Ingredients: for 12 Biscuits
230g plain ‘00’ flour
90g soft butter or margarine
100g caster sugar plus extra for sprinkling
1 egg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
half a teaspoon ginger
grated zest of one orange (preferably a waxed orange)
50g Currants
half a teaspoon baking powder
half a teaspoon salt
How to make Easter Biscuits … WASH YOUR HANDS
- Ask an adult to turn the oven onto 170°c/Gas Mark 4 and put a shelf onto the bottom runner.
- Line the baking trays with sheets of baking parchment.
- Weigh out the butter and sugar, place these into the mixing bowl. Ask an adult to help you to cream the sugar and butter together until the mixture is pale, white and fluffy. using the wooden spoon It should drop off the end of a spoon easily. Add the egg, grated orange, cinnamon and ginger and beat again until well mixed.
- Weigh out the flour, measure the baking powder and salt, place the sieve over the mixing bowl and sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into the mixture. Add the currants.
- Using the wooden spoon, stir everything together to form a dough. You may find it easier to do this using your hands, this is why you wash them first. Split into two and wrap in cling film and put into the fridge for 1 hour at least, to make it easier to roll out.
- Place the dough (removing the cling film first!) between two sheets of baking parchment on a clean, flat surface, gently flatten the dough – do not press too hard. Place the rolling pin on top of the baking parchment and roll the dough out until it is around 1 cm thick. This prevents any mess as the dough will not stick and you can re-roll as many times as you like without the dough getting tough from using extra flour, if the mixture is very sticky then sprinkle with a little flour.
- Carefully use the cookie cutters to cut out Easter shapes. Place these onto the lined baking trays. Gather up the remaining dough, press it together and roll out again to make the remaining biscuits.
- Use the fork to gently stab each biscuit, (don’t worry, as long as you do this gently they think you’re tickling them and it won’t hurt) this will stop them puffing up in the oven.
- Ask an adult to put the baking trays into the oven (Aga: Roasting Oven, shelf on oven floor) for 15-20 minutes (Aga for about 8-10 minutes). When the biscuits turn golden brown they are ready.
- Ask an adult to remove them from the oven and leave them to cool for 10-15 minutes before you move them onto the wire rack. DO NOT attempt to remove them sooner or they will break.
- Dust with a sprinkling of caster sugar.