The Naranga Newsletter

Home Economics 

with Ms Athiniotis

SWEETHEART SUGAR SHORTBREAD BISCUITS        

This week the Senior Elective students worked through a biscuit recipe for Mother’s Day. This is a lovely shortbread recipe. You can add different ingredients to create a new biscuit flavour.Students used heart and flower shaped cutters.

For a new flavour, add one of these at the end of Step 2 (before you add the flour and salt) 

100g chocolate chips

Grated zest of a lemon or orange

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 teaspoon mixed spice

Dried lavender

Freeze-dried strawberry pieces

 

If you are using Gluten Free plain flour add a little milk to bring the biscuit dough together. Our students made two batches of biscuit dough using plain flour and Gluten Free flour.

 

 

Ingredients:

200g unsalted butter slightly softened.

100g caster sugar plus extra for sprinkling

300g (2 1/3 cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting

Pinch of salt

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line two baking trays with baking paper. 
  2. Cream together butter and sugar in a mixing bowl using a wooden spoon or electric mixer, until the mixture is smooth, pale, and creamy. 
  3. Sift flour and salt, then beat mixture until it begins to form a dough. Use your hands to bring it together, kneading gently until your dough is nice and smooth. 
  4. Lightly dust worktop with flour, tip out the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin until the dough is 1.5 cm thick. Then cut out heart shapes with a cookie cutter. Re-roll the trimmings to make more biscuits. Have a little flour to dip cutter from time to time to stop it sticking.
  5. Place biscuits onto prepared trays and bake for 10 -15 minutes until they are a pale golden colour. When removed from the oven, sprinkle the hot biscuits with caster sugar, then carefully place onto a wire rack to cool.

Storage: Store biscuits in an airtight container. 

 

        BASIC SWEET BISCUITS

Ingredients:

500g unsalted butter, chopped, softened.

1 cup caster sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

395g can sweetened condensed milk

4 cups self-raising flour, sifted

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line four baking trays with baking paper. 
  2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Beat in condensed milk. 
  3. Using a large metal spoon, fold in flour until well combined. Divide dough into four equal pieces. Using flavour options, mix in flavour combos.
  4. Roll each piece into a 5cm-thick log. Wrap in baking paper and twist ends to seal. Chill or freeze until firm.
  5. Slice each log into 12 even slices. Arrange on trays, 3cm apart. Bake in two batches, 12 to 15 minutes each, until golden. Cool on trays. Store in an airtight container.

 

Coconut and Cherry

Lightly knead ½ cup desiccated coconut and 200g chopped red glace cherries into dough.

 

Lemon and Spice   Lightly knead 1 teaspoon mixed spice into dough. Drizzle cooled biscuits with combined 1 cup sifted icing sugar mixture and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Sprinkle with zested lemon rind. 

 

Sticky Date and Ginger

Lightly knead 1 cup chopped pitted dates and 125g packet chopped glace ginger into dough. 

 

Double Chocolate Crisps

Replace ¼ cup flour in basic dough with cocoa and add 1 cup dark choc bits.