• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
    • Cake
    • Biscuits
    • Bread
    • Pastry
    • Tray Bakes
    • Condiments
    • Bake with the kids
    • Anti Inflammatory Baking
  • Conversion Charts. Cups – Grams – Ounces
  • Blog

Cluck, Muck & Cook

Baking & Foodie Blog From Sunny Brentwood Essex

Biscuit

Shortbread Cookies

3 January 14, 2017 Bake with the kids

Ollie’s Shortbread Biscuits

Saturday morning, the last remnants of snow are still lingering in the garden and my eldest son has decided he wants to make some shortbread biscuits all on his own. What a great start to the weekend, we all love shortbread biscuits, especially the dog. A nice big mug of coffee and a warm biscuit sound good to me. It also makes me nostalgic of when I used to bake with my dad as a kid so I was up for a quick bit of baking.

Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread biscuits are very easy to make so perfect for the kids to get stuck into.

I took on my standard role of “commis chef”, more commonly known as gofer and washer upper. My son pulled out his usual go to shortbread recipe and decided to add some vanilla essence. Good call in my opinion.

Shortbread Cookies

After directing me to get everything he needed out of the cupboards, he set about making the biscuits (and of course a mess). Anything on the floor becomes the dog’s job to clean up. Which he does with relish.

We had also recently bought a cookie letter stamp set, so we thought it a good idea to brand his biscuits with his name as a final flourish.

Shortbread Cookies

Once the cookies had been cut and stamped and left in the fridge to firm up my son disappeared, more stealthy than a ninja, back to the Xbox and to leave me to clear up the aftermath. That’s my boy, I used to do that to my dad but back in the day it would have been a Gameboy.

Once baked, the “Hillery” baking judges, Ethan (7), Ann my wife, Chester the Cockerpoo and Oliver all dug in. The verdict must have been good, as by the time I had made a cup of coffee they were nearly gone. Oh well, maybe next weekend I will get a look in.
Makes: 8 (7 cm) cookies
Oven Temp: Gas 5, 375F, 190C (170C Fan)

Ingredients
125g butter (room temperature)
55g caster sugar, plus extra to finish
180g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 190C (170C Fan)
  2. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla essence together with a wooden spoon until smooth.
  3. Stir in the flour and mix together to bring all the ingredients together. Try not to overwork. Turn on to a lightly floured work surface and gently roll out to about 1 cm thick.
  4. Cut out with a cookie cutter and place onto a baking tray. Roll together any spare dough and repeat.
  5. Sprinkle with caster sugar and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to chill the dough. This will help prevent spreading.
  6. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until pale golden-brown.
  7. Let cool for a couple of minutes on the baking tray. Then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Ollie's Shortbread Biscuits
 
Save Print
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
20 mins
Total time
35 mins
 
Delicious rich buttery shortbread biscuits
Author: CluckMuckCook
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • Ingredients
  • 125g butter (room temperature)
  • 55g caster sugar, plus extra to finish
  • 180g plain flour
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Instructions
  2. Preheat the oven to 190C (170C Fan)
  3. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla essence together with a wooden spoon until smooth.
  4. Stir in the flour and mix together to bring all the ingredients together. Try not to overwork. Turn on to a lightly floured work surface and gently roll out to about 1 cm thick.
  5. Cut out with a cookie cutter and place onto a baking tray. Roll together any spare dough and repeat.
  6. Sprinkle with caster sugar and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to chill the dough. This will help prevent spreading.
  7. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until pale golden-brown.
  8. Let cool for a couple of minutes on the baking tray. Then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Makes: 8 (7 cm) cookies
Oven Temp: Gas 5, 375F, 190C (170C Fan)
3.5.3226

 

Ginger Nut Biscuits

5 November 14, 2016 Biscuits

Olivers traditional ginger nut biscuits

After what seemed like a weeks baking and decorating marathon on a Pokemon ball birthday cake for my youngest son’s birthday (pictures on Instagram), I thought it would be nice to do some quick and easy baking for a change. Whilst I enjoy complex baking, you can not beat the instant gratification of baking biscuits and cookies.

Ginger Nut Biscuits

The week before, my eldest son wanted to bake some ginger nut biscuits. Not sure if it was his love of gingerbread men or the looming election and his fascination with Trump, now that man has the finest ginger nut I have ever seen ;-). On our first attempt we managed to incinerate the biscuits! The less charcoal looking ones tasted great. The high sugar content in these biscuits mean they will change from cooked to burnt in the blink of an eye.

Ginger Nut Biscuits

But we are not quitters and ventured back for round two. The recipe is super easy and quick to make and results in a delicious crunchy and warming ginger spiced biscuit. Just like the traditional ginger nuts I loved as a kid. Perfect for dipping into a big mug of tea as the nights draw in and winter takes hold.

Ginger Nut Biscuits

I am glad to say this batch turned out a treat and the recipe is now a firm family favourite.

Makes: about 12
Oven Temp: Gas 4, 350F, 180C (160C Fan)

Ingredients
50g butter
4 tbsp golden syrup
50g soft brown sugar
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp ground ginger
Pinch of salt

Instructions
To make the dough

  1. Preheat oven to 180c/160c Fan.
  2. Gently melt butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and all the ingredients are combined.
  3. Take pan off the heat and sift flour and ground ginger into the sugar mixture and stir well until the mixture forms a dough. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
  4. With wet hands make walnut sized balls of the dough and place well onto the baking sheets allowing space to spread. Flatten slightly then bake in the centre of the oven for 15-20 minutes. Watch them closely as they can burn quickly.
  5. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

 

Olivers traditional ginger nut biscuits
 
Save Print
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
15 mins
Total time
30 mins
 
The recipe is super easy and quick to make and results in a delicious crunchy and warming ginger spiced biscuit. Just like the traditional ginger nuts I loved as a kid. Perfect for dipping into a big mug of tea as the nights draw in and winter takes hold.
Author: CluckMuckCook
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 50g butter
  • 4 tbsp golden syrup
  • 50g soft brown sugar
  • 175g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • Pinch of salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 180c/160c Fan
  2. Gently melt butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and all the ingredients are combined.
  3. Take pan off the heat and sift flour and ground ginger into the sugar mixture and stir well until the mixture forms a dough. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
  4. With wet hands make walnut sized balls of the dough and place well onto the baking sheets allowing space to spread. Flatten slightly then bake in the centre of the oven for 15-20 minutes. Watch them closely as they can burn quickly.
  5. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
3.5.3226

Copyright© 2022 · Cookd Pro Theme by Shay Bocks