Foolproof Biscuits!..

It's taken me an age to perfect an easy, straight forward batch of biscuits that aren't burnt to a crisp / don't spread in the oven / aren't too thick / don't have a slightly strange taste - but this really is a foolproof recipe (hence why it works for me!)

They are really easy to make and are a very quick bake, so you really can't go wrong (I promise!) then decoraton is up to you - whatever you fancy!

To perfect your biscuit making repetoire, you'll need:

• 110g of Unsalted Butter (very soft)
• 100g of Caster Sugar
• 1 tsp of Vanilla Bean Paste - but Extract/ Essence work just as well!
• 1 medium sized Egg
• 210g of Plain Flour

You should get about 20 biscuits or 35 bite-sized biscuits out of this batch. 

Preheat your oven to 180c (fan oven)/200c/ Gas Mark 6.

Cream your butter and sugar together - either by hand or in a food processor.

Then add in your Vanilla Paste and whisk in your egg. Give it a good beat together and it should be well mixed (Don't panic if it starts to look a little curdled).

Stir in your flour and really mix it to bring it together.

Place on a lightly floured surface and gently knead so it comes together. add more flour if its sticking to you, but it should eventually be an easy to handle ball of dough. 

At this point, if you want to freeze it for use later - it'd be best to do so now. Then defrost it and use it as soon as it's returned to room temperature.

Roll out until its about half an inch thick (or thicker if you want a chunky biscuit).

Then cut out into your required shape and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Pop into the oven for 8-10 minutes, but keep an eye on them - ovens differ alot when it comes to biscuits and you can lose your biscuit to the dark side if a minute or two over!

They should have a golden tinge around the edge - don't worry if they feel a bit soft, they harden up as soon as they've cooled down.

Leave to cool down for a couple of minutes then transfer to a wire rack until they are completely cooled down.

Pop them in your best biscuit tin and they'll keep nicely for up to a week.

Troubleshooting..

• If some of your biscuits are slightly browner than others, don't worry, no one will notice when they've been decorated!
• If they're burning before they're properly browning then turn down your oven or move them down a shelf 
• To prevent sticking when rolling out, use as much plain flour as you need to stop the sticking - it won't alter the texture too much.