Baking Biscuits

With the air turning a little colder, baking your own biscuits can be a very enjoyable way of spending time in the kitchen and they beat any fancy packet ones hands down for the smell and the general deliciousness. Moreover, when they are homemade, you know exactly what fat has been used and that no other suspicious ingredients have been added. So they are healthier too!

There are lots of variations, but I love two simple versions, both for a kind of shortbready mixture, one of which makes a yummy mincemeat version too.

Shortbread Biscuits (and Mincemeat Squares)

7oz Plain flour
1oz ground rice ( you can omit this if you haven't got any)
3oz cornflour
3oz icing sugar
8oz butter ( if you are economising, you could use half butter and half margarine)

1. Put all this into a food processor and mix. If the butter is softish first, this is a matter of seconds. If you haven't got one, blend vigorously by hand.
2. Roll out thinly and cut out into any shape you wish. The mixture is very soft so you may need to dust your surface with cornflour to make it easier to handle. In any case you can patch and reroll.
3. Prick each one with a fork and put onto a greased baking tray.

Bake at No 3 for 30 minutes, checking carefully to see they do not become too brown. Lift off once they have cooled a little to finish cooling on a rack.

For the Squares: use the same mixture; divide into two halves; press one into the base of a swiss roll tin or a square 20cm by 20cm; spread with mincemeat, about two thirds of a jar or however much you like,  (homemade is best!) and then cover with the remaining mixture. As it is so soft, you could roll each half out to roughly the shape of your tin first. Or just firmly press and spread it. Use cornflour to dust the work surface or your hands. Prick it all over with a fork and bake as above for about 50 minutes unitl it is a pale golden and looks set. 

Cool in the tin and then mark out your chosen size of square before lifting and storing in a tin.

Lemon Shortbreads - for some reason I have got this in grams not ounces as usual; it must be a more recent acquisition

• 175 g butter
• 90g castor sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• grated zest of one lemon (or try a large orange)
• 200g plain flour
• Pinch salt

1. Use the processor to beat the butter and sugar to a fluffy mass
2. Add the rest, flour last.
3. Pat into a disc on a floured surface as it will be quite sticky and rest it for half an hour wrapped in the fridge.
4. Roll out thinly and cut into rounds.

Bake No 3 for 20 minutes until just golden at the edges. Ovens vary so much that you do need to keep checking them. Handle them carefully both before and after baking. Sprinkle them with sugar when they are cold and store.