QF Focus
Happy New Year
Here is an idea to keep the children occupied for an afternoon. As well as the white chocolate we used coloured writing icing to decorate our biscuits.
Spicy tree biscuits Ingredients
175g dark muscovado sugar 85g golden syrup 100g butter
3 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground cinnamon 350g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1 egg, lightly beaten
To finish
100g white chocolate edible silver balls
Method 1. Heat the sugar, golden syrup and butter until melted. Mix the spices and flour in a large bowl. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in 1 tsp cold water. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, add the melted sugar mix, egg and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well. At this stage the mix will be soft but will firm up on cooling. 2. Cover the surface of the biscuit mix with cling film and leave to cool, then put in the fridge for at least 1 hr to become firm enough to roll out. 3. Heat oven to 180ºC. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Cut the dough in half. Thinly roll out one half on a lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes with cutters, such as gifts, trees and hearts, then transfer to baking sheets, leaving a little room for them to spread. If you plan to hang the biscuits up, make a small hole in the top of each one using a skewer. Repeat with remaining dough. 4. Bake for 12-15 mins until they darken slightly. If the holes you have made have closed up, remake them while the biscuits are warm and soft using a skewer. Cool for a few mins on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool and harden up completely. 5. Break up the chocolate and melt in the microwave on medium for 1-2 mins, or in a small heatproof bowl over simmering water. Drizzle the chocolate over the biscuits, or pipe on shapes or names, then stick a few silver balls into the chocolate. If hung up on the tree, the biscuits will be edible for about a week, but will last a lot longer as decorations.
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