One thing that the British do really well are biscuits, or cookies as they are known in North America. There are whole aisles in the grocery shops devoted to the British Biscuit containing every indulgence under the sun! I was quite amazed when I first moved over here and saw the variety available! It's quite mind boggling, really . . . but after 15 years I have come to have favourites amongst the lot!
As a food blogger I sometimes get sent the most fabulous things to try out and I was recently sent these lovely Classic British Biscuit Cutters from the kitchen people at Dexam. Containing cutters for four classic British Biscuits . . . Custard Creams, Bourbons, Jam Treats and Iced Rings.
These cutters have been cleverly designed to cut and impress the designs of these four British favourites. Fun and easy to use, you simply make your biscuit dough and chill it before rolling out to 1/4 inch thick. Dust the cutters and presses slightly with flour. Place cutter on dough and push down on base, then depress the central button to imprint the design. To remove dough, lift cutter and gently press on central button. For Iced Rings and Jam Treats use the separate cutters supplied to remove the central holes! Nothing could be easier. Clean up is easy also, simply hand wash, dry and put away.
I've already made bourbon biscuits on here and custard creams . . . and so I chose today to bake the Jam Treats and the Iced Rings. We are both real fans of the Jam Treats in the shops and I had never tried Iced Rings before. All of the recipes can be downloaded from the Dexam page.
First I made the Iced Rings. I am not a person that really goes much for iced cookies, normally finding them sort of fiddly and I am not a really patient person, but I did enjoy making these.
They turned out really nice. As you can see I simply drizzled the contrast icing over top of the cookies, not being bothered to feather it, but if that's your thing go for it. The important thing here is that the cookie cutter performed well and I was quite happy with the results!
*Iced Rings*Makes a lotPrintable Recipe
Delicious little crisp cookie rings, iced with a simple glace icing.
100g butter, softened (7 TBS)100g caster sugar (1/2 cup plus 3 1/2 TBS)1 large free range egg1 tsp vanilla extract200g of flour (1 1/4 cup plus 4 TBS)For the icing:300g of icing sugar,sifted (2 1/3 cup)food colouring pastes
Put the flour and caster sugar into a bowl and rub together until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the egg and vanilla. tip out onto a work surface and knead lightly to bring together. Wrap in cling film and chill for 1/2 hour.
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Roll the chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface, using a floured rolling pin to slightly less than 1/4 inch thick. Dip the iced ring cutter into some flour and place onto the dough. Push cutter into the dough to cut biscuit shape. Depress central button to release the dough from the mold. THen use the hexagon shaped cutter to cut a hole from the center of each biscuit. Put the rings on a non stick baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a large bowl and mix in enough boiled water to make a thick spreadable consistency. Divide the icing amongst smaller bowls and dy in contrasting colours. Spread a single color over the top of each biscuit using a palate knife. Working quickly drizzle a few lines over top in a contrasting colour, then pull a cocktail stick through the icing to feather it. Place on a rack to set.
These Jam Treat biscuits are a real favorite of ours as I said. They can be called Jammy Dodgers or Jammy Splodgers . . . but no matter what you call them, we love em.
Once again the cutter performed really well and the people I served them through today thought at first I was serving them shop bought biscuits! Until I told them different and then, onced tasted, had to agree that they were much tastier than shop bought!
*Jam Treats*Makes a lotPrintable Recipe Delicious buttery biscuits put together in pairs with a layer of jam in the middle. Delicious!
250g of butter, softened (1 cup)140g icing sugar, sifted (generous cup)1 tsp vanilla extract1 egg yolk375g of plain flour, sifted (2 1/2 cups plus 3 TBS)30g of white caster sugar for sprinkling170g of seedless raspberry jam (about 3/4 cup)
Put the butter and icing sugar into a bowl and beat together with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg yolk, beating in well with a wooden spoon. Sift in the flour and mix into a firm dough. Work the dough into a smooth ball with your hands and then wrap it in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Line two baking sheets with some greaseproof paper. Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out until 1/4 inch thick. Dust the biscuit cutter with some flour and press the cutter into the dough, pressing down on the central button to make an impression on the cookies and release. Use the heart shaped cutter to cut a hole from the center of half of the biscuits. Place onto the baking sheets and bake in the heated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until pale golden. Don't overcook or they will become too hard. Transfer to a wire rack and sprinkle with caster sugar while still warm. When the biscuits have cooled, sandwich them together with a small amount of jam.
All in all I am really pleased with these biscuit cutters. They work well, are really cute and are a real novelty, especially if you are going to be throwing a tea party of a children's party!
Classic British Biscuit Cutters by Dexam are available in retail shops around the country. To find one near you click here.
Many thanks to the people at Dexams for sending me these cute cookie cutters. I really like them.
Note - Although I was sent the cutters free of charge, I was not required to write a positive review. Any and all opinions are my own.
