BISCUITS RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. These biscuits are dead easy to make and perfect for a simple gift. If you fancy jazzing them up for Christmas, try using an orange in place of the lemons and add a pinch of cinnamon to your demerara – lovely and festive!
  2. Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in the egg until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the flour, lemon zest, baking powder and salt and mix until you have a ball of dough. Cover and place in the fridge for 2 hours, or until firm. Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Roll out the dough on a floured surface until ½cm thick. Cut out shapes and place on a greaseproofed tray. Sprinkle with demerara sugar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are light brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Put the butter in a bowl and beat it with electric beaters until soft and creamy. Beat in the sugar, then the egg and vanilla, and finally the flour to make a dough. If the dough feels a bit sticky, add a little bit more flour and knead it in.
• Pull pieces off the dough and roll them out to about the thickness of two £1 coins on a floured surface. The easiest way to do this with small children is to roll the mixture out on a baking mat. Cut out shapes using a 9cm biscuit cutter, or a use the rim of a small glass and peel away the leftover dough around the edges. Press some clean toys gently into the biscuits, making sure you make enough of a mark without going all the way through. Re-roll off-cuts and repeat.
• Transfer the whole mat or the individual biscuits to the baking sheet and bake for 8-10 mins or until the edges are just brown. Leave to cool for 5 mins, then serve. Will keep for three days in a biscuit tin.