Honey Biscuits

When my children were at nursery they used to make Honey Biscuits. The recipe came from a story book of the same name, a book which I borrowed and copied the recipe from. I lost the recipe some time ago, but recently I've been cooking a lot with honey and have been reminded of how fantastic these biscuits are. Thinking the book had gone out of print I Googled it to see if I could get it second hand. It's still in print and now have my very own copy.


Here is the recipe.
  

You will need

120g unsalted butter
120g caster sugar
1 large tablespoon runny honey
1 large egg yolk (free range)
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
180g self raising flour
2 tablespoons of caster sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a bowl for rolling dough balls prior to cooking

Preheat your oven to 175°C,350°F or gas mark 4.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until they are creamy.  Next beat in the honey and egg yolk.  Add the cinnamon and flour and mix into a soft dough, I use a wooden spoon to start with and then dive in with a hand to bring it all together. If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour. Shape the dough into little balls, rolling each ball in the sugar and cinnamon mix put aside in a bowl.

Place the balls on a greased baking sheets.  Don't forget to space them out as they will spread. You should get about 30 biscuits in all.  Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden.  Leave the biscuits to cool on the baking trays for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.  When completely cool, store in an airtight container.

They really are yummy...go on give them a go!

Stem Ginger Biscuits

These really are the best and so easy to make.  They'll leave you wanting more for that I am certain.

350g self raising flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
200g caster sugar
115g unsalted butter
85g golden syrup
1 medium egg (free range) beaten
2 pieces stem ginger, drained and finely chopped

3 baking trays greased with butter

Preheat your oven to 170°C, 325°F, gas 3

Sift the flour, ground ginger, bicarbonate of soda and sugar into a large mixing bowl.  Gently melt the butter and syrup in a small heavy based saucepan over a low heat, once melted, set aside to cool.  pour the butter/syrup mixture into your mixing bowl, add the beaten egg and stem ginger.  Mix with a wooden spoon.  I usually dive in with a hand to bring the dough together.  It should have a soft but light feel to it.  Using your hands, roll the dough into walnut size balls.  I can usually get around 32, see how you go.

Arrange to balls onto your greased baking trays, spacing them well apart as they will spread.  Bake in the preheated oven for around 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Do keep an eye on them, and if need be turn the trays around half way through cooking so that they brown evenly.

Leave the biscuits to cool on the trays for a couple of minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.  Once completely cool, store in an airtight container.

The Plan...

The plan is this...to put all my favorite recipes on here in one place.  I keep being asked for them so all you need do is log on and there they are.  No doubt cake will dominate but I'll post other things too.  In the meantime I'd better start gathering the scraps of paper I have everything noted on.

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