Sunday 24 April 2011

Bill's Biscuits

I know that I have been absent for a couple of weeks. I really haven't been feeling tip-top of the past couple of weeks. I had a run in with a person at work and it shook me up a bit and my mood plummeted afterwards. I decided to take a bit of time out for some self-care where I cooked, slept, went to work and not much else. Oh, except for reading trashy romance novels on my new Kindle. I am starting to feel better now though so will have to get busy and post all the stuff that I have made over the past couple of weeks. 

Happy Easter to all those out there. I find holidays a difficult time of year. This one even more so as it would have been my Mum's birthday today. I usually don't deal with these days well at all. Tend to just hide away a bit. Today, while hiding out, I decided that I would just do some baking. What better way than this to get through some of the multitude of sweet recipes in Bill's Sydney Food. So today I made half recipes of Chocolate Chip Cookies, Granny Mac's Shortbread, Chocolate-dipped Shortbread and Anzac Biscuits. 




Anzac Biscuits 
  • 1 cup plain all-purpose flour 
  • 1 cup desiccated coconut (I only had shredded) 
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar 
  • 1 cup rolled oats (I used a combination of oats, barley & rye) 
  • 125g unsalted butter 
  • 1 tbsp golden syrup 
  • 1/2 tsp bicarb soda 
  • 2 tbsp boiling water

Method:
  • Preheat oven to 170C. 
  • Place flour, coconut, sugar and oats in a bowl. Mix well. 
  • Place butter and golden syrup in a saucepan over medium heat and melt. 
  • Place bicarb soda in a small bowl and add hot water. Stir to combine. Add bicarb mixture to saucepan and stir. Pour over oat mixture and stir all ingredients together. 
  • Roll teaspoon of biscuit mixture into balls and place on a greased and lined baking tray, leaving room for spreading. Flatten each ball gently with your palm. 
  • Bake biscuits for 15 - 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown at the edges.



Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread 

  • 1/3 c (60 g) icing sugar 
  • 250 g unsalted butter, softened 
  • 1 tsp vanilla 
  • 1 1/2 c plain flour 
  • 1/2 c cornflour 
  • 125 g dark chocolate, in small pieces (I only has some choc chips which didn't work well) 
Method: 
  • Beat butter & icing sugar in a bowl until combined. 
  • Add vanilla, flours & a pinch of salt and mix until a dough forms. 
  • Form dough into a log with a 6 cm diameter and wrap in gladwrap. 
  • Chill for 30 minutes. 
  • Pre-heat oven to 180C 
  • Slice dough into 1 cm rounds and place on lined trays. 
  • Bake 20 - 25 minutes or until golden. 
  • Cool completely. 
  • Melt chocolate in a small pot and dip shortbread in so half of the biscuit is coated. 
  • Leave to set. 
 Chocolate Chip Cookies 
  • 125g unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/4 cup tightly packed brown sugar (I would use less, they are very sweet)
  • 1 tsp vanilla 
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/2 c plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1/2 c chocolate bits 
 Method:
  • Preheat oven to 180C.
  • Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. 
  • Add vanilla and egg and stir to combine. 
  • Stir in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt until just combined. 
  • Fold through chocoate chips. 
  • Place spoonfuls of cookie mixture on a lined baking tray. 
  • Bake 15-20 minutes or until they turn pale gold. 
  • Allow to cool on the tray for 15 minutes before placing biscuits on a wire rack to cool further. Makes 16 (I got 12 from half the recipe) 


Granny Mac's Shortbread
  • 2 c plain flour 
  • 1 tsp baking powder 
  • 1/2 c caster sugar 
  • 125 g butter, softened
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten 
  • 1/3 c jam (I used homemade strawberry) 
  • 2 tsp cinnamon 
Method: 
  • Combine flour, baking powder & sugar. 
  • Rub in butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 
  • Add 1 - 2 tbsp cold water and mix in, it should start to form a dough
  • Add egg and mix until you have a firm dough. 
  • Roll out on a sheet of baking paper to for a 20 x 30 rectangle. 
  • Spread with jam and sprinkle with cinnamon. 
  • Roll up starting with the long side. 
  • Wrap in gladwrap and chill for 30 minutes. 
  • Preheat oven to 180C. 
  • Slice dough into 1cm slices and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until lightly browned. 
  • Cool on wire rack. 

4 comments:

  1. I hope you continue to feel better, it's horrible when work colleagues cause you problems.

    Your biscuits look delicious. I didn't recognise the bookcover that you show, but I'm really excited to realise that I've got this book too! Looking forward to seeing what you cook from it next!

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  2. Thank you C, it was actually some one from the public not a colleague.

    The book was re-released last year with a new cover and photos inside. I just can't believe that I hadn't bought it before, almost everything that I have made from it has been wonderful.

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  3. What delicious looking cookies! The anzac ones look particularly good, was it a good recipe? I am sorry to hear that the holidays are so difficult for you, I don't know what I would do in your situation so good on you for baking your way through it :) I hope your mood continues to improve and you make it out of the holidays stronger xoxo

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  4. Thank you Katie, the Anzac recipe is a very good one. I am particularly pleased with it. They are not too sweet. I baked them for 18 minutes and they are nice and crispy on the outside but the very centre is still a bit chewy, just perfect as far as I am concerned.

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