Turnip cookies

175 g (6 oz) butter

150 g (5 oz) sugar (I use 50 g granulated and 100 g light brown soft sugar)

Pinch of salt

1 egg

150 g (5 oz) turnip puree (roughly 1 small or 1/2 medium size turnip, boiled and mashed). 

60 g (2 1/2 oz) ground almonds

200 g (7 oz) plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 or 2 tsp ground mixed spice

50 g (2 oz) rolled oats

Makes about 20 cookies

Cream butter with sugar(s), add salt, egg, turnip puree and combine. Next add ground almonds, flour, baking powder (or if you're in the UK, just use self-raising flour and miss out the baking powder!), mixed spice and oats. Mix well. 

Refrigerate this (soft) dough for at least 1 hour. 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (gas mark 6). 

Remove dough from fridge and use a couple of teaspoons to make dollops of dough about the size of golf balls. Space these out on a greased baking tray or non-stick liner. 

Bake for 13 minutes or until just golden around the edges. 

If you're feeling adventurous, you might try sprinkling flaked almonds or more rolled oats on the top of the blobs before baking.

I just made this recipe up, so feel free to suggest improvements!

Nursery wheels (aka pinwheel biscuits, whirlygig biscuits)

 Ingredients:

6 oz plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

3 oz butter

3 oz sugar

vanilla essence (a few drops)

milk (a little)

2-3 teaspoons cocoa powder

Method: 

• Cream butter and sugar 
• Add flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla essence and enough milk to mix to a stiff paste.
• Divide mixture in half
• Blend cocoa powder thoroughly into one half of the mixture
• Roll out each mixture thinly to the same size and shape (a longish rectangle)
• Place the chocolate piece on top of the plain one and roll up tightly (rolling from the longer side)
• Leave the roll 1/2 hour in a cool place
• Cut into slices 1/4 inch thick
• Place slices on a greased baking tray and bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 mins
• Dust with caster sugar (optional) and cool on a wire rack.
  

Shrewsbury Biscuits

Ingredients

6 oz plain flour
2 oz castor sugar
2 oz butter
1/2 level tsp salt
1 egg
vanilla essence

Method

1. Prepare a moderate oven, 350º F or Mark 4.
2. Cream butter and sugar.
3. Add egg and vanilla essence and beat well.
4. Work in flour and salt to form a stiff dough.
5. Knead lightly and roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into fancy shapes (approximately 40 biscuits using a 1.5 inch round cutter).
6. Bake on a flat greased tin for 20-25 minutes.

"Recipe for Sweet biscuits"

This is the recipe that came in the child's baking set with rolling pin and cutters.

Makes approximately 18 biscuits

First collect together the things that you will need. Mixing bowl, wooden spoon, pastry board, rolling pin, pastry cutters, baking tray.

(Editor's note: I would advise that you grease the baking tray. The recipe is designed for very small cutters, of three different designs. With larger cutters you will not get 18 biscuits).

Ingredients

2 oz (56 grams) softened butter
2 oz (56 grams) caster sugar
4 oz (113 grams) plain flour
About 2 dessert spoons milk

1. Ask a grown-up to turn on the oven for you and set it at 350ºF (180ºC, Gas mark 3) with a shelf in the centre.
2. Put the butter and sugar in the mixing bowl and mix them well together with the wooden spoon until soft and creamy
3. Mix in the flour and the milk with the wooden spoon until the ingredients are mixed well together. Now using your hands, knead the mixture together, making it into a ball of dough.
4. Sprinkle a little flour onto the pastry board and rolling pin so that the dough will not stick, and roll the dough out until it is about as think as a 10p piece.
5. Using the pastry cutters, cut out shapes from the dough and put them carefully onto the baking tray, leaving spaces between each one. You should get about six of each shape but don't worry if you have more or less.
6. Now ask a grown-up to help you, and remember that the oven will be hot. Put the biscuits into the oven on the centre shelf. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the biscuits are light brown.
7. Take the biscuits out of the oven on the baking tray. Don't forget that the baking tray will be very hot, so use an oven cloth. Leave the biscuits to cool for five minutes. Lift them onto a wire cooling tray and when they are completely cold sprinkle a little sugar on top of them—DELICIOUS!
8. Store them in an airtight tin so that they will not go soft.
9. Now you can tidy up the kitchen and wash up your cooking utensils. Just wipe clean the pastry board and rolling pin; do not put them in the water.

Lemony oaty syrupy biscuits

• 175 g butter 
• 2 tbsp golden syrup   
• grated rind of half a lemon (optional) 
• 175 g self-raising flour
• 75 g porridge oats
• 175 g granulated sugar
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 180C/gas 4. Grease 2 large baking trays.

2. Put the butter and golden syrup into a pan, with the lemon rind if desired, and heat over a low heat, stirring until all melted and combined.



3. Take pan off heat and add the flour, oats, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. Stir, if necessary also knead with your hands, until you have a smooth dough. 
 
4. Turn out onto a clean surface and form into about 28 small balls, about 2cm thick.

5. Place the balls on the baking trays, well apart from each other as they spread significantly. Press the tops to flatten slightly.

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and using a pallet knife vel sim., transfer to a cooling rack. 

Soul Cakes (officially Shropshire Special Cakes)

These are the biscuity sort as opposed to the bun kind. 

 

4 oz ground rice

4 oz plain flour

pinch of caraway seeds

4 oz caster sugar,

4 oz butter

2 eggs, modified by us to say 1 egg

 

 

Cream butter and sugar, work in rice, flour, and caraway seeds. Add eggs for firm dough. Roll and cut into 5 inch circles. Bake at  190 ºC/gas mark 5 for 15 minutes.

Honey and walnut cookies (can be dairy free)

adapted from a recipe at bakingbites.com

It is ok if quantities are a bit approximate, as long as proportions are roughly the same.

1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable/sunflower oil (I think melted butter would do, too)
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract (or just use vanilla sugar)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease a large baking sheet.

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the oil (or butter), honey and vanilla extract (if applicable). Pour this into the flour mixture and stir. Add the walnuts and stir briefly so that the walnuts are well distributed in the cookie dough.
Using your fingers, shape the dough into 12 balls (approx 1-inch diameter) and place onto the baking sheet, well apart because they will spread. Flatten the top of the balls slightly.

Bake for 10 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned around the edges.
Cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a rack.

Eat within a few days otherwise they will go a bit chewy.

Walnut shortbread

Recipe from Delia online

2 oz (50 g) walnut pieces
4 oz (110 g) salted butter, at room temperature
2 oz (50 g) caster sugar
6 oz (175 g) plain flour, sifted, plus a little extra for dusting
2 oz (50 g) rice flour
a little icing sugar for dusting


The first thing you need to do is grind the walnuts, which you can do very carefully using the 'pulse' switch on a food processor (if this is overdone, the nuts go pasty and oily). Otherwise, a hand-held nut grinder will do the job.

To make the shortbread, place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream them together until pale and fluffy. Then mix the sifted flour and rice flour together and gradually work this into the creamed mixture, a tablespoonful at a time. Next, add the ground walnuts and use your hands to form the mixture into a smooth dough. Leave the dough to rest in a plastic food bag in the fridge for 30 minutes, then roll it out on a lightly floured work surface to a round approximately 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter.

Now, using the 1¾ inch (4.5 cm) cutter, cut out approximately 20 rounds, re-rolling the trimmings. Place them on the lightly greased baking sheet and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Cool them for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. When completely cool, dust them with icing sugar and store in an airtight container.

Cocoa and oatmeal crunchy biscuits

These are scrumptious and quick to make.

4oz /100g butter
3oz /75g sugar (vanilla sugar is good)
4oz/100g plain flour
1oz/25g cocoa powder
Vanilla essence (if not using vanilla sugar)
1oz/25g medium oatmeal (if you don't have oatmeal, you can use rolled oats chopped finely in a whizzy machine)

Cream butter and sugar, add flour, cocoa, oatmeal and vanilla and mix well with wooden spoon until you get a smooth, stiff dough.

Roll it out on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick, and cut out small/medium size shapes (approx 1 to 2 inch diameter). Put these on a greased baking sheet and bake at 180ºC / mark 4, for 10 mins. When out of the oven leave for a minute or two on the baking sheet and once they've hardened up a bit transfer to cooling rack.

Hazelnut and honey biscuits

5 oz (125g) plain flour
pinch of salt
4 oz (100g) butter
2 1/2 oz (±60g) sugar
3 oz (75g) ground hazelnuts (or start with whole hazlenuts and chop them very finely in a nut-chopper)
A few tablespoons clear honey
2-3 oz plain chocolate (optional but highly recommended).

Cream the butter and sugar until soft. Stir in the ground hazlenuts, flour and salt. Mix well then turn out onto a floured board and knead to a smooth dough.
Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick. Using a small plain round cutter (oval is also good, but avoid shapes with too many delicate edges), cut out as many biscuits as possible. Place the biscuits on a greased baking tray (or several greased baking trays) and bake in the centre of a moderate oven (350F, Gas 4, 180C, 160 in fan oven) for 10-12 mins or until just golden brown at the edges. Remove from tray and cool on a rack.
Next, sandwich the biscuits together in pairs by sticking them together with honey.
Lastly, break the chocolate into squares and melt it (either in a bain-marie or in the microwave). Dip the biscuits into the chocolate so that they are half covered, then allow to set (place biscuits on greaseproof paper to avoid chocolate coming off again).
These are excellent served with coffee :-)

Choc Orange Bars

Ingredients:
For the bottom:

4 ozs butter
2 ozs granulated sugar
4 ozs Self Raising Flour
3 ozs rolled oats
2 rounded teaspoons of cocoa powder
pinch of salt

For the icing:

4 ozs icing sugar
2 rounded teaspoons of cocoa powder
About 2 dessertspoons of undiluted orange squash or orange juice

Method
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Weigh up the dry ingredients together and add them to the hot butter. Mix well.
Grease a 7 inch square sandwich tin.
Press the mixture into the tin.

Bake for about 25 minutes in a moderate oven, 368º F, 185ºC, Fan oven 175-80.

Now make the icing. Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa into a small basin. Mix to a coating consistency with not much orange squash/juice. Orange squash gives a better flavour. If using orange juice, add about four drops of orange oil if available.

Spread the icing over the hot cake.

When almost cold, cut into fingers.

Innovation biscuits

Ingredients

4 oz butter
4 oz brown sugar
6 oz self raising flour
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1 oz choc chips or currants or chopped nuts or other suitable additive
1 oz mixed peel
about 1/4 egg or a little milk

1. Cream the butter and sugar until soft
2. Add the flour and spice and work well together
3. Use a little egg or milk to make the mixture bind together
4. Add the chocolate chips (vel sim) and peel
5. Roll into small balls and place on a greased tray
6. Bake

Moderate oven, gas mark 4, fan oven 170º or less, about 20 minutes
Makes 28-30

Ps.- Shrewsbury Biscuits

Ingredients

6 oz plain flour
4 oz butter
2 oz sugar
currants (not too many)

1. Rub the butter into the flour
2. Add the sugar
3. Add currants
4. Knead
5. Roll out
6. Cut into rounds
7. Bake on a greased tray

Moderate oven, Gas mark 4 for about 20 minutes.
Makes 12

Gingerbread men

4 oz butter
4 oz soft brown sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
8 oz plain flour
2 tsp ground ginger

Oven 190º C, 375ºF, Gas 5, Fan oven 170.

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Beat in syrup.
3. Stir in flour and ginger.
4. mix until it forms a soft dough.
5. Roll out on floured suface to about 1/4 inch thick.
6. Cut out shapes, the larger the better.
7. Decorate with raisins for eyes etc, if required.
8. Grease baking trays.
   
9. Put the gingerbread on the trays. Bake for 10 minutes, till golden.
10. Allow to cool a bit until they're firm enough to transfer them to a rack to cool.