Tag Archives: biscuit

Gluten Free Vanilla Biscuits Cookies

Posted on by Abi
Gluten free Vanilla Biscuits

Gluten free Vanilla Biscuits

I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I now have a relative who has to eat gluten free food. Most of the time this presents absolutely no problems, it’s really only at parties where the vast majority of food is cake, biscuits and breads that all of a sudden nothing is suitable. With that in mind I’ve adapted one of my favourite biscuit recipes to make it gluten free. These biscuits are lovely sprinkled lightly with caster sugar or iced, depending on your preference.

Ingredients

300g/11oz Butter or baking margarine

450g/16oz Plain gluten free flour (I used Doves Farm)

1 Tsp Xanthum gum

250g/9oz Caster sugar

2 Tsp Vanilla extract

 

Method

In a large bowl sieve together the flour and xanthum gum. Add the butter and rub together using your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Add in the caster sugar and vanilla extract, and bring together into a dough using your hands.

Start to roll your dough on a floured surface (remember to use your gluten free flour!) and then cut out into your chosen shape.

Bake at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 9-10 minutes until lightly golden at the edges.

Remove from the oven and place onto a cooking rack before sprinkling lightly with caster sugar. If you are planning on icing the biscuits then omit the sprinkling of sugar and leave them to cool completely before decorating.

Tip.

If you don’t have any Xanthum gum or can’t find it (we got ours at Sainsburys so it’s readily available) then you can remove it from the recipe. However you will find that the finished biscuits are really crunchy and better for dunking in a cup of tea, also without the Xanthum gum you might need to bake for 1-2 mins less.

All my family really enjoy these biscuits whether they eat gluten or not, which makes them the perfect substitute.

 

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Sainsbury’s Comic Relief Cookie Challenge!

Posted on by Abi

As a member of the Sainsbury’s Bank Family Blogger Network I was recently asked if I would like to create a cookie design in aid of comic relief 🙂

I’m always keen to get creative so I was happy to join in the fun. Five runners up will be picked from all the designs, Sainsbury’s Facebook fans will then vote for their overall favourite design to feature on the Comic Relief baking page.

This year Comic relief is all about Dinosaurs (with toes), so with this in mind….

Watch out there’s Dinos about!

Two of these dinos are sporting red noses and one has taken inspiration from the aptly name T-Spex red nose character.

Make your own Di-nose-saurs

150g/ 51/2 oz Butter (or Stork)

225g/ 8oz Plain Flour

125g/ 4 1/2 oz Caster Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

For the Icing

The easiest way to ice biscuits is to use a Royal Icing, Sainsbury’s sell this ready to mix in a box 🙂

Small smarties or Silverspoon Coloured Choco Beans

Method

Rub together the butter and flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add in the vanilla extract and caster sugar and bring together with your hands to form a dough.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough, then cut out your Dinos.

Bake for about 10 mins in a 170C/350F oven, keep an eye on the biscuits to make sure they don’t burn.

Cool on a wire rack.

Mix up the royal icing. I usually devide this between several pots so I can mix up multiple colours. Using a fine piping bag ice the background colour onto your Dinosaur, you can also spread it on if you’d prefer. Leave for several hours to harden.

Once dry add a small white blob of icing to make the eye and leave to harden. Once dry add any final details such as smile, toes and pupil.

Finally using a blob of royal icing attach a red chocolate bean/smartie onto the nose of your Dino 🙂

The biscuits can take several hours to dry out completely, but it’s worth the wait as they can be stacked into a tin once finished without sticking together or damaging all your hard work!

Of course you can also customise your biscuits to make many other red nose characters. Our very own Spotty Crocodile made it into biscuit form sporting a dashing red nose!

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Jamaican Crunchies Cookie Recipe

Posted on by Abi

It felt about time for another biscuit/cookie recipe, so today I’m bringing you these Jamaican Crunchies. I warn you though, they are a tad controversial for a biscuit! In my experience they have a Marmite like appeal and most who try them either love or hate them. Of course which side of the love/hate line you will fall can only be discovered by making them!

You Will Need

3oz/ 85g plain flour

3oz/ 85g porridge oats

3oz/ 85g demerara sugar

3oz/ 85g butter/margarine

1 tablespoon golden syrup

1 tablespoon Jamaican rum

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 325F., 170C., Gas 3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients.

Next melt the butter and golden syrup together in a small pan over a medium heat.

Step 2

Once the butter has melted add the Rum to the pan and remove from the heat. Then pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well.

 

Step 3

Roll the mixture between your hands to make small evenly sized balls.  Place the balls onto a baking tray which has been covered with a sheet of non-stick parchment. Make sure they are spaced apart to allow the biscuits to grow in th oven.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes until golden.

Then sit back with a cup of tea and enjoy (or don’t 😉 )It’s all starting to sound like a bit of a snack-time challenge 😛

If you do try these out I’d love to hear which camp you fell into upon tasting.

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