A staple Christmas biscuit recipe, especially if you have young children to entertain. Add decorations of choice and bag up to make a thoughtful home-made gift.
This is one of our go-to Christmas biscuits - a gently spiced cookie that can be decorated with icing or left plain.
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Yields:
35
Prep Time:
20 mins
Cook Time:
15 mins
Total Time:
35 mins
Cal/Serv:
60
Ingredients
For the biscuits
2 level tbsp clear honey
25 g (1oz) unsalted butter
50 g (2oz) light muscovado sugar
Grated zest of 1/2 orange and 1/2 lemon
225 g (8oz) self-raising flour
1 level tsp each ground cinnamon and ground ginger
1/2 level tsp grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 level tbsp finely chopped candied peel
50 g (2oz) ground almonds
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tbsp milk
To decorate
150 g (5oz) white icing sugar
Silver sugar balls
Directions
Step 1
Put the honey in a small pan with the butter, sugar and the orange and lemon zests. Put over a low heat and stir until the butter has melted and the ingredients are thoroughly combined, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Step 2
Sieve flour, spices and a pinch of salt together into a bowl, then add the chopped candied peel and the ground almonds. Add the butter and sugar mixture, the beaten egg and the milk and mix until the dough comes together.
Step 3
Knead the dough briefly until smooth, then wrap it in clingfilm and chill for at least 4hr or overnight.
Step 4
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven) mark 4. On a lightly floured work surface roll out dough to a thickness of 5mm (1⁄4in) and stamp out stars using a 5cm (2in) cutter.
Step 5
Put the biscuits on baking sheets and bake for about 15-20min or until they're just beginning to brown at the edges. Remove the biscuits from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to a week. Alternatively, wrap them in clingfilm and freeze for up to three months.
Step 6
To decorate, put the icing sugar in a bowl and add 11⁄2tbsp cold water. Pipe icing over some of the biscuits and dot a line of silver balls down the middle. Drizzle lines over a couple more and, for the others, simply dot each corner with icing and add a silver ball. Allow the icing to set, then store in an airtight container and eat within a week.
If gift wrapping...
To gift-wrap, pack the decorated biscuits in pretty boxes lined with greaseproof paper and attach a label with an eat-by date.
Per Serving:
Calories: 60
Total carbs: 12 g
Sugars: 7 g
Total fat: 2 g
Saturated fat: 1 g
48 of our favourite Christmas biscuit recipes to bake, gift or enjoy with a cuppa this festive season
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