flatten them as they spread out in cooking)
Bake in a moderate oven (350*F, 180*C, gas4) for 20-30 mins until cooked and golden brown
Allow to cool on baking sheets before removing then transfer to wire cooling tray

enjoy

[ianinfrance]

Hi Scullion,

Thanks for your recipe. this looks rather like the Digestive biccies we make here, except that they don't change shape much. I notive you use rolled oats which are much easier to obtain here than oatmeal.



[mode provocative on] I also notice you use the devil's grease instead of proper butter, but I daresay substituting the one for the other wouldn't spoil them!! [/provocative]

Snagged with thanks. Definitely to be tried.

[Sian]

They sound delish - and more to the point- easy!! I'm not the best in the world when it comes to baking/sweet stuff but these sound ideal
(and as they contain oats they're healthy - right??)

Diolch scullion

[Sian]

Morning all,

I was thinking about making biscuits later today - my usual being 'jumbles'; butter, sugar, egg ,flour lemon rind and ground almonds (can give amounts if anyone interested)

I'd love to know what biscuits everyone else makes - especially something they consider to be a fail-safe!!

Diolch, Sian xx

[Suelle]

I made these last week, using dried cherries and chopped dark chocolate:


I think it's going to become my standard basic cookie recipe as the dough was so easy to work with - the recipe I usually use tends to be a bit on the wet and sticky side. I can see it working well with all sorts of dried fruit and flavour combination.

My favourite ever biscuit recipe is also one of Dan Lepard's - chocolate chestnut creams:


I also like chocolate crackle tops. There are lots of slightly different recipes online, but this is the nearest to the one I use:


(here's what these look like )

[barnsleycook]

I love, love, love these:
http://www.waitrose.com/recipe/Coconut_Kisses.aspx

The trouble is that I can't just eat one

[Foodycat]

Dan Lepard's marmalade buttons are wonderful http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... danddrink1 and I am also very partial to melting moments, although I haven't found a definitive recipe yet.

[Suelle]

To continue the Dan Lepard appreciation thread , his peanut butter cookies are very good, particularly if you add a goodly amount of chopped plain chocolate:


Here's my version:

[4dogsagain]

I've been making these for over fifty years. I made a batch last week, and my goddaughter scoffed the lot!
Custard biscuits.
500g butter
500g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teasp vanilla
250g plain cake flour
250g custard powder
Cream butter and sugar with vanilla and egg yolks.
Mix in flour and custard powder, adding a very little milk if too stiff.
Roll into walnut-size balls, and press down with a fork.
Bake at 180degC fro 10-15 minutes until starting to turn brown.
Cool on a rack. Makes several dozen.

[scullion]

mine's here - viewtopic.php?f=13&t=199 maybe these threads should be merged?

[Zosherooney]

Waitrose used to do a wholemeal shortbread then about 2 years ago it disappeared. So I concocted my own recipe and tweaked it a few times till I got it right.

2 oz ground rice or polenta
2 oz plain flour
3 oz marg or butter
2 oz demerera sugar
1 oz wheat bran

mix the whole lot together, press into a greaseproofed papered tin till it is about 1/2 inch thick, bake at 140 ish (I have a circo therm oven so it's hotter) for about 1/2 hour and when done, mark into portions while hot. Then leave to cool.

[snowy]

These are nice with a cuppa.
Oat biscuits
4 oz/100g self raising flour
4oz/100g porridge oats
½ level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
4oz/100g butter or margarine
4oz/100g granulated sugar
1 rounded tablespoon golden syrup

Heat the oven to gas mark 4 or 180C
Grease on large baking tray with butter or margarine.

Mix flour, oats, and bicarbonate of soda together in a bowl put to one side.

Put margarine or butter, sugar and golden syrup in a saucepan and heat on a low heat until butter and sugar are melted, stir occasionally, take off heat and stir in the oat mix, beat well with a wooden spoon.

Scoop dessertspoons of mixture up and make into ball shapes and place on a greased baking tray when the tray is full slightly flatten the balls out with the back of the dessert spoon.

Cook in the oven for 15 minutes, when ready remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5 mins before moving onto a wire rack.

Repeat and do the same until all the mixture has been used up.

Serve with a cup of tea any remaining biscuits can be kept in a tin for a week.

[ianinfrance]

Okay, I'm doing as you suggested asnd merging this with the other biscuit thread.

[Sian]

scullion


Doh! -I had made 'your' biscuits after reading the recipe here (and we all loved them . However - I must have made them 'straight off' this laptop and not printed the recipe.
When wondering what to make the other day I remembered the biscuits but not where /who the recipe came from.....


Now printed off and safely filed - Diolch!

Sian xx

[globetrotter]

[Mamta]

Vow! some really nice recipes here !
My favourites are these Indian biscuits cumin biscuits, which people in India often have with their morning tea. They are slightly savoury, slightly sweet;
http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_dis ... p?id=13201

[GinTonic]

Snagging Is that allowed over here shame on me if not.

I am just starting to branch out with my baking skills and am looking for good tried and tested biscuit and cookie recipes.
Yesterday I tried chocolate brazil soft-baked biscuits from the Green & Blacks chocolate recipe book....ahhhh! - and have just realised where I went wrong (Note to self - do read the recipe and list of ingredients all the way through before trying)
Does using plain-flour instead of self-raising make a large difference in biscuits?
I used bashed up whole almonds instead of brazil nuts and the finished biscuits taste lovely but are a bit fine and smooth on top for my liking. I used a pastry cutter to cut them out. Would using small balls of dough make a difference as to the appearance once baked? I can't quite picture what the difference would be.

Thanks for any help.
Katie

[scullion]

i think that using self raising flour would make the biscuits a little less dense than with plain flour, the nuts - i think wouldn't make any difference and as to balls or cut-outs, that would depend on the recipe - the sugar and fat to flour/oats ratio - some biscuits stay where they are put, others wander! (and some get eaten before they are baked thereby solving the dilemma!)

[suffolk]

I's snagging this one for when we come back from our hols

[BelgianBlue]

Here's my favourite biscuit recipe. I make them at least once, usually twice, a week and everyone asks for the recipe (based on a BeRo basic 3-6-9 shortbread recipe. The pistachio idea came from Yotam Ottolenghi's 'Cookbook'):

Almond and pistachio shortbread biscuits

Ingredients

200g plain flour
50g ground almonds
175g unsalted butter at room temperature
75g caster sugar
A little beaten egg
A handful of unsalted, hulled pistachios
A light sprinkle of vanilla sugar*

Makes 30 biscuits

In a food mixer ('k' beater) or food processor (chopping blade) put in the flour, almonds, sugar and butter and process until the mixture just starts to come together and form lumps. This will only take a few seconds - don't wait for it to form a ball.

On a work surface, without using extra flour, use your hands to lightly bring the dough together (again, this takes only a few seconds). Form it into a roll and wrap immediately in cling film. The roll should be somewhere between 17-18cm long. Place the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set.

In the meantime, chop the pistachios leaving some larger bits for texture. Spread the pistachios out on a tray. After an hour, remove the roll of dough from the fridge and brush with beaten egg. Roll the dough in the pistachios and press in any loose pistachios. Wrap the dough again in the cling film and put into the fridge for at least 30 minutes (you can also leave it overnight).

Heat the oven to 160°c (fan).

Remove the roll of dough from the fridge and using a sharp knife cut the roll into evenly sized discs approx. 2mm in thickness. Place the discs on a baking tray covered with either a silicone sheet or baking parchment. Sprinkle a little vanilla sugar over the discs and bake in the oven for between 17-20 minutes until pale golden brown.

When baked let the biscuits cool on the baking trays for about 5 minutes before trying to remove them. Remove carefully and place on wire trays to cool properly. When cooled place immediately into an airtight container.

*to make vanilla sugar, put caster sugar into a kilner-type jar with the rubber ring (in Belgium that is usually 'Le Parfait' jars. Take one good vanilla bean, slice it in half to expose the vanilla seeds . Insert bean into the jar making sure it is covered by the sugar (cut the bean in half if you have to). You'll have a very fragrant vanilla sugar within a matter of days. And it just gets better over time.
Enjoy!

[slimpersoninside]

Missed this thread when I had a good look after first joining (obviously not a good enough look) .

I really want to get "into" biscuit/cookie making so can see some of these featuring in my future cooking adventures.

Thanks to all.

[frenchcheesequeen]

Snagging.

[suffolk]

Me too!

[Mamta]

[earthmaiden]

I'm posting a few recipes for biscuits which stay crunchy for a while, following a request on another thread . They are all T&T, some nicer than others IMO. Seems to me that several of the recipes posted above should stay crunchy for a while as well.


Cinnamon Crisps (from The Sainsbury Book of Baking by Carole Handslip. 1980)

125g wholemeal flour
50g rolled oats
75g sugar
1/2 tsp bicarb. soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
75g butter
1 tblesp golden syrup
1 tblesp milk

Put flour,oats and sugar into a bowl, sift in the soda and cinnamon. Mix well.
Put the butter, syrup & milk into a pan and heat gently until the butter has melted.
Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and beat until smooth (you could use a food processor).
Shape into small balls (you should get 25) and place slightly apart on a greased baking sheet, flatten with a palette knife.
Bake 180C, Gas4 for 15 mins until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet when cool.


Digestive Biscuits (from The Sainsbury Book of Baking by Carole Handslip. 1980)

175g wholewheat flour
25g oatmeal
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
75g butter (NB typo Edited IMH)
40g soft brown sugar
2-3 tblesp milk

Mix the flour and oatmeal together, then sift in the salt and baking powder.
Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, stir in the sugar.
Add the milk and mix to a stiff dough. Roll out thinly, prick well and cut into 6cm rounds (supposed to make 22) with a plain cutter.
Place onto a greased baking sheet and bake in preheated oven 190C, Gas5 for 15-20 mins. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Serve with cheese if liked.


Oat Crunchies (from The Sainsbury Book of Baking by Carole Handslip. 1980)

125g rolled oats
50g medium oatmeal
150g soft brown sugar
120ml vegetable oil
1 egg
½ tsp almond essence (try vanilla if you don't like almond)

Place oats, oatmeal, sugar and oil in a bowl, mix well and leave to stand for 1 hour.
Add the egg and almond essence and beat together thoroughly. Place teaspoons of the mixture well apart on a greased baking sheet and press flat with a damp fork (supposed to make 30) .

Bake in a preheated oven 160C, gas 3, for 15 - 20 mins until golden brown, Leave to cool for 2 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

[earthmaiden]

This is an 'interesting' recipe from Sarah Raven's 'Complete Christmas' (Bloomsbury, 2008) - a book where IMO some of the recipes didn't quite work. I made them once, the flavour was very intense, they are not crunchy (well, mine weren't anyway) - but they did keep well.

Orange Cranberry and Walnut Biscuits
makes about 12 biscuits

75g caster sugar
75g unsalted butter
1 egg
150g plain flour
50g candied orange peel, (chopped) - ideally good quality or homemade or try pieces of crystallised fruit which go with orange
50g dried cranberries
50g walnut pieces
zest of one orange
1 tblesp orange juice

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Out the soft dough into a piece of cling film and roll into a sausage shape (from which you should be able to slice into 12 biscuits later) . Chill for an hour or so.
Preheat oven to 180C, gas4
Unwrap the dough and slice into 12 rounds
Place well apart on a greased baking sheet or silicone mat
Bake for around 10 mins (check for colour)

Leave to cool for a few minutes before transferring to wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

[Mamta]

They all look lovely. I used to have this book, can't see it anywhere now, must have given it away to someone

[ianinfrance]

[earthmaiden]

Try 75g.

So very sorry, all the rest of the amounts are correct.

[ianinfrance]

[scullion]

chocolate and vanilla biscuits.
basic dough:
4oz butter
2oz caster sugar
4oz plain flour

cream butter till soft then beat in the sugar.
stir in the flour.
knead well with floured hands then wrap the dough in foil or clingfilm and chill for 1-2 hours in fridge (or until firm).

additions:
1oz cornflour + 1 level tsp
½ tsp vanilla essence
2 level tbs cocoa powder (you can use instant coffee, too).

divide basic dough in half.
to one half add 1oz cornflour and vanilla essence.
to the other half mix in the cocoa powder and 1 tsp cornflour.
wrap the dough separately and chill as for basic dough for 1-2 hours.
on a lightly floured work surface roll the chocolate dough into a sausage shape 10" long.
roll the vanilla dough into a rectangle 3"x10" and lay chocolate log on top.
roll up the dough, pressing the join lightly but firmly.
wrap in foil (or film) and chill until required.
preheat oven 180°c/350°f/gas 4.
slice the dough into 20-24 slices.
bake on lightly oiled baking sheets for 15-20 mins.

sorry i haven't converted the recipe to metric (but i'm sure you can do that for yourself easily enough).
the biscuits are very light and crisp and very more-ish.
recipe given to me by a friend's mum in the early eighties.

[KC2]

what a yummy thread, thanks for resuscitating, scully