There’s nothing that makes a rainy day better than a cup of tea and a biscuit, or a sunny day, for that matter. We Brits are as fond of what’s inside the biscuit tin as we ever have been. And now, as we look to celebrate National Biscuit Day on the 29th May, we’re giving you some of the best biscuit recipe ideas we’ve found to tempt your tastebuds and get a batch of biscuits you’re sure to be proud of.
Don’t worry, we’ve catered for sweet tooths and those who love a savoury snack, as well as those with specific dietary requirements too!
KEEPING IT SIMPLE…
If you’re a novice baker, or you have the children with you, these first few recipes could be the perfect starter.
1) EASIEST EVER BISCUIT RECIPE
Whack the oven up to 200C and line your baking sheet with parchment to get ready for this biscuit recipe. Combine 200g room temperature butter in a bowl with 200g golden caster sugar and beat. (Electric beaters make this easy work!) When it’s soft and creamy, beat in 1 large egg, 400g plain flour and ½ tsp vanilla extract. Roll the dough out (around 1.5 cm in height, cut into shapes, and spread out on the tray. Bake for 8-10 mins, until the edges are just going brown. Leave for 5 mins before serving.
2) 3 INGREDIENT CHEESE BISCUITS
If you love a savoury snack, these are perfect! Put the oven on to heat at 220 degrees C, and crumble 75g grated cheese with your fingers into a bowl until it is fine. Remove 25g of the cheese and set aside. Add 100g salted butter to the bowl, along with 150g self-raising flour and mix well. Roll your dough out to around 0.5cm and cut into shapes, top with the set aside cheese (and herbs if you have any to hand) and bake for 10-12 mins. Delicious.
3) CHOC CHIP COOKIES
Made in America but loved by Brits, this biscuit recipe is almost as easy as the above. But in ours eyes the choc chips make these cookies a little more irresistible. Take 225g softened butter, cream it with 150g soft brown sugar, then add 375g all-purpose flour, 2 eggs and mix it up. Drop in 170g of chocolate chips and form a dough. Add a little more flour if it’s too sticky. Quickly spoon circles of dough on a greased baking sheet and keep them around 6-7 cm apart. Bake at 175C for 10-15 minutes, until they start to brown.
4) JAMMY DELIGHTS
Take 200g self-raising flour, 100g butter and 100g caster sugar and rub the mixture together with your fingers until it resembles crumbs. You can use a food processor if it’s easier! Add one lightly beaten egg a little at a time until you have stiff dough. Coat your hands in flour then roll the dough into a tube around 5 cm wide. Cut carefully into slices of 2cm thickness then spread them on a greased baking sheet. Use a small spoon to make an indentation in the centre of each biscuit, dropping a tsp of jam into each. Bake at 175 C for 10-15 mins until slightly golden and raised. Make sure you leave these to cool before eating though – hot jam can burn!
GLORIOUS FAMILY FAVOURITES
Next, we show you how to create some biscuit recipe ideas for true family faves that can be found in many a biscuit tin.
5) SHORTBREAD
One of perhaps the easier yet most satisfying biscuits to bake, no one can resist a crumbly shortbread. Combine 125g butter with 55g caster sugar and 180g flour. It should make a smooth paste. Roll the paste out (around 2cm thick) and cut into fingers or rounds (or stars or any other shape you like!). Place your shapes on a baking tray, sprinkle over some extra caster sugar, and place in the fridge for 30 mins, before baking at 190C (fan oven) for 15-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before serving.
Vegan Tip: You can make these vegan by substituting the butter with dairy free butter!
Gluten Free Tip: Substitute the flour for gluten free and you can enjoy this recipe too!
6) GINGER SNAPS
Crumbly, zingy, and oh-so-good, these snaps are relatively simple to bake. Preheat your oven to 180C. Mix together 350g plain flour, 100g butter,1tsp bicarbonate of soda, and 1 ½ teaspoons of ground ginger. Once crumbly, add 174g soft brown sugar, an egg and 4 tbsp golden syrup to form your biscuit dough. Roll out to half a centimetre thick, cut any shapes you like and bake on a non-stick tray for 7 minutes. Cool before serving.
7) VIENNESE WHIRLS
This biscuit recipe is a little more complex, but these beauties are well worth the effort. Preheat the oven to 190C. Then grab your trusty food processor and throw in 250g softened butter (very soft) 50g icing sugar, 50g cornflour and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Blitz until smooth, then, using a piping bag and star nozzle, pipe 6cm rosettes onto a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Make sure they’re spaced apart. Bake for 13-15 mins until firm and lightly golden. You might need to do more than one batch. For the buttercream, cream 100g softened butter with 200g icing sugar and ½ tsp vanilla extract. Put the mixture into another piping bag, again with a star nozzle. Then grab 75g raspberry jam and spoon a little of it on the flat side of half the biscuits. Pipe buttercream on top then top with another biscuit. Finish with a sprinkle of icing sugar.
8) CHOCOLATE DIGESTIVES
We couldn’t do a list of recipes without including the nation’s favourite biscuit! Preheat your oven to 180C and line a baking tray with baking parchment greased with butter. Put 350g of wholemeal flour and 150g of cold butter into a food processor and mix until you get a breadcrumb consistency. To the mixture, add 55g of brown sugar, ½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, 3 tbsp of milk and a pinch of salt, combining to form a dough. Flatten, wrap in clingfilm then pop in the fridge to chill for half an hour.
After half an hour, roll the dough out on a lightly floured board (to protect your worktop!), until about 0.4cm thick. Cut out between 10 and 12 circles for your biscuits and arrange on the trays. Don’t forget to space them out, as the mixture may spread! Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
And now for the best part – the chocolate! Melt 150g of chocolate over a pan of hot water – we like milk or orange-flavoured chocolate, when we are feeling adventurous! Dip one side of each biscuit into the chocolate, then leave to set. Enjoy with a glass of milk, cup of tea OR hot chocolate!
9) CUSTARD CREAMS
We love this recipe for custard creams, as it tastes amazing, makes 25-30 biscuits and is really quick to make. After preheating your oven to 180C, combine 225g unsalted, softened butter and 115g caster sugar in a food processer. Add 1tbsp vanilla extract and 3 tbsp of milk, and beat until combined. Finally add 340g of sieved plain flour and 125g of instant custard powder and beat together until you get a ball of smooth dough. If you do not have a mixer, just use a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients in a bowl then shape it into a ball with your hands. Form the dough into a long oblong shape of 5cmx4cm in depth and width. Wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes, or until firm.
Once firm, slice the oblong into 50-60 0.5cm thick slices and place on two large baking trays lined with baking paper. Use a cocktail stick to mark a dotted line around each biscuits, 0.5cm from the edge. Bake in the oven for 8-12 minutes or until the edges turn to a pale golden brown. Using a flat knife, place biscuits to cool on a rack. For the filling, cream together 300g icing sugar, 150g softened unsalted butter, 1 heaped tbsp custard powder and 2 tsp vanilla extract in a mixer or manually with a wooden spoon till smooth. Spoon a teaspoon of the filling onto the biscuit base and spread evenly. Top with another biscuit. Repeat until all biscuits and filling is finished. These tasty biscuits will store in an airtight container for up to a week, so no need to eat them all at once!
10) VEGAN, GLUTEN FREE GOOEY BROWNIE BISCUIT RECIPE
Okay, so these aren’t technically British, but brownies are well loves on this side of the pond. Gluten-free, vegan and absolutely gorgeous, you’re sure to want to make these again and again. Take 120g dairy-free dark chocolate and melt it in a bowl over a pan of boiling water mix in 50ml sunflower oil then set aside to cool. In a saucepan, heat together 140g vegan caster sugar and 80ml water until the sugar has dissolved. Let it cool a little, before mixing into the chocolate mixture and whisk until fully combined. Sift in 130g gluten-free flour, 30g vegan cocoa powder, ½ tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp salt. Use an ice cream scoop or similar to scoop 12 cookies onto a greased baking tray, far apart as they do spread. Bake at 180 for 9-10 mins then cool before serving.
With all these biscuit recipes to choose from on National Biscuit Day, you’re sure to have some left over, so make sure to pack them in an airtight container so you can enjoy them long after biscuit day is over!
Main photo created by azerbaijan_stockers – www.freepik.com
Chocolate chip cookies photo created by freepik – www.freepik.com
Ginger biscuits photo created by azerbaijan_stockers – www.freepik.com