Come to tea and biscuits

In the days running up to my holiday, I was restless. The Turkish Cay glasses came out and I set out to bake small batches of little nibbly biscuits to go with the copious amounts of tea I'd started drinking. 

These biscuits were truly a delight. They came together quickly and were melt-in-the-mouth delicious. Perfect as a pick-me-up or hostess gift in a hurry. Or perhaps for no reason at all but to accompany glasses of umber-coloured Cay while contemplating the endless delightful possibilities awaiting on your holiday.

Chinese Almond Biscuits

Adapted from BreadetButter

150g Plain Flour

100g Ground Almonds

65g Caster Sugar

Scant 3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder

Scant 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

A few drops Almond Essence

A pinch of Salt

100ml - 150ml Grapeseed Oil (or any other odourless Oil)

1 Egg White, beaten

Preheat the oven at 140 Celsius. Line a baking tray and set aside. 

Put all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Whisk everything together. Make a well in the centre and add in the Essences and a little of the Oil. 

With clean hands, gently bring the dry ingredients into the wet. Add the Oil little by little as you go until you have a soft, crumbly dough that comes away from the sides of the bowl cleanly. (depending on the weather and type of Oil used, you may need slightly more or less of it than stated in the recipe)

Roll into little balls and place on the baking tray. With a chopstick, make indents in the centre of each biscuit. Brush each biscuits with the Egg White. Bake at about 150 Celsius for about 20 - 25 minutes or until the tops turn a light golden brown. Leave to cool on the tray before storing in an airtight container.

Variation:

Coconut Oil Almond Biscuits

150g Plain Flour

50g Ground Almonds

60g Caster Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

A pinch of Salt

6 - 8 tablespoons of liquid organic virgin Coconut Oil

Preheat the oven at 140 Celsius. Line a baking tray and set aside. 

Put all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Whisk everything together. Make a well in the centre and add in the Essence and a little of the Oil. 

With clean hands, gently bring the dry ingredients into the wet. Add the Oil little by little as you go until you have a soft, crumbly dough that comes away from the sides of the bowl cleanly. (depending on the weather and type of Oil used, you may need slightly more or less of it than stated in the recipe)

Roll into little balls and place on the baking tray. Bake at about 150 Celsius for about 20 - 25 minutes. Biscuits will not turn brown, but to avoid over-baking remove from the oven at the time specified. Leave to cool on the tray before storing in an airtight container. 

Semolina Almond Biscuits

Adapted from The Little Teochew

100g Plain Flour

60g Semolina

40g Ground Almonds

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

A few teaspoons Ghee

Preheat the oven at 140 Celsius. Line a baking tray and set aside. 

Put all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Whisk everything together. Make a well in the centre and add in the Essence and a little of the Ghee. 

With clean hands, gently bring the dry ingredients into the wet. Add the Ghee little by little as you go until you have a soft, crumbly dough that comes away from the sides of the bowl cleanly. 

Roll into little balls and place on the baking tray. Press down with the back of a fork. Bake at about 150 Celsius for about 20 - 25 minutes. Leave to cool on the tray before storing in an airtight container.