Easter biscuits

Yum...these were delicious! Again, thanks to The Telegraph, UK I found another delicious recipe and just in time for easter.

                                                        Easter biscuits Photo: LAURA HYND
Ingredients

70g plain flour

250gms unsalted butter, diced

125gms golden caster sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

biscuit cutters 

Method

Sift the flour and half a teaspoon of salt into a bowl and set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl, using a wooden spoon or a mixer, until well combined and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix well, then work in the flour. Once the mixture comes together as a dough, dust your hands with flour and wrap it in cling film. Chill for an hour (or up to a few days if more convenient) or freeze for up to a month. This dough can otherwise be tricky to work, especially in hot weather or a warm kitchen.

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Roll out the dough using plenty of flour (it is quite sticky) to 3-4mm thick. Cut out the biscuits with your chosen cutters and lay them on two baking sheets lined with parchment. Make holes towards the top of each with a skewer for threading through the ribbon. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until pale gold. Cool on a wire rack, re-forming the ribbon holes with the skewer.

To decorate

700g white sugarpaste

colour paste in the colours you would like to use.

250g packet royal icing

silver balls

6m coloured ribbon for hanging

Divide the sugarpaste into three and place in separate polythene bags. Use the colours on two pieces and leave one white

On a clean work surface dusted with icing sugar, roll out the  sugarpaste to about 2mm thick. Cut out with the cutters matching the shapes

Make the royal icing according to the packet instructions, divide into colours  and put into piping bags.

Pipe a little royal icing on to the biscuit and use to stick on the sugarpaste shape. Make a hole in the sugarpaste in the same place as that on the biscuit for the ribbon. Add silver balls for decoration.

Allow the sugarpaste and icing to set overnight. Cut the ribbon into 25cm lengths and thread through each biscuit.

Figolli - Get ready for Easter!

Figolli are Traditional Maltese almond Pastries baked for Easter. They consist of pastry figures filled with a ground almond mixture and covered with royal and glace icing. The traditional shapes are men, women, fish, lamb and baskets but nowadays you can also find heart shape, butterflies, rabbits and cars. The human shapes usually have paper faces stuck on to the icing.  They are decorated with glace icing and royal icing and finished off with a chocolate egg stuck in the middle.


My Grandma had metal forms that she would use to cut out the forms, or even bake the forms in. They were made by a local metal worker and could be bought at the market or some specialty stores. I don't think it is possible to buy them any more but I still have a couple of them and they allow you to make the Figolli almost like a small low pie.

PASTRY

yields approx 4-5 depending on the size of your shapes

14 oz self raising flour+ 1 teaspoon baking powder,sifted

6 oz margarine,

rind of a large lemon,grated

4 tbs sugar,

2 eggs, beaten

and a little fresh milk to bind if necessary.

Make Pastry

Mix the dry ingredients, add the margarine, eggs and milk if necessary - work to a smooth dough.

FILLING

20 oz ground almonds,

8oz icing sugar+12 oz sugar or 20 oz icing sugar,

1egg+1yolk,

juice of 1/2 lemon,

1 tbs brandy.

Mix all in one stage and allow to chill for at least 1 hour in the fridge.

MAKING THE FIGOLLI
Heat oven to 325F.

Roll out a piece of pastry until it is 1/2 inch thick on a well-floured surface.

Cut into desired shapes (Figolli are traditionally cut into the shape of a bird, a fish or a duck and the size of each Figolla is between 8 to 10 inches).

You need two cut-outs for each Figolla.

Spread the filling on one of the cut-outs.

Place the other cut-out on top and press the edges to seal.

Brush the top of the Figolli with the beaten egg.

Bake until the Figolla turns to a golden colour.

Let the Figolla cool down and then decorate with coloured icing.

You can also cover with chocolate.

Place a hollow chocolate egg in the center of each Figolla using some soft icing to hold it in place.

Figolli can be really elaborate - with cut out pictures, richly decorated etc etc - I prefer the iced ones - with the Easter egg on top!

Figolli - Traditional easter delights from Malta

The figolla is a traditional almond pastry and according to mythology, the figolla was presented as a gift to Astarte, the goddess of fertility.This recipe was kindly sent to me by my cousin Paula in Malta.

This is the first time she is giving out this recipe, and according to all that have tasted them they are pretty good.She would like to stress that She buys whole almonds, blanches them herself and breaks them up in very tiny pieces but not so much that they look like powder - more like crumbs

PASTRY

yields approx 4-5 depending on the size of your shapes

14 oz self raising flour+ 1 teaspoon baking powder,sifted

6 oz margarine,

rind of a large lemon,grated

4 tbs sugar,

2 eggs, beaten

and a little fresh milk to bind if necessary.

Make Pastry

Mix the dry ingredients, add the margarine, eggs and milk if necessary - work to a smooth dough.

FILLING

20 oz ground almonds,

8oz icing sugar+12 oz sugar or 20 oz icing sugar,

1egg+1yolk,

juice of 1/2 lemon,

1 tbs brandy.

Mix all in one stage and allow to chill for at least 1 hour in the fridge.

MAKING THE FIGOLLI
Heat oven to 325F.

Roll out a piece of pastry until it is 1/2 inch thick on a well-floured surface.

Cut into desired shapes (Figolli are traditionally cut into the shape of a bird, a fish or a duck and the size of each Figolla is between 8 to 10 inches).

You need two cut-outs for each Figolla.

Spread the filling on one of the cut-outs.

Place the other cut-out on top and press the edges to seal.

Brush the top of the Figolli with the beaten egg.

Bake until the Figolla turns to a golden colour.

Let the Figolla cool down and then decorate with coloured icing.

You can also cover with chocolate.

Place a hollow chocolate egg in the center of each Figolla using some soft icing to hold it in place.

Figolli can be really elaborate - with cut out pictures, richly decorated etc etc - I prefer the iced ones - with the Easter egg on top!