A little like a Fruit Shortcake biscuit but made with orange zest to add more flavour. Always use currants as raisins are too big. Any shape cookie cutter will do but try not to make it too fancy as it will be difficult to cut out the dough with the currants in. Lovely served with a cup of tea during Easter weekend.
Ingredients: for 12 Biscuits
90g soft butter or margarine
100g caster sugar plus extra for sprinkling
230g plain ‘00’ flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 egg
Grated zest of one orange (preferably a waxed orange)
50g currants
½ tsp baking powder
How to make Easter Biscuits … WASH YOUR HANDS
- Line 2 baking trays with sheets of baking parchment.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture is pale, white and fluffy. It should drop off the end of a spoon easily. Add the flour, cinnamon, ginger, egg, zest, currants and baking powder and beat again until well mixed. You may find it easier to do this using your hands
- Split the dough into two, wrap in cling film and put into the fridge for 1 hour at least, this makes it easier to roll out.
- Preheat the oven onto 170°c/Gas 4 and put a shelf onto the bottom runner.
- Place the dough between two sheets of lightly floured 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 extra flour.
- Cut out the biscuits with cookie cutters, round or egg shaped ones work well. 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, this will stop them puffing up in the oven.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes (AGA: Roasting Oven, shelf on oven floor for about 6-8 minutes). When the biscuits turn golden brown they are ready.
- Leave them to cool for 10-15 minutes before you transfer them to a wire rack. DO NOT attempt to remove them sooner or they will break.
- Dust with a sprinkling of caster sugar.