‘Accidentally On Purpose’ Cinnamon Biscuit Hearts

Originally posted 19 October 2018

Dear lovelies

Gosh it really has been too long since I was here in Blogsville last. There is a very good explanation for this, which I will divulge as soon as I can, but it goes without saying that I have missed being here and I have missed writing!

Now I’ll try and keep this short and sweet if I can, but there is an explanation for the name of these biscuits. I arrived at this recipe via a slightly convoluted route, which started with me attempting a new recipe from one of my baking bibles, Peyton and Byrne British Baking. The recipe called for caster sugar, but I was all out. I sometimes buy substitutes for conventional ingredients in the hope that I will have time to experiment and create new recipes that are perhaps slightly healthier than the norm. This means I have ingredients languishing at the back of our kitchen cupboards, unloved and unused, such as coconut sugar (made from coconut blossom nectar), which in this case I substituted for the caster sugar. I had no semolina flour either, so I used icing sugar.

Needless to say, the biscuits did not turn out as they were intended. Instead, they looked more like shapeless, overly buttery brandy snaps. And to my surprise, although their appearance left a lot to be desired, they were actually edible! I had accidentally created a biscuit that my kids and hubby loved! So I decided to purposefully recreate them with a few tweaks, but I still wasn’t happy with the results. A few batches later, I have created a light, simple but delicious biscuit with the addition of cinnamon for an Autumnal touch, which bears little resemblance to the accidental but edible versions I baked earlier!

Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter, softened

60g unrefined caster sugar

75g icing sugar

1 medium egg

225g plain flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon (I used a level teaspoon but if you wanted a slightly stronger flavour of cinnamon, you could use a heaped teaspoon)

I heart shaped biscuit cutter

Makes about 30 biscuits (depends on the size of your cutter!)

Method:

Cream together the butter and sugars (I use a free-standing mixer) until light and fluffy.

Add the egg with a spoonful of the flour, mix, then add the rest of the flour and cinnamon until combined.

Tip the mixture out onto a piece of baking paper, wrap up and pop into the fridge for about an hour.

Whilst the dough is chilling, grease and line 2 biscuit trays.

Preheat oven to 180°c

Once chilled and slightly firmer, roll out the biscuit dough onto a well floured surface until it is about 4mm thick.

Cut out the biscuits using the heart shaped cutter and place carefully on the trays. You will have to bake them in 2 batches.

Bake for 8-10 minutes in the oven until slightly browned.

Once baked, take the biscuits out of the oven, leave on the trays for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Serving suggestion: Dust with icing sugar and enjoy more than one at a time, with a hot cuppa, perhaps listening to your favourite podcast or watching a good drama on the telly.