Afternoon Tea Week: Biscuits & Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes: 18-20 cookies

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Oven temperature: 375°F/190®C Mark 5

• 4 oz/100 g butter or margarine
• 2 oz/50 g of castor sugar
• 1/2 vanilla essence
• 4 oz/100 g plain flour
• 3 oz/75 g chocolate bits

Lightly grease 2 baking trays. Beat together the butter or margarine, sugar and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Sift the flour and stir it in with the chocolate bits. Place teaspoonfuls of the mixture on the prepared baking trays, spacing them well as they spread during cooking. Bake in a moderately hot oven (375°F/ 190°C Mark 5) for 15—20 minutes. Leave on the baking tray for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

© Copyright Paul Hamlyn Ltd 1975

Crunchy Peanut Butter Biscuits

Makes: 26

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time:

25 minutes

Calories per biscuit: 70

• 3oz/75g soft brown sugar
• 2oz/50g peanut butter
• 2oz/50g butter
• 1 medium egg
• 2oz/50g unsalted peanuts
• 4oz/100g self-raising flour

1. Cream the sugar, peanut butter and butter together until the mixture is soft and fluffy.
2. Beat in the egg. Roughly chop the peanuts and stir them into the mixture with the flour to make a fairly firm dough.
3. Divide the dough into 28 even-sized pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Arrange the balls on lightly greased baking sheets, allowing plenty of room for the biscuits to spread. Criss* cross each one with the prongs of a fork, dipping them in flour to prevent them sticking.
4. Bake the biscuits in a moderate oven (350*17 180°C, gas mark 4) for about 25 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
5. Lift the biscuits off the baking sheets on to wire trays, using a palette knife. Allow to cool.

© Copyright Odhams Leisure Group Ltd

Filled Lemon Cookies

• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 package of our lemon cake mix
• Raisin Filling (below)

In small mixer bowl, beat butter and cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla and half the cake mix (dry) until smooth. Stir in remaining cake mix. (Dough will be stiff.) Cover; chill 1/2 hour. Prepare Raisin Filling. Cool.

Heat oven to 375°. Roll about 1/4 of dough at a time 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured cloth-covered board. Cut with 1 1/2 inch square cutter.

Place half of the squares on ungreased baking sheet; spoon 1/2 teaspoon filling on each. Cut 1/2 inch “X” in centre of re­maining squares; place on filling and press together. Bake 10 minutes or until very light brown around edges. About 4 dozen cookies.

Raisin Filling: Simmer 1/2 cup raisins, 1/4 cup apricot preserves and 2 tablespoons water for 5 minutes.

©Copyright 1971 by General Mills

Flapjacks

Very economical and quick to make biscuits

Makes: 16 biscuits Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Oven temperature: 350°F/180°C Mark 4

• 4 oz/100 g butter or margarine
• 3 oz/75 g golden syrup
• 3 oz/75 g soft brown sugar
• 8 oz/225 g rolled oats

Lightly grease a Swiss roll tin. 12x 8 inches/30 x 20 cm. Slowly melt the butter or margarine, golden syrup and soft brown sugar to­gether in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the rolled oats until they are well combined. Spread the mixture into the prepared tin: press down with a round-bladed knife and smooth the top. Bake in a moderate oven <380*F/180°C Mark 4) for 30 minutes. Leave for 5 minutes then cut into 16 fingers. Allow to cool in the tin.

©Copyright Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd 1975

Golden Biscuits

Preparation time 20 minutes

Chilling time: 30 minutes

Baking time: 10-15 minutes

Oven temperature: 375° F (190 C)

Yield: about 30 biscuits

• 4 oz. (110 gr) plus 1 tsp. butter
• 3 oz. (80 gr) castor sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla essence
• 5 oz. (140 gr) flour
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped walnuts

Topping:

• 2 oz. (55 gr) light brown sugar
• 15 yellow glace cherries, halved

1. Use tsp. butter to grease a large baking sheet.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until and fluffy. Beat in egg and essence with 1 tbsp. flour. Add remaining flour and walnuts. Knead mixture to form a stiff dough, if sticky, add more flour. Shape into a ball, cover, and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to form a circle about 1/8″ (3 mm) thick. Use a 2″ (5 cm) pastry cutter to cut dough into circles. Sprinkle sugar on top of circles, and press a cherry half lightly into the middle of each. 
4. Transfer circles to prepared sheet and bake in the centre of the oven for 10-15 minutes or until cooked and golden. Remove from heat and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

©Copyright Marshall Cavendish

Oat Swirls

An attractive biscuit which is perfect for special tea parties

Makes: about 40 biscuits

Preparation time: 30 minutes plus chilling time

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes Oven temperature: 350T/180 C Mark 4

• 10 oz/275 g plain flour
• 1/2 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 level teaspoon salt
• 4 oz/100 g butter or margarine
• 4 oz/100 g castor sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 6 oz/175 g rolled oats
• 2 oz/50 g desiccated coconut
• 2 level tablespoons drinking chocolate
• 1/2 level teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Grease 2-3 baking trays. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a mixing bowl.
2. Soften the butter or margarine (do not melt it) and add it to the bowl with the sugar, egg. water, vanilla essence and lemon juice. Stir, then beat together with a wooden spoon until well blended (about 3 min­utes).
3. Mix in the oats and coconut. The dough will now be quite stiff.
4. Divide it in half. To one half add the drinking chocolate and cinnamon. Knead each half separately until smooth.
5. Roll out each half between sheets of greaseproof paper to rectangles about 15×5 inches/ 37×12 cm. Remove the paper.
6. Lay one rectangle on top of the other and roll.
7. Wrap in greaseproof paper and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
8. Cut the roll into 1/4 inch/6 mm thick slices.
9. Bake in a moderate oven (SSO’F/ISO’C Mark 4) for 15-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
   
   ©Copyright Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd 1975