French Sweet and Salty Biscuits

"France cannot be France without greatness" 

Charles de Gaulle

French Sweet and Salty Biscuits

I feel the pull to go back to visit France, but I can't get there this year, so I have done the next best thing and indulged in a little French cuisine. 

While French cuisine and vegetarian don't go that well together, I've been able to adapt some recipes which gives me a taste of France and some solace at times like this. But more about those later. I'm here with a treat for you today and a warning message.

Before giving you this recipe I have to make apologies. 

I am sorry that you may not lose weight because you will eat too many of these biscuits. You will not be able to make a batch and keep them to yourself.
You will probably send extra time in the kitchen because you'll have to keep making more and more of them. But by golly they are worth all of this!

These biscuits are crunchy on the outside, soft and delicious on the inside. Sweet, but not sickly and amazingly the salty topping just gives you something that says "yes!"

I first made these biscuits in the 1980's and I think people were surprised that a  bit of salt on the top of something sweet worked so well. The French use this combination in many of their dishes, but in the 80's, it was quite daring!

There's a variety of French salty desserts like Kouign -Amann and the move to using salted butter rather than unsalted butter for pastries has become very popular. Sablés, salty biscuits from Breton are crispy sweet biscuits made using salted butter.  David Lebovitz has a lovely recipe for these on his site; https://www.davidlebovitz.com.

The recipe I am sharing today is the combination of a plain sweet biscuits made using soft dark brown sugar and adding salt flakes part way through cooking, to give you that salty kick. And as I said earlier - I'm sorry!  Bon chance!

FRENCH SWEET AND SALTY BISCUITS

The most important aspect of making these biscuits is to get the butter to the right colour before continuing. It can be tricky, but don't try to rush the process and you will be fine.

INGREDIENTS

210g of butter

2 cups soft dark brown sugar

2 cups plain flour 

1 egg and 1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup caster sugar
salt flakes


Pre heat oven to 170ºFan Forced/350º/Gas 4

In a small saucepan over a very low heat melt only 200g butter. Keep cooking the butter very slowly, twirling around in the saucepan every minute until the butter turns golden brown. Once it turns take it off the heat. If you leave it too long it will burn and you can't use it, so go slowly and carefully. (This is the only tricky bit, the rest you can do with your eyes closed). Once you have reached this point take off the heat and stir in the remainder 10g butter. Allow to cool for 12 minutes. Phew, all done!

Now whisk the dark brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon table salt into the butter, so there are no lumps.

Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla and whisk again.

Combine flour, soda, baking powder and mix into the butter, again make sure the flour is completely mixed in. The dough is getting quite stiff by now. 

In a small bowl add caster sugar. Now take tablespoons of the mixture and roll into balls. You should make 24 -  26 small balls out of this dough. Now roll the balls in the caster sugar then place them on two trays lined with baking paper.

At this point I like to flatten them a little. Leave space between the balls to allow for the biscuits to rise.

Bake in the oven for 8 -10 minutes until they just start to brown, then sprinkle them with salt flakes. Put them back in the oven and bake for a further 2 - 4 minutes until they look light brown but not dry. 

Cool on the tray for 2 minutes then transfer to a rack until completely cold.


You can freeze these but allow them to defrost slowly.

Then, try and eat only one - ha ha, I bet you couldn't do it.

Oat and Almond Biscuits - A Healthy Alternative

Hello 2018! Welcome to what is going to be a roller coaster of a year. Kitchen renovations, travel, hiking and a plethora of kayaking as well as great food and stories. Firstly Fruit and Nut Biscuits - a healthy alternative.

I'm back from my December break and really motivated to be in the kitchen whipping up heaps of new recipes I have been playing with over the holidays. 

Might have to wait for the weather to cool a little before I really cook up a storm, but I'm starting with a little sweet treat because of a change in my diet (more on that later.)

I was on the hunt for a biscuit - you know just a tiny morsel of something a little sweet for my morning break, but with a lot of healthy stuff in it.

I've spent a long time looking and trying and I've decided this is the best I can do. I mean seriously, is there such a thing as a healthy biscuit?

Chocolate was definitely out, so was a Jammy Dodger. 
It needed to be healthy, nutty, fruity, not too sweet and fast to make. I think these just about cover all of that.

According to Good To Know, in Britain people eat their way through 141 million packs of biscuits per year! My goodness that is a staggering number of calories! I am sure Australia is almost as bad statistically. No wonder we have an obesity problem. 

In my research I came across this website,  Australian Healthy Food Guide. It has some great food facts, tips for eating well, recipes and more. Even if you are not in Australia I am sure you would find something of interest here. Go ahead and check it out.

Anyway, I have taken one of their biscuit recipes and adapted it to suit my taste and as far as biscuits go, it's reasonably healthy, providing you don't pig out on the whole batch in one go. 

Now let me think ......is it time for a cuppa and a biscuit yet?

Here's the recipe.

OAT AND ALMOND BISCUITS

INGREDIENTS

1 cup rolled oats
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup sultanas
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/3 raw almonds, skin removed, roughly chopped - see note*
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
80g margarine
3/4 cup of soft brown sugar or dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cups plain flour
2 -3 tablespoons of fresh orange juice

1. Cream sugar, vanilla and margarine together in a bowl until light and creamy in texture.

2. Beat the egg into the margarine mixture.

3. Sieve baking powder, baking soda and flour and fold into the the creamed margarine.

4. Next, add the oats, nuts and fruit and fold in until well incorporated. Add  orange juice and mix thoroughly. Use your hands if it's easier.

5. Take a tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a ball the size of a large walnut. Place these on a tray lined with baking paper. Slightly flatten each one with the back of a fork. 

6. Bake in a preheated oven 160ºFF/350F for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on tray for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack. When cold, store in an air tight container for up to 5 days. Makes around 24 -26 biscuits.

* to take skin off raw almonds, place in a small bowl and pour boiling water over them. Leave for a couple of minutes and the skins will easily slip off. 

Cheese Biscuits

Whenever we have friends over for dinner, I usually whip up a dip or two to have with pre dinner drinks. But just lately I have noticed that everyone else is doing the same.  Time to try something different I thought and I have been racking my brain to find an alternative.

I remember a few years back, before bringing out dips was the fashion, we always had something cheesy with a glass of champagne or a cocktail.  Eating cheese before a meal can totally destroy your appetite and your waistline. But a small savoury cheesy snack will heighten your taste buds ready for the main meal.

While I was scanning through cookbooks the other day I came across these beautiful cheesy biscuits in The Really Useful Cookbook by David Herbert . Delicately thin, decidedly good and very, very easy to make. Most of all, they are simply delicious. 

The book contains some fabulous recipes and I use it fairly often, see if you can get your hands on a copy.

Try these with your friends and see their reaction. If the plate is empty before you can say cheese, then you know they have loved them too. This recipe makes quite a lot of biscuits, so you can squirrel away a few for yourself to eat later.

Cheddar Biscuits

Ingredients

200g plain flour sifted

50g parmesan cheese, grated

150, tasty cheddar cheese

salt and pepper

175g butter, chilled and diced

1 tbls lemon juice

1 tbls chopped chives

Place flour, salt, butter, cheeses, lemon juice, chives, salt and pepper into a food processor and process until the mixture comes together in a ball.

Take a large sheet of baking paper and mould the mixture into a sausage shape approximately 30 cms long with a 5 cm diameter.

Using the paper to assist, roll the mixture up into a long sausage, twist the ends of the paper to and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180º fan forced/350. Prepare a baking tray with baking paper.

Take the biscuit mixture and unwrap. With a sharp knife, slice the biscuits very thinly and place on the prepared baking tray. Bake for around 8 - 10 minutes until the biscuits are golden around the edges.

Leave on the tray to cool for a few minutes the transfer to a wire rack and leave until cold before storing in an air tight container.

This recipe made approximately 60 biscuits (I think a few more but as they were cooling I noticed a few disappearing)

Green Tea Biscuits

Are you a green tea drinker?  For a very long time I turned my nose up at any mention of green tea. Then I became hooked. Trying every variety I could find in the supermarket and specialised tea shops. One of my favourites is a Japanese Lime Tea. Full of flavour, slightly smokey and very smooth to drink.

Recently there has been a move to incorporate a particular green tea into a greater range of culinary recipes.  Matcha - is the finest Japanese Green Tea Powder there is according to the web sites I have read. So I was delighted to find some available at Kim Wang Asian Grocery, 62-63, Grote Street, Adelaide. I am sure you will find this in any Asian Grocery store near you.

Matcha is made from tea plants which have been grown in the shade to allow a  slower growth and an increase in chlorophyll. Hence the amazing green colour. Although green tea is still widely drunk in Japan today, there has definitely been an increase in the use of this in cooking. I am not sure if this is a new phenomenon or a resurgence of something long past.

Since the early 2000's Matcha has appeared in coffee latte mixtures , milkshakes, cakes and ice cream and its popularity is due in part, to it's high anti-oxidant properties.

Today,  I am sharing with you a biscuit recipe using Matcha Green Tea Powder. I am making these as part of another photo shoot and wanted to use something that was bright green. I am unsure if the recipe will work with any other green tea powder, so you are on your own if you wish to experiment. But take my word for it, Matcha green is almost fluorescent and you may need your sun glasses to make them.

A reminder also that the powder sticks to everything and you may be surprised to find it in places you did not think possible.

 Biscuits with Matcha Green Tea Powder

Ingredients

240 g plain flour
15g Matcha Green tea Powder
150g butter softened
130g icing sugar
1/2tsp salt
2 egg yolks
100g unsalted pistatchio nuts

Weigh out the Green Tea Powder.

Sift the flour and the tea powder into a large clean bowl.
Cream butter and sugar together, adding the egg yolks one at a time and beating between each one.

Add flour into the mixture in two or three batches. Add nuts, mixing well to a stiff dough. 

Turn onto a board or bench top, roll up into two long sausage shapes, cover with cling film and place in the fridge for 2 hours to rest the dough and to make it a little firmer.

After 2 hours, take from the fridge, discard the plastic wrap. Cut into rounds about 2 centimetres thick. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Preheat your fan forced oven to 150º/300F and bake for 15 - 20 minutes until slightly brown.
Slide each one carefully onto a cake rack until cool. Store in an air tight container for a few days.
This recipe made 33 biscuits.

Biscuits at War

Australia celebrates Anzac Day every April 25th. It is one of the most significant occasions in Australian history. It marks the anniversary of the first major military actions fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during WW1. 

As this is a public holiday in Australia, services to honour the men and woman who fought in this war and subsequent wars, are held around the country. There are dawn services in every capital city and many smaller towns and often parades are held with many veterans, sons and grandsons of veterans who march in the parade . 

Photo curtesy of State Library of South Australia

As this year marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the first world war services will be greater in number and more significant. Many community projects are emerging and new plaques being installed to mark this occasion. 

Commemorative services will also be held in other countries.Turkey, Belgium and France, at the Australian War Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux and Bullecourt.

Family photo of Grandfather Alfred George with son George Giles who died on 17th April 1917
aged 20 years. He is buried at Brandhoek Memorial Cemetery, Ypres, Belgium.

In South Australia, the State Library is producing an online resource from original documents donated by the Red Cross Information Bureau. The Bureau operated from 1915 - 1919 and was a line of enquiry for next of kin of South Australian soldiers missing in combat. The link above will provide you with an insight into the project which is soon to be released.

Now how is this connected to food? Lets talk Anzac Biscuits. 
The Anzac Biscuit was given to soldiers during WW1 as a substitute for bread and was part of the soldiers diet. The soldiers did not call these biscuits because they were so hard and they were given the unfortunate name of 'Anzac Tile'. But because of their sweetness they were a welcome addition to their rations.   

There is some contention as to whether Australia or New Zealand actually invented this biscuit because they both claim it was their idea.

Many variations of this recipe can be found, some of them are hard and crunchy biscuits and others are soft and chewy, but they all contain oats, golden syrup, coconut and butter.  My personal preference is for the crunchy ones but they are so tasty that I can honestly eat any of them. This recipe came originally from the Country Women's Association and it has been in my recipe file for the last ten or so years.

I am giving you the recipe early so that you can make a batch before the day arrives. Then you can sit and watch the marches on TV, watch online video content from other countries or just have a few biscuits over a cup of tea with your mates. Any way you choose to spend the day, it should definitely involve a plate of Anzac Biscuits.

Anzac Biscuits

Ingredients

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 cup of desiccated coconut
1/2 cup caster sugar

90g unsalted butter

1 tbls golden syrup

1 tbls  water

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• Pre heat oven to 160C, moderately slow. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 
• Combine oats, flour, sugar, coconut in a large bowl.
• In a small saucepan, on a low heat,  combine butter and golden syrup, stirring until butter has melted.
• Stir bicarbonate of soda in water in a small jug and then add to the butter mixture. Pour all of this into the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Roll level teaspoons of mixture into balls. Don't flatten the balls but place 4 cms apart on the lined tray and bake for about 8- 10 minutes or until golden brown. 
• Leave on tray for 5 minutes to harden then transfer biscuits to wire trays to cool before storing in an air tight container.

I could say these will keep in an air tight container for a couple of weeks, but I am joking because I doubt they would last 10 minutes.