No chocolate chips in the cupboard and my twin lads wanted biscuits. I used macadamias instead, these go really quite soft when cooked unlike other nuts, giving the biscuits a great texture. Plus there’s a bit of crunch with the pecan added on top.
Notes
Makes about 24 biscuits.
Chill the biscuits before you bake them or they will flatten in the oven, giving you a very different biscuit altogether (I know: I rushed with a recent batch and this happened! Actually, they’re still fine but they turn out more like US flat cookies).
Equipment
- 2 large baking trays (or cook in two batches if you only have one)
- bowl
- small ice cream scoop if you have one (this ensures the biscuit dough is the same size for every one)
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter at room temperature – 110g
- Demerera sugar – 180g
- Egg, medium – 1
- Plain flour – 165g
- Baking powder – 1 tsp
- Chopped macadamia nuts – 50g
- Pecan halves – enough to put one on each biscuit, so about 24
- Salt – a pinch
- Almond extract – 1 tsp, or you can use vanilla as an alternative
Method
- Line the two baking trays with parchment or a silicone sheet
- Cream the butter and sugar together
- Mix in everything else except the nuts (macadamias and pecans) until combined
- Throw in the chopped macadamias and mix gently until they are distributed evenly throughout
- Refrigerate for 15 minutes at least
- Preheat your oven to 185C conventional or 165C fan while the biscuits are chilling
- Make about 24 small balls with the dough and place about 2cm apart on a tray
- Gently pop a pecan on the top of each biscuit. No need to push down:
- Put in the oven for 12 -14 minutes
- They are done when they are just about to go golden brown at the edges but are still soft – they will firm up as they cool
- Let them cool on the tray – if you lift them onto a wire rack while they are warm you risk breaking them
Ink Sugar Spice - Lynn Clark 