Treat your family and friends to a batch of delicious biscuits from Angela Day:
Iced rings
Salted caramel peanut butter biscuits
Custard creams
Chocolate oaties
Chai-spiced biscuits
ICED RINGS
Makes 30-40
250g butter
250ml castor sugar
2 extra-large eggs
750ml flour
ICING
300g icing sugar
water to mix
assorted food colouring
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Cream the butter and sugar well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Sift in the flour, mixing to make a stiff dough.
Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the dough until it is 5mm thick, then press out 7cm circles, rerolling trimmings as needed.
Next, press out a 2cm circle from the middle of each larger circle. Put the rings on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool for 3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
ICING: Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl and mix in enough water to make a thick, spreadable consistency.
Put a scoop of icing into two small bowls and colour them pink and purple. Spoon into a disposable icing bag and snip off the end to make a small hole.
Take each biscuit and dip it into the white icing, allowing the excess to drip off.
Place on a rack and drizzle with either the pink or purple icing.
Allow to set completely before storing.
SALTED CARAMEL PEANUT BUTTER BISCUITS
Makes about 20
125g butter
125ml smooth peanut butter
180ml light brown sugar
1 egg
5ml vanilla extract
375ml self-raising flour
salt flakes
385g tin of caramel condensed milk
Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
Add the flour and mix to form a stiff but not dry dough.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 5mm thickness. Cut out with a 5cm fluted cutter and place the discs on a greased baking tray. Bake at 180°C for 10-15 minutes until light golden.
Remove and cool for 5 minutes before placing on a cooling rack.
Add a good pinch of the salt flakes to the caramel to achieve a pleasant salty-sweet taste. Sandwich two biscuits together with the salted caramel filling.
Note: These biscuits go soft on standing overnight, so they’re best served on the day they’re made.
CUSTARD CREAMS
Makes about 35
375ml flour, plus extra for dusting
125ml custard powder
5ml baking powder
125ml castor sugar
125g butter, chilled and cut into cubes
1 egg
15ml milk
FILLING
180g butter, softened
375ml icing sugar
45ml custard powder
milk to mix
Put the flour, custard powder, baking powder, sugar and butter into a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the egg and milk and pulse until the mixture just comes together.
Tip onto a work surface and knead lightly to form a soft ball of dough. Cover in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180°C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to 3mm thickness.
Cut into 4cm squares, rerolling any trimmings as needed.
Put the squares on the prepared trays and bake for 13-15 minutes, until golden.
Cool for 3 minutes on the trays before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
When cool, sandwich together with some filling, using a piping bag.
FILLING: Cream the butter well. Add the icing sugar and custard powder and mix until light and fluffy.
Add a little milk to achieve the right consistency, if necessary.
CHOCOLATE OATIES
Makes 16
250ml self-raising flour
300ml brown sugar
250ml oats
2ml bicarbonate of soda
125ml chocolate chips
125g butter
15ml golden syrup
melted chocolate,for drizzling
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Lightly grease two baking sheets with non-stick baking spray.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, oats, bicarbonate of soda and chocolate chips.
In a small pot, melt the butter and golden syrup.
Add to the dry ingredients and mix.
Roll the dough into 16 balls, arrange on the baking sheets, spaced apart, and squash down slightly. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden.
Remove and leave to cool slightly on the tray before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Drizzle the melted chocolate over the biscuits.
CHAI-SPICED BISCUITS
Makes 36
250g butter, softened
125ml icing sugar
1 egg
10ml vanilla extract
500ml flour
7ml ground cardamom
5ml ground cinnamon
5ml ground nutmeg
2ml ground ginger
2ml ground cloves
2ml salt
COATING
250ml icing sugar
2ml ground cardamom
2ml ground cinnamon
Heat the oven to 180°C.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
Stir in the remaining ingredients to form a soft dough.
Shape spoonfuls of dough into small balls and place, spaced apart, on a greased baking tray. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until very lightly browned.
Remove and cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.
Working in batches, gently roll the warm biscuits in the coating.
COATING: In a bowl, mix ingredients well.
* The Angela Day cookery column is published in The Star, the Cape Argus, the Daily News and the Pretoria News.