These classic biscuits are lovely served at morning tea alongside a mug of hot coffee. Be warned, though, the perfect combination of crunchy coconut and sweet, oozy raspberry jam is utterly moorish.
We all have memories we hold onto from our childhood, but often some of the fondest are those involving food. Recreate them for your loved ones, and experience the sugary goodness again and again.
Looking for more classic biscuit recipes?
Test kitchen secrets: How to bake the best biscuits
Which oven shelf bakes best?
As a general rule, the top half of a gas oven is best for baking biscuits, but in an electric oven, the lower half is usually best. Fan-forced ovens should maintain even heat throughout, so you should not have to change the trays around – however, you should check them once or twice.
Can I bake several trays at once?
Two or more trays of biscuits or slices can be baked in the oven at the same time, provided the pans don’t touch the oven sides or the door when it is closed, and each tray should have a 2cm space around it to allow for proper heat circulation.
For even baking, swap the positions of the pans halfway through the baking time. You may also need to turn pans front-to-back to brown biscuits evenly.
Are they done?
A good test for most types of biscuits is to push one biscuit on the tray gently with your thumb; if it moves without breaking, the biscuit is cooked. Biscuits generally feel soft in the oven and become firmer as they cool.
Cool it
Small, cake-like biscuits, often made with self-raising flour, need to stand a few minutes on the trays to firm a little, but then they need to cool on racks to prevent them from turning soft and steamy underneath. Some hard, crisp biscuits need to cool completely on the oven trays to become even more hard and crisp. Delicate biscuits need to be transferred to racks straight from the oven to let the air cool and crisp them as soon as possible. Use a metal spatula to move biscuits from trays to racks, regardless of their state of softness.
Where should I store them?
An un-filled, un-iced regular plain biscuit should keep in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for about a week. If the biscuits soften, put them on a tray in the oven for up to 5 minutes at a slightly lower temperature than when they were baked, then cool them as if they were freshly baked. Or microwave them on medium to full power for 30 seconds or less.
Any biscuits that are filled or iced will soften in less time than plain biscuits. Keep iced or filled biscuits in the fridge in an airtight container.
All biscuits can be frozen for up to three months, but icings and fillings might change and can soften or crack as the biscuits thaw.
Ingredients
Method
1.Preheat oven to moderate, 180°C. Line 2 oven trays with baking paper.
2.In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Add egg and vanilla essence, beating to combine.
3.Using a large metal spoon, fold flour and coconut through to form a dough. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls. Roll in extra coconut to coat. Place on trays, 6cm apart, flattening slightly.
4.Bake in 2 batches, 15-20 minutes each batch, until lightly golden. Working quickly, use a teaspoon to make indents in the centre of each hot biscuit.
5.Cool on trays 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Fill indents in each biscuit with jam.
Related
Women's Weekly Food
Trusted by home cooks for 90 years, The Australian Women’s Weekly’s Test Kitchen and cookbooks hold a singular place in shaping home cooking within the Australian culinary landscape. Today, the AWW Test Kitchen in Sydney is a thriving hub for food content, connected to two bustling photographic studios where a talented team of Australia’s best recipe developers, art directors, editors and photographers create our world class food content. Our recipes are thoroughly tested and tasted and given the Test Kitchen tick of approval, guaranteeing you’ll get great results in your home kitchen.
Tags:Afternoon teaBakingBiscuit or cookieCoconutLess than 60 minutesModerateOther
Recipe By:Test Kitchen
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