After I was diagnosed with coeliac disease, my Mum, who was always a keen cake-baker, started providing me with my own personal stash of gluten-free biscuits.
When I called in to visit her, or she came to me, she often produced a small parcel of one sort or another – just for me, for later. I did share the contents, but not particularly willingly.
Making these Lemon Crunch Biscuits, which I’ve been doing a lot lately, I’m thinking of her. This recipe is not one of hers, but she did have a sweet tooth and I know she would have approved.
As was always the case with Mum’s biscuits, the Lemon Crunch make a real treat to find in the cupboard when you go searching for some little pick-me up. They’re lovely with a cup of tea too, perhaps dangerously so. I hope you enjoy them.
Jan
LEMON CRUNCH BISCUITS
Makes about 16
110 gm unsalted butter, softened
50 gm gluten-free icing sugar, sifted
170 gm Revenge Gluten-Free Almond Plain Flour Mix (see below)
3 lemons, zest only
2 teaspoons whole milk
55 gm coffee crystals
1 egg, beaten
Cream butter and icing sugar until soft and light.
Mix the Gluten-Free Almond Plain Flour and lemon zest into the creamed butter. Add milk and combine to form into a ball.
Cover with plastic wrap or baking paper and refrigerate for 1 hour to firm up, then knead the dough and roll into a log about 4cm in diameter.
Refrigerate again for at least two hours, making sure the dough hardens into a nice round cylinder.
Meanwhile, line an oven tray with baking paper and preheat oven to 190° C.
Take a baking dish large enough to accommodate the log and line it with baking paper. Spread the coffee crystals across the base of the dish.
Unwrap the dough and brush it with beaten egg. Then quickly roll it in the coffee crystals, pressing them firmly into the surface of the log.
With a sharp knife slice the dough into rounds 6 or 7mm thick. Place them on the baking sheet, leaving about 2.5 cm between them.
Lower the oven temperature to 180º C and bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until the edges of the biscuits turn golden brown.
Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack. Store in an airtight container for at least 4 days.
(You could also double the quantity of dough and freeze half for later. A log of dough, wrapped tightly in plastic, will keep in the freezer for a couple of months. Let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before brushing with egg, rolling in coffee crystals, slicing into rounds and baking. Do not defrost completely.)
REVENGE GLUTEN-FREE ALMOND PLAIN FLOUR MIX
280 gm almond meal
210 gm besan flour
280 gm fine white rice flour
175 gm corn flour
Mix up a batch and store in the fridge.
FLOUR SUBSTITUTE
To substitute a commercial brand of gluten-free plain flour, combine 130gm together with 40gm almond meal. The result will be different but still good.