Christmas shrewsbury biscuits
What better excuse to bake these holidays than some sweet and buttery homemade shrewsbury biscuits! Best enjoyed with a cup of tea or gifted to friends and family, the kids will love getting stuck into making these festive treats.
Ingredients
Method
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- ¾ cup + 2 Tbsp icing sugar
- 2 Tbsp custard powder
- Pinch of salt
- 200g cold butter, cubed
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup strawberry jam
Method
- In a bowl or food processor, combine the flour, icing sugar, custard powder and a pinch of salt. Mix well until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Add the cold butter to the dry ingredients, and use your hands to rub the butter into the flour (or pulse in the food processor) until the texture reaches a sandy consistency.
- Add the egg yolk, and mix until a soft dough forms; adding a dash of cold water if the mixture is too dry. Tip out onto a floured surface, bring together with your hands and shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap, then transfer to the fridge and chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 170 degrees celsius fan bake. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to ½ cm in thickness. Cut into your desired shape, then place onto lined trays 3-5cm apart.
- Cut smaller circles or your desired shapes from half of the cookies for the biscuit tops, reserving the smaller biscuit shapes for baking. Place the biscuits into the oven to bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown around the edges. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling.
- Once the biscuits are just warm, spread the base biscuits with strawberry jam using a teaspoon. Lightly dust the ‘holed’ biscuits with icing sugar, then gently sandwich with the base biscuits and leave to cool completely.
- Serve the biscuits or keep store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Tips:
- It's easier to separate eggs if you keep them in the refrigerator for about an hour beforehand.
- To mix it up a bit try substituting the raspberry jam for apricot or strawberry!
- The dough should be quite firm and not sticky, so don’t be tempted to add milk or water.
FAQs
- Why are they called Shrewsbury Biscuits?
- A Shrewsbury cake or Shrewsbury biscuit is a classic English dessert, named after Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire.
- What can you do with extra egg whites?
- If you have egg whites leftover from a recipe then you can freeze them for up to 12 months. It's easier if you do this in ice cube trays then put the frozen egg whites into bags.
- Leave to thaw to room temperature before using.
- How should I store my Shrewsbury Biscuits?
- If kept in a reliable airtight container, homemade Shrewsbury biscuits will stay crisp and brittle for at least a week