Back to basics, but make it better.

These biscuits are the kind of bake to permeate your entire home. It goes way beyond just the kitchen and really just fills your space with the almost intoxicating scent of cardamom, that topped of with the sweet, floral orange blossom icing…mmmh. It’s safe to say I’m a little obsessed.

This recipe really just takes a classic short biscuit recipe, perfectly crunchy in all the right places and flips it on its head, making it 100x better. It’s feels so dreamy with a cup of chai, it just lends itself so well to the cardamom, the orange blossom.

The dough for these biscuits is quite dry and short (don’t be expecting a soft cookie dough) which is what leads it to be super crunchy and light. So don’t be worried if you think its a little too dry, trust the baking process.

Makes: 12/ Time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients

Biscuits:

100g Butter at room temp. (or a non dairy alternative)
50g Sugar (I used unrefined)
150g Plain Flour
1.5 tsp Ground Cardamom
pinch Salt

Icing:

85g Icing Sugar
1 tbsp Orange Blossom Water
2 tbsp Water

Method

In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter & sugar with a wooden spoon until soft & pale
Add the flour, cardamom & salt, and mix together until the dough is crumbly
Press the dough together with your hands, pour it onto a surface, and form it into a disk
Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 30-40 minutes
After removing the dough from fridge, preheat the oven at 180°C Fan/200°C/Gas Mark 6
Lightly flour a surface, and begin to roll out your dough (if your dough feels too dry and crumbly to roll, wet your hands slightly and bring the dough together. The dough is quite short anyway, but that’s what will make the biscuits crunchy
Roll the dough out to about 0.5cm (I recommend turning it 90 degrees after every 2 or 3 rolls, so it doesn’t get stuck to the surface & so it rolls out evenly)
Cut into circles using a cookie cutter/ rim of a small cup (I used one about 6cm in diameter, and press the leftover dough back together and repeat the process
Place the biscuit rounds on a lined baking tray and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown
Let the biscuits cool for 5-10 mins, then transfer to a baking rack to finish cooling, whilst you make the icing
Mix together the icing ingredients until smooth, it shouldn’t be too runny, but should fall back slowly if you scrape a spoon along the bottom of the bowl
Once the biscuits have cooled, spread about 1/2 tsp of icing on each one, and optionally decorate with a little ground cardamom