Before we start, these need a health warning.
They are seriously delicious, and very moreish.
I made a first batch (18 biscuits) on Tuesday, and then had to make a second, double batch, on Wednesday, as I started to worry we would have none left, and I had an addiction to feed…
They are based on the recipe from the book Biscuit by Miranda Gore Brown who was on the Great British Bake Off a series or two ago. My auntie very kindly bought me the book a while ago saying “I saw this, and thought of you”. That is either a compliment, as she knows I bake, or she things I eat a LOT of biscuits…
To make a normal non piggy sized batch of 18 biscuits
This is what you need :
- 125g butter at room temperature
- 50g golden caster sugar
- 25g light brown soft sugar
- Zest of half a lemon
- Zest of half an orange
- 1 egg yolk (save the white for coconut macaroons-recipe coming to a blog near you soon!)
- 100g plain white flour
- 50g wholemeal flour
- 25g cornflour
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp mixed spice
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 100g dried mixed fruit
This is what you do:
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C (fan) and line 2 baking sheets with greaseproof paper or reusable silicon liners
- Cream together the butter and the sugars and the zests
- Add the egg yolk and mix
- Add the flours and the spices (sift if you feel the need, I don’t) and lastly the dried fruit and mix until it comes together into a sticky dough
- Roll out (the instructions say in between 2 sheets of cling-film, but I just floured liberally and it was fine, and saved the clingfilm from landfill..!) to about 0.5cm thick
- Stamp out round biscuits with a 7cm cutter, or the end of a small glass, and place on the baking sheets
- Bake for about 12-15 minutes
The original instructions say to glaze the biscuits after 10 minutes with apricot jam and then bake for another 5 minutes, and then do icing crosses on them when cool. I didn’t bother with any of this, as I am lazy and they were still A-MAZING
My Make Do and Mend Year 
Kudos to you for the no cling film route! I used cling film when pastry was in the fridge, but then left the ball of cling film in the fridge til next time. The BF will think I’m nutty if he finds it, but if he doesn’t, I’m sweet! I do also keep once or twice used greaseproof paper in the fridge for reuse too!
That’s a good idea! You can recycle clean cling film, but we have to take it to the recycling centre. Easier just to avoid if I can!
I am also told that you can compost greaseproof paper too