i heard about them several years ago on a radio programme about lesser known traditional British 'cakes', but no actual recipe was given - i didn't have internet access then so i tried making them using a recipe for shortbread with caraway and coriander added ....... they disappeared in no time and it wasn't even whitsun!
ingredients
- 2oz sugar
- 4 oz butter
- 6oz flour
- 1tsp caraway seeds
- 1 tsp ground coriander
method
either:
- put everything into your food processor, blitz to breadcrumbish texture
- cut the butter into small pieces and soften it in the microwave
- mix the sugar and butter and whisk till paler coloured and fluffy
- sift in the flour and loosely mix it into the butter & sugar, it will be very lumpy
- using a knife repeatedly cut into mixture until the lumps become more like crumbs - it doesn't take as long as you think!
- using your hands, gather the crumbs and gently press them together, the warmth of your hands will soften the butter and the crumbs will clump together
- work it until it just holds together
- cut into 2 lumps
- on a lightly floured surface roll each lump out into a circle about 0.5cm thick
- transfer these to a baking tray and score them into 6 or 8 slices
- bake at Gas 3-4, 160-180C, 325-350F for about 15 mins or until just beginning to turn golden
- cool on a wire rack
you can roll out all the dough and use a round cookie cutter to make dainty biscuits
i read that in Goosnargh caster sugar is piled onto them before baking and there is a bit of competition around who can get the thickest 'crust' of sugar on them!
if you leave out the spices this makes shortbread - roll the dough to about 1cm thick and don't let them turn golden
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