Shrewsbury Biscuits

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Wooden spoon or electric whisk
• •Fluted round cutter (6-7cm)
• •Rolling pin
• •Two baking sheets
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Fine grater or microplane for the lemon

Instructions

1. 1

   Cream butter and sugar

   Put the soft butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat them together until pale and fluffy. A wooden spoon and a bit of effort will do it, or an electric whisk if you'd rather. You're after a soft, almost mousse-like texture and a colour that has gone from yellow to nearly cream. Stop and scrape down the bowl once or twice. This is the foundation of the whole biscuit, so don't rush it.

   The butter needs to be properly soft. Not melted, not cold from the fridge. Take it out an hour before you start. If you've forgotten, cube it small and leave it on a warm plate near the kettle.
2. 2

   Add egg and lemon

   Beat in the egg a little at a time, then stir in the lemon zest. The smell when the zest hits the butter is the moment Shrewsbury biscuits start to make sense. Bright, oily, almost floral. Trust your nose. If it doesn't smell of lemon, add a bit more zest.

3. 3

   Bring in the flour

   Sift the flour and salt over the bowl. If you're using cinnamon, add it now. Fold everything together with a wooden spoon, then bring it together with your hands. Don't knead it like bread. You want it just combined, no dry pockets, no overworking. If you're adding currants, scatter them in at this stage and fold them through. The dough should be soft but not sticky. If it feels too wet, a dusting more flour. If it feels dry, leave it; it'll come together as you press it.

   Currants are traditional in some Shrewsbury recipes and absent in others. Both are right. I tend to make a plain batch and a studded batch from the same dough, splitting it in two before the currants go in.
4. 4

   Chill the dough

   Press the dough into a flat disc, wrap it in greaseproof or cling film, and put it in the fridge for half an hour. This isn't optional. Cold dough rolls out cleanly and holds its shape in the oven. Warm dough spreads and sulks.

5. 5

   Roll and cut

   Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Lightly flour the work surface and roll the dough out to about the thickness of a pound coin. Cut into rounds with a fluted cutter, around 6 or 7cm across. Lift them onto the trays with a palette knife, leaving a little space between each. Gather the scraps, press them together, and roll again. The second batch is always slightly tougher than the first, but nobody minds.

6. 6

   Bake until pale gold

   Bake for twelve to fifteen minutes. You're looking for the edges to take on a faint gold colour while the middles stay pale. Not brown. Pale gold. A Shrewsbury biscuit that has gone too dark loses the delicate, lemony lift that defines it. Check at twelve minutes. Trust your eyes more than the timer.

   They will feel soft when they come out of the oven. That's right. They firm up as they cool. Move them too early and they'll break.
7. 7

   Dust and cool

   Let the biscuits sit on the trays for a few minutes to firm up, then dust the tops generously with caster sugar while they're still warm. The sugar catches and clings. Lift them carefully onto a wire rack to cool completely. Then into a tin, where they'll keep for a week and improve for the first three days.

Chef Tips

• •Use an unwaxed lemon. The zest is the soul of this biscuit and you don't want a layer of wax sitting between you and the oil in the skin. If all you can find is waxed, scrub it under hot water with a brush before zesting.
• •Don't overwork the dough. The moment the flour disappears, stop. Shrewsbury biscuits should be tender and short, not chewy. Overworking develops the gluten and you'll feel the difference in the bite.
• •Roll them slightly thicker than you think you should. Too thin and they go brittle and snap; the right thickness gives you that satisfying soft-snap crumble that holds up to a dunk in tea without falling to bits.
• •A tin keeps them properly. Plastic containers make them go soft. An old biscuit tin with a tight lid will hold them at their best for the better part of a week, and a sheet of greaseproof between the layers stops the sugar dusting from rubbing off.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be made a day ahead and kept wrapped in the fridge. Let it sit at room temperature for ten minutes before rolling so it doesn't crack.
• •The dough also freezes well. Roll it into a log, wrap in parchment, and freeze. Slice straight from frozen into rounds and bake, adding a couple of minutes to the cooking time.
• •Baked biscuits keep in an airtight tin for up to a week. They're at their best on days two and three, when the lemon has had a chance to settle into the crumb.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 37g)