Simnel Biscuits

[Diflower]

Also from Carrs flour:

FOR THE BISCUITS
250g Carr’s Plain Flour
175g unsalted Butter
175g Caster Sugar
75g mixed Dried Fruit
Zest of an Orange
1 Egg yolk
FOR THE TOPPING
50g Caster Sugar
½ tsp Almond Essence

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, add the butter then rub in with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs.
Stir in the sugar and your favourite mix of dried fruit or peel and cut up small plus the orange zest. Then stir in the egg yolk and combine all the ingredients.
Prepare a sheet of cling film on a work surface, then knead the mixture by hand to make a crumbly dough. Squeeze into a ball shape and place it on the cling film and press out to a disc shape. Wrap in film and place in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas 5. Line four baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
Roll out the dough between cling film sheets to about 3mm thick.
Use a 8cm fluted round cutter to create biscuit shapes and carefully place on the baking sheet about 3cm apart. You should have around 20 biscuits.
Bake until golden - around fifteen minutes in the oven. Cool for a few minutes on the tray, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
As the biscuits cool prepare the sugar topping by placing the ingredients in a plastic bag or container and quickly shaking to mix. When the biscuits are almost cool sprinkle on the topping to your taste.

Here's the link http://www.carrsflour.co.uk/recipes/rec ... cuits.html

[Workingman]

I think that to make them more Simnely I would replace 25g of the castor sugar in the biscuits with the same of grated/pieces of marzipan and 25g of the flour with ground almonds.

[Diflower]

Sod that Wm, it's 2 more ingredients, and ones I wouldn't have sitting in the cupboard

[Workingman]

You do not have ground almonds and marzipan in your cupboards?

I am astonished! They are essentials.

[Diflower]

I do often have ground almonds but they don't keep well so I buy small bags.
They're used in our favourite Greek orange cake but I don't make anything like that very often.
As for marzipan, no...why would I have that sitting there?