Wednesday 21 December 2016

Honey Biscuits

There was no way out, I just had to make a batch of Honey biscuits!
It's not Christmas without Honey Biscuits, and because a few people have asked me for my recipe and how to bake them, I thought it easiest to show, rather than just give out a recipe.

 As with most old recipe books, the instructions leave a lot to the imagination, as you can see here. So for the novice Honey Biscuit baker here is the way I've found works best for me.
I always make half a batch. A full batch takes all day, so I'm going to give you the ingredients already cut down to a half batch.

Ingredients;

1 tablespoon of butter
500g honey
1 and 1/4 cups of sugar
2 eggs
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of bi-carb soda
1/4 - 1/2  teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 small teaspoon cinnamon
1 small teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
Plain flour - approx 4 - 5 cups

 Method;

Melt butter, honey and sugar in a saucepan together.
In a large mixing bowl beat together the eggs and all of the spices.
Mix into the egg mixture, 1 cup of flour and beat until well mixed.
Pour in a small amount of the melted honey mixture and mix well, then add more flour, mix well.
(The aim is not to cook the egg by pouring in the hot  honey mixture)
Add the remaining honey melted mixture and mix well.
Keep adding flour and mixing until it becomes impossible to mix any more without breaking your hand or your spoon.
At this point, more flour is still required to achieve the right consistency, but there's a way to do it that is much easier.
Cover and leave for an hour or overnight, before rolling out and cutting into shapes.
Bake in a moderate oven for approx 10 minutes or until slightly colored.



 Alternate adding of the flour, and the melted honey mixture to the eggs and spices.

Keep adding flour until you can't mix it any more without breaking your spoon.

The dough will look like this.

Cover the bowl and leave for a least an hour, or overnight if you want to. 

When you're ready to bake the biscuits, cut a lump off using a knife.

Flour your bench well and knead more flour into the dough until it reaches the correct consistency, which is just past the sticky stage. It should not be sticky.

Form into a flat ball and gradually press it out flat.

Then roll it out with a rolling pin. Be sure to have enough flour under the dough so it doesn't stick to the bench, and move it around a bit to make sure it's not stuck.

This is the thickness I prefer.

Cut into shapes.

Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. (Frugal tip; you can re-use the same piece of paper over and over.)
Bake in a moderate oven for approximately 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
When slightly cooled, lift off the baking tray with a flat knife and cool on cake cooling racks.

Save all the scrappy cut out bits and roll into a new ball.

The scrappy bits will roll out again until all the dough is used up.


 
This is the thickness of the finished product. Some people make them thicker, but we prefer them this way.
Wait until cool before icing with a thin mix of icing sugar and water. (Food coloring can be added) Mix well, spoon into a zip lock bag with a tiny hole cut into one corner, and squeeze onto each biscuit.
I find it's easiest to place all of the biscuits out on the kitchen table in rows, then it's a quick squirt and swirl over each biscuit.
I'll ice these tomorrow morning. I don't want to look at another honey biscuit until then!! but you can see last year's Iced honey biscuits here.
Honey biscuits are really quite simple to make when you know how and with a few little tricks up your sleeve.
I hope you will give them a go, but stand back, everyone loves them so you might need to hide some for later. Oh, and they keep well too, in an airtight container or glass jars.
I'd love to know how yours turn out when you bake them.
:) X Cheers!











15 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing. I love personal recipe especially special occasion ones. Now this is better than my shortbread recipe that I struggle with in our hot Christmas in that the butter melts and I keep chucking it in the fridge. I like how you can even leave this one over night to kind of ferment before rolling and baking. Wishing you a peaceful and stress free Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Zena. I wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas. Nowadays a stress free Christmas is my number one priority. Oh if only I had known back in those days of stress, that it doesn't have to be that way. It is what we make it and I hope yours is peaceful.

      Delete
  2. Thanks for the recipe and the instructions Sally. I, too, write additional instructions into my recipe books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Sherri I need to write things down now. It's no good thinking that I'll remember the small changes that I might have made to the recipe. Gosh, I could almost hide my own Christmas presents!

      Delete
  3. Oh, yum! Thank you for the recipe, Sally. I bought a large bottle of local honey from the market on the island where we holidayed recently. I can make some of your delicious biscuits with that honey which will please the biscuit munchers in my family very much! Meg:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meg, may I suggest that you keep your beautiful local raw honey for enjoying on your toast, and buy some cheaper less quality honey for baking. As it's heated and baked, the quality and nutritional value, that you paid for, will be lost. Happy Christmas to you and your family Meg. X

      Delete
  4. They look great, Sally and obviously well worth the effort for you. No baking being done here though as the grandchildren won't be coming down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Chel, they are a bit of effort, but a good sized package will be posted after Christmas to my grand children who simply love them. Like you, my grandchildren are a distance away too... and this year I can't even phone them as they're in Indonesia for a few weeks. Lots of emails and photos are being passed to and fro though. :) Happy Christmas to you and your family dear Chel. X

      Delete
  5. Oh Sally this is so very good of you to pass this recipe on and every step is photographed too. I have no excuse not to make them now do I? Even if I don't make them for Christmas I bet they are just as nice any time of the year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No excuse now Merryl. Any time is a good time. :)

      Delete
  6. How cute. These are much like Honey Jumbles you can buy from the shop, I imagine. Only better! I make a gluten free variety on the odd occasion. But Christmas time for me, always means making gingerbread men. I'll have to do that very soon. Merry Christmas. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh gingerbread, is up there with honey biscuits. Delicious!

      Delete
  7. Hi Sally,we have just gone back through your blog in search of the ice-cream with condensed milk/cream/vanilla. Will swirl some just home made berry jam in to the base mix when the jam cools. Hope you have a peaceful and safe Christmas, thank you for all your inspiration, your little corner of blog world is always something to look forward to. Jude (instagram @fairywrencottage)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello Jude,@ fairy wren cottage. What gems of delight pop into my life when I read a new comment and then find that the person is connected through other means. This wonderful blog life creates these happy moments and I thank you for your comment here. Oh my goodness, that berry jam swirled through the ice cream sounds too heavenly. I made a batch a few days ago as cream was on special in the last day of use by, half price corner at the supermarket. Mmmm it's hidden away in one of the shed freezers, ready to go with the Christmas pudding, and brandy custard. Have a wonderful Christmas that is all that you want it to be. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I just love those typed up recipes on yellowing paper....

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...