A tale of two best friends on opposite sides of the world and their quest to cook everything from
Stephanie Alexander's 'The Cook's Companion'

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Lois's Almond and Orange Biscuits



Ok, so now it seems that I am responding to requests. Kirsten, this one's for you. This was what I took to her place last weekend, and she sent me a text asking for the ingredients, so it was about time I blogged it! I was having a baking frenzy at the weekend, so the oven was already going, and these were ready in an instant. They were great to eat when warm, and once the syrup had soaked into them, they were even better. I think they can still be eaten without the syrup, as hubby confirmed, but I honestly didn't try them without, so I cannot be the judge of it.

I found that the almond meal makes the mix a bit dense, and hard to roll out, but if I wet my hands a bit, it was really easy to roll into shape. I was probably too precious in getting a nice shape to them, but in the end they get coated with the icing sugar so it hides any imperfections. I think these would also work with other citrus flavours, especially lemon. I think I may have to try that one next!

Lois's Almond and Orange Biscuits (Printable Recipe)
adapted from Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion, pg 617

375g finely ground almonds (I used almond meal)
1 tablespoon plain flour (I used gluten free)
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 egg
icing sugar for coating

Syrup
1/3 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or Cointreau
1 tablespoon orange juice

Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and preheat oven to 180°C. Combine the almonds, flour, caster sugar and orange zest. Whisk the egg and orange juice together and mix this into the dry ingredients. Knead the mixture lightly to bring the mix together, then divide it into two equal portions and form it into 2 long rolls about 2cm in diameter. Cut into pieces about 2cm long and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the biscuits look golden brown. Cool them a little on a wire rack.

In the meantime, make the syrup. Heat the sugar and water until the sugar dissolves, then simmer this for about 5 minutes to thicken. Add liqueur and orange juice and allow to cool a bit. Place the still-warm biscuits onto a clean tray and pour the warm syrup over them. Leave this for 5-10 minutes so that some of the syrup gets soaked into the biscuits. Scatter some icing sugar into a clean tray, then toss the biscuits through this mixture to coat well. Store these in an airtight container. I think they lasted maybe 24 hours with us!

1 comment:

Lea said...

Once again Lidia these were also beautiful - glad you had a baking frenzythat weekend.-Leanne