Raisin and spice shortbread biscuits are a deliciously crunchy, fruity and spicy variation on traditional shortbread biscuits. They are easy to make and are suitable for making in bulk so that you have a good supply in the freezer for the weeks ahead. The quantities in the recipe below are sufficient to make around 20 to 22 biscuits if using a 5cm diameter biscuit cutter.
Ingredients
- 175g butter (at room temperature)
- 90g caster sugar
- 150g plain flour (plus extra for rolling out the dough)
- 50g cornflour
- 70g raisins
- 2 rounded teaspoons ground allspice
Equipment needed to make raisin and spice shortbread biscuits
- Kitchen scales
- Large baking bowl
- Wooden spoon to cream the butter and sugar together
- Sieve
- Teaspoon
- Pastry board or other suitable surface to roll out the biscuit dough
- Rolling pin
- Biscuit cutter
- Metal baking tray
- Non-stick baking parchment
- Wire cooling rack
- Spatula to transfer the cooked shortbread biscuits to the wire cooling rack
How to make raisin and spice shortbread biscuits
Before starting, remove the butter from the fridge so that it reaches room temperature and softens. This will make it easier to cream the butter and sugar together. Also, set the oven temperature to 150oC, 300oF, gas mark 2.
Weigh 175g butter and 90g sugar into a large baking bowl and cream together using a wooden spoon.
Add 150g plain flour, 50g cornflour, 70g raisins and 2 teaspoons ground allspice to the butter and sugar and mix together until all ingredients are combined.
Form into a ball with your hands and place the bowl of biscuit dough in the fridge to chill for around 30 minutes to one hour.
When the shortbread dough has chilled, transfer to a lightly floured pastry board and roll out to a thickness of around half a centimetre.
Form biscuit shapes using a biscuit cutter and place on a non-stick baking sheet on a metal baking tray leaving a space between each biscuit to allow room for expansion. Return to the fridge to chill for around 30 minutes to an hour. It will be necessary to bake in several batches, depending on the size of baking tray.
Bake the chilled shortbread biscuits at 150oC, 300oF, gas mark 2 until they are starting to turn golden at the edges. This is likely to take around 20 to 25 minutes or so, but will vary a little depending on the oven temperature. Turn the baking tray around part way through the baking time so that they cook evenly.
Leave the cooked shortbread biscuits on the baking try for around 5 minutes and then carefully transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Tips
- Remove the butter from the fridge before starting to make the shortbread biscuits so that the butter softens, otherwise it will be very difficult to cream together with the sugar. Alternatively, you could soften (but not melt) the butter using the appropriate setting on a microwave.
- Make sure the oven does not get too hot otherwise the heat will affect the texture of the shortbread.
- Remember to leave plenty of space between the biscuits when baking to allow room for expansion. It is likely that you will need to bake the biscuits in several batches.
- Store the shortbread biscuits in an airtight tin. They will keep for several days, or they can be frozen if you wish to keep them any longer.
You may also like to try crunchy oat biscuits, (homemade Hobnobs) which are also deliciously crunchy and easy to make.
Raisin and spice shortbread biscuits
Ingredients
- 175 g butter at room temperature
- 90 g caster sugar
- 150 g plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 50 g cornflour
- 70 g raisins
- 2 teaspoon ground allspice
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl using a wooden spoon.
- Add the flour, cornflour, raisins and allspice and mix well.
- Form the dough into a ball with your hands, place in a bowl, cover and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- Lightly flour a pastry board, place the dough on the board and roll out to a thickness of about half a centimetre.
- Use a cutter to form biscuit shapes and place on a non stick sheet on a baking tray leaving a space between each biscuit.
- Bake in batches in the centre of a preheated oven at 150°C, 300°F, gas mark 2 until the edges start to turn golden.
- Leave the cooked shortbread on the tray for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Leave a Reply