Sunday, January 22, 2012

Oat and Vanilla Shortbread Biscuits

This is originally a Rachel Allen recipe from her book Bake which I absolutely love. For some reason they never struck a chord with me until I tasted a version made by Tracey from Mammy's Kitchen at a Bord Bia Blogger's Day (where I brought my Chocolate Sable Biscuits as my contribution to the groaning tables of food).  I came home with a bag stuffed with baked goodies made by other food bloggers and myself and The Hubs sat down to an evening of gluttony.  These really stood out because they tasted almost popcorn-like and we fought like children over the crumbs, so I knew I had to make these at home.  They're really simple and the trick is to get the dough as cold as possible and slice it with a serrated knife so it doesn't crumble.





Oat and Vanilla Shortbread Biscuits

200g Butter, softened
100g Icing Sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g Plain Flour
½ tsp Baking Powder
100g Porridge Oats

Preheat your oven to 180c / Gas Mark 4.  Line two baking sheets with baking paper.




Cream the butter until soft, then add the icing sugar & vanilla extract and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. 




Sift in the flour and baking powder, then stir in the oats and bring the mixture together to form a dough. 



Place the dough onto a sheet of cling film & roll it into a log about 30cm.  Allow to chill in the fridge, covered in the cling film, for about 30-40 minutes until firm. 





Remove the cling film; slice the log into rounds about 5mm thick and place slightly apart on the baking trays. Bake for 15 minutes, or until light golden brown and dry to the touch.   Cool on the tray for 10 minutes & then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.




10 comments:

  1. I love the idea of adding oats - then they become 'healthy' !

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  2. Exactly - they're heart healthy & therefore good for you!

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  3. I've been "collecting" cookie and biscuit recipes from books recently to build up a bit of a repertoire, and will be printing this one off, if that's ok? Sound gorgeous :)

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  4. Print away - see that "Print Friendly" button above the comments... does exactly what it says on the tin! Now I'm off to rest my banjaxed ankle

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  5. Aoife you are a gift..I was looking for biscuits to serve with Glenisk Panna Cotta and the wonderful Irish organic Apple Syrup.....do you mind I pinch your recipe for my lunch next week?

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  6. Tricia - fire ahead! What a lovely way to serve them

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  7. My lot love these cookies & are forever asking when I'm going to make them again!

    One trick (it's not really a trick..) I use is too bung the dough into the freezer as I'm an impatient sort of baker and 30-40 mins is way too long for me :)

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  8. I always use the freezer trick too but I wanted people to do it the right way before I tell them about the lazy cheats way!!!

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  9. Did anyone else have trouble getting the dough to come together?
    Mine was way too crumbly and I couldnt get it to stick together.
    Any ideas where i might have gone wrong...they look so good, i really wanted it to work :(

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  10. Was your butter really soft when you creamed it - I mean at the point of utter squidgy-ness - this is the glue that holds the rest of the ingredients. You also need to chill it very well - a few hours in the fridge at least, to allow the butter to harden again which makes it sliceable. It may crumble slightly when you cut it, but you just squash it back into place.

    Hope this works for you second time around!

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