I can’t claim credit for the wonderful selection of spices in this biscuit! For anyone that watched the series of Masterchef Australia 2017, you would be familiar with Ben Ungermann who came runner up in the final competition (I so wanted him to win!).
In the last few dishes that Ben presented to the judges he drew on his Dutch heritage, and inspiration from his dear grandmother who taught him so much in the kitchen, to create delicious desserts that featured Dutch flavours.
One such dessert (see here) included a crumble using a Dutch flavoured dough. So I played around with the recipe to make a biscuit using the spices that Ben had in his recipe. The white pepper is what really makes the difference. You don’t taste it first up, but very soon you get a lovely slight warmth in the back of your throat and there is no disguising the pepper … yum!
If you are like me and love that little tickle in the throat, you will want to make these!
The recipe doesn’t make a huge amount and can definitely be doubled … so I suggest you stick with this quantity first, and then double the recipe later if that is your preference.
The biscuits keep really well in a sealed container for up to three weeks.
RECIPE UPDATE March 2018:
I was in a rush today so I doubled the recipe (follow exactly the same process), and instead of rolling the dough out and cutting with a shape, it was quicker for me to use a tablespoon measure and roll that amount of dough in my hands into a ball (damped your hands every now and then with water to get a smooth finish), place onto the baking tray, and then press with a fork on the top … similar to what you see in the pics with the leftover dough … but they were bigger!
To be honest, I actually preferred the biscuits this way … by doubling the recipe and using a tablespoon measure I got 26 biscuits, I baked them for a total of 18 minutes (10 minutes first, turn tray around and continue for a another 8 minutes) and they were simply perfect xo
- 130g white spelt flour, or plain flour
- 60g light muscovado sugar, or brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground white pepper
- ½ tsp sea salt flakes
- 100g butter, must be soft/room temperature, cut into cubes
- Preheat oven 180 degrees, fan forced, and line a large baking tray with baking paper
- Place dry ingredients into TM bowl and mix 6 seconds / speed 6
- Add butter and Knead for 30 to 40 seconds until a dough starts to form (should hold together when pressed between two fingers)
- Remove dough from bowl onto a silicon mat or baking paper and bring together into a flattened round shape
- Roll dough to 6mm thickness between two sheets of baking paper (use silicon mat if you have one to hold bottom sheet of paper in position while you roll)
- Cut into desired shapes, place onto baking tray allowing a little space between the biscuits for expansion (I use a thin spatula to pick up dough to place onto the tray)
- Continue to re-roll the dough until it is all used up (any leftover scrapes I roll together into a log, cut into even small pieces, roll into a ball, place onto tray, and press a fork into the top so they become “buttons”)
- Bake for 10 minutes, turn tray around and bake for a further 4 minutes or until the biscuits are nicely browned (they will be soft initially but will crisp up on cooling)
- Remove from oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes, then place onto cooling rack to cool completely before storing
- Keeps well for at least three weeks in a sealed container
These biscuits keep really well in a sealed container for up to three weeks.
RECIPE UPDATE March 2018:
I was in a rush today so I doubled the recipe (follow exactly the same process), and instead of rolling the dough out and cutting with a shape, it was quicker for me to use a tablespoon measure and roll that amount of dough in my hands into a ball (damped your hands every now and then with water to get a smooth finish), place onto the baking tray, and then press with a fork on the top ... similar to what you see in the pics with the leftover dough ... but they were bigger!
To be honest, I actually preferred the biscuits this way ... by doubling the recipe and using a tablespoon measure I got 26 biscuits, I baked them for a total of 18 minutes (10 minutes first, turn tray around and continue for a another 8 minutes) and they were simply perfect xo
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
I am so glad you like this recipe … it is one of my family’s favourites too … just made some more yesterday … it is so yum! xo