Lemon almond biscuit crisps

Lemon and almond biscuits

I like a thin crisp biscuit, and I love lemon. These biscuits hit the mark, crisp, buttery with a lemon tang and the almond makes them slightly chewy.

It’s important to get the temperature right, since overcooking will reduce the lemon flavour. The biscuits should remain very pale. So it’s worth checking them after ten minutes, and turning the heat down if they are browning round the edge – the most colour they should have is the lightest shade of tan around the edge.

I use wheat free flour, but the recipe works fine with plain flour, you may need slightly less liquid.

Recipe

Ingredients

160 g softened butter

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

zest from 3 lemons

1 tbsp lemon juice

½ cup ground almonds

1.5 cups plain flour

If you don’t have a cup, use an average sized mug.

Method

Line two baking trays with baking parchment, set oven to Gas Mark 3/325F/170C

·         Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

·         Add the egg and beat in well, followed by the lemon zest, juice and ground almonds, beating all the time.

·         Add the flour in batches, beating as you do, until blended.

·         You can either cover the bowl and chill, or put the dough onto some baking parchment and roll into a sausage shape. Leave the mixture in the fridge for about two hours, until it is nice and firm.

·         If you’ve made a sausage shape, cut thin slices with a very sharp knife, and put them onto the baking parchment lined tray. If you’ve left the mixture in a bowl, use two teaspoons and drop a small amount of the mixture onto the baking parchment, squashing each with a fork dipped in water. Leave enough space for the mixture to spread a little.

·         Bake at 180C for 10-15 minutes, or until golden around the edge. Transfer them to wire racks.

The biscuits will crisp up as they cool.