Coconut Shortbread Biscuits

These are melt-in-the-mouth shortbread biscuits covered with coconut and using very few ingredients.  I make the dough in the food processor but it can be made by hand in the usual way.

450 ml flour, sifted

75 ml cornflour, sifted

125 ml castor sugar

250 g butter, slightly softened

250 ml coconut

cherries to decorate

Place the flour, cornflour and castor sugar in a food processor, blend in the butter until a soft dough is formed.  Divide the dough into two (for easier handling) and roll each half into a sausage or square it off as I have done.  Cover with cling-wrap and refrigerate for an hour until firm.

Cut into slices with a sharp knife and and cover each slice all over with coconut.  Place on lightly greased baking trays.  Place a piece of cherry in the centre of each, pushing down slightly.

Bake at 150 C for15 minutes or until they are lightly browned.

Makes about 40 biscuits

Muesli Cookies

This recipe comes from The Australian Women’s Weekly Cookbook called “The Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits” which is full of delicious looking biscuits so there might be more coming from this book in the future.

This one has more healthy ingredients than the average biscuit so don’t feel too guilty if you nibble on one of these.

185 g butter, melted

250 ml toasted muesli

250 ml coconut

250 ml rolled oats

125 ml self-raising flour (next time I will use more as they didn’t bind together very easily).  Perhaps try 175 ml.

125 ml sugar

60 ml sesame seeds

15 ml honey

1 egg, lightly beaten

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Mould level tablespoons of mixture into balls, place about 3 cm apart on lightly greased oven trays and flatten slightly.  Bake in at 170 C for 10 – 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes about 32

Monte Carlo Biscuits

These biscuits look very appealing and are just as delicious.  They are particularly nice with raspberry jam but any flavour jam will do just fine.  “Your Family” is the magazine that takes the credit for these way back in September 1981.

180 g butter

125 ml sugar

1 egg

5 ml vanilla essence

300 ml self-raising flour

180 ml plain flour

125 ml coconut

FILLING

60 g butter

180 ml icing sugar, sifted

3 ml vanilla essence

10 ml milk

raspberry jam

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add the egg and vanilla essence and beat well.  Add the sifted dry ingredients and the coconut and mix well.

Roll the mixture into little balls.  Place on greased baking trays and gently press down with a fork.

Bake at 180 C for 10 – 15 minutes until golden brown.  Cool.

For the filling, cream butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy and add vanilla essence and the milk.  Beat well.

Place a little filling mixture in the centre of half the biscuits.  Place the raspberry jam on the other half and sandwich them together, pressing lightly.

Makes about 26

Savoury Bacon, Onion and Cheese Pinwheels

Instead of a sweet biscuit try something savoury for a change.  I made these little savoury rollups which were supposed to contain marmite but because I had no marmite I substituted bacon, onion and cheese, with good results.  They are at their best straight from the oven.  I had a friend around for tea so I put them on a hot-tray to keep them warm.

250 g flour

15 ml baking powder

150 g butter or margarine

1 egg

15 ml maizena (cornflour)

salt to taste

FILLING

5 rashers bacon, cooked and chopped

1 large onion, chopped and fried

250 ml grated cheddar cheese

FOR THE TOP

1 egg

sesame seeds

salt

Rub the butter or margarine into the flour.  Add the baking powder, maziena and salt.  Add the egg, beaten with 40 ml water and mix well.

Roll into a rectangle approximately 38 x 30 cm.  Trim the edges and spread with the cooked bacon and onion.  Sprinkle the cheese on top.  Cut in half so each is 19 x 30 cm.  Roll up each half fairly tightly like a swiss roll, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer (preferably overnight to make it easy to slice).

Then cut into thin slices.  Beat an egg and eggwash each slice.  Sprinkle sesame seeds on top if desired and a sprinkling of salt.

Bake on a greased baking tray for 10 minutes at 200 C.

VARIATION

Substitute the above filling with the following:

60 ml butter or margarine

15 ml marmite

125 g cheddar cheese, grated

Spread over the pastry and roll up as instructed.

Peanut Butter Biscuits

I love this version of peanut butter biscuits which I found on Snowflake’s website a while back.  They keep well (at least I think so – in our household nothing really lasts long enough to test that theory!).  Like most things I make they are very quick to prepare and I made this batch before breakfast this morning while the porridge was cooking.

125 g butter

80 ml white sugar (65 g)

80 ml brown sugar (65 g)

3 ml vanilla essence

125 ml peanut butter (150 g) (smooth or crunchy)

1 extra-large egg, beaten

375 ml flour (210 g)

2 ml salt

5 ml bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

Cream the butter, sugars and essence.  Beat in the peanut butter and egg.

Sift the remaining dry ingredients together and add to the sugar mixture.  Roll into small balls and place on greased baking trays.  Press flat lightly, using a fork (or anything else that will make a pattern).

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 10 – 12 minutes.  Turn onto a wire rack to cool.

Makes 45 – 50

Coffee and Raisin Shortbread Squares

These little squares have a shortbread base with raisins, topped by a coffee flavoured icing.  The recipe comes from the “You” Magazine published about 11 years ago.

230 g butter

140 ml sugar

500 ml flour

10 ml baking powder

15 ml syrup

250 ml seedless raisins

ICING

10 – 15 ml instant coffee powder

5 ml soft butter

375 ml icing sugar, sifted

hot water

Preheat the oven to 180 C and spray 2 brownie pans (16 x 25 cm) with nonstick spray.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Sift the flour and baking powder together and add to the butter mixture along with the remaining shortbread ingredients.

Mix well and press the mixture into the prepared pans.  Bake for about 20 minutes until the shortbread is a pale straw colour.

Meanwhile prepare the icing by dissolving the coffee powder in 15 ml hot water and add half to the icing sugar along with the butter.  Mix, adding small quantities of hot water at a time until a spreadable paste is formed.

Cool the baked shortbread for 5 minutes before spreading with the icing.  Leave for another 5 minutes before cutting into squares.  Allow to cool completely in the pans.  Store in an airtight container.

Cheese Biscuits

These cheese biscuits are always a popular choice and are made in a flash using only four ingredients.  My sister, who doesn’t consider herself a baker, used to make them for her walking group when they went up Table Mountain or walked in and around Cape Town’s beautiful forest hiking trails.

100 g very soft butter

250 ml flour

1 (150 g) packet cheese and onion chips, well crushed

200 g cheddar cheese, grated

Mix all the ingredients together to form a dough.  Roll into little balls and place on a baking tray.  Flatten slightly with a fork or the palm of your hand.

Bake at 200 C for 10 minutes.

Makes 40

Fruit Slices

This is so quick and simple to make that it takes just a few minutes before it’s in the oven baking.

250 ml coconut

200 ml brown sugar

250 ml self-raising flour

250 ml mixed dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants)

120 g butter or margarine, melted

1 egg, beaten

Mix the dry ingredients together.  Add the melted butter or margarine and beaten egg.  Press into a swiss roll tin (23 x 33 cm) and bake at 190 C for 20 – 25 minutes.  If you want them soft and chewy don’t leave them in too long.  The longer you bake them the crunchier they get (which is how I prefer them).

Cut while hot and leave in the tin to cool.

If desired pour a lemon icing over whilst still hot.

Shortbread

Shortbread is always a popular choice and this version is really tasty.  As with all my biscuit recipes I advise on using  butter if you want a good flavour.  It melts in the mouth …. mmm.

500 g butter

600 g flour

100 ml castor sugar

100 ml icing sugar

160 ml maziena (cornflour)

Knead all ingredients together very well until bowl is clean.

Press into 2 ungreased  pans (16 x 25 cm)

Bake in a cool oven (130 C) until just starting to colour for 60 – 90 minutes.

VARIATIONS:

1. Make a ginger topping as follows:  Put 65 ml icing sugar, 5 ml ground ginger, 60 g butter and 20 ml syrup in a pot on the stove and heat until melted and well blended.  Do not boil.  Pour over warm shortbread and let it set while still in the pans.
2. Combine the rind and juice of half a lemon and 25 ml poppy seeds into half the dough.  Add a bit more flour if necessary.
3. Combine 4 ml ground ginger, 2ml cinnamon and 2 cloves into half the dough.

Crackers

Taking into account the name of my blog I thought a batch of biscuits might be the obvious choice for my second entry!  These are one of my favourites and this time we go to another popular South African magazine called “You”.  This one was from the 19 November 1987 issue.  I like decorating these and the sky’s the limit when it comes to how to decorate them.  As you can see they can be quite colourful.

There is one thing I won’t compromise on when I make biscuits and that is butter.  The huge difference in taste between those made with margarine and those made with butter makes the extra expense worthwhile.

Don’t squash these down too much as they spread considerably so leave lots of room between them.

250 g butter

300 ml white sugar

2 eggs

5 ml vanilla essence

500 g self-raising flour OR plain flour with 15 ml baking powder

1 ml salt

Cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.  Stir in the vanilla.

Sift the self-raising flour and salt and add to the butter mixture.  Mix until you have a soft dough.

Roll the dough into little balls and decorate them with whatever toppings you desire (see suggestions below).  Place the coated balls on a greased baking tray a little apart to allow for spreading.  Flatten slightly.

Bake the biscuits at 190 C for about 10 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Makes about 80 biscuits

Suggested toppings:

crushed cornflakes/allbran flakes;  cinnamon sugar;  walnuts;  jam;  100’s and 1000’s (nonpareils);  vermicelli;  cherries and Smarties.