Biscuit and CookieS

What is the difference between a biscuit and a cookie? I’m sometimes asked. Neither word is originally English – biscuit is clearly French, meaning twice cooked, yet until the the eighteenth century we spelled it bisket, while cookie is a more recent introduction, derived from the Dutch word koekje
which became cookie in North America. Biscuits are usually thinner and smaller with a definite shape, and a cookie is often larger with a more chewy consistency. But the distinction can easily blur – there are crisp cookies and chewy biscuits.
!ough it’s easy enough to mix the dough, roll it out and shape, or arrange spoonfuls on the tray, once you’ve slid the baking sheets into the oven total vigilance is necessary. ‘Timing in cooking is essential,’ says the talented chef Angela Hartnett.
While cakes may give you a little leeway on timing, baking a biscuit is particularly exacting. !ere is a stage when a shortbread biscuit reaches a peak of perfection and its flavour and texture cannot be improved. But a little too long in the oven and the sugar caramelizes, the biscuit darkens, the flavour
becomes intense rather than subtle – and that precious moment is lost for ever. In baking, the eye is as important as the hand and the palate. But take heart, practice does make perfect and you will soon discover that a flawless shortbread biscuit is truly a triumph of home baking.
A convenient aspect of making your own biscuits and cookies is that – given the chance – they store well. Baked and cooled then sealed in plastic box or bag, they will maintain their flavour in the freezer for weeks, or in a refrigerator for a fortnight. When stored at room temperature, however, their
oven-fresh buttery taste can deteriorate.
I find home-made biscuits and cookies – arranged on a plate or in a pretty box – make especially welcome gifts to those who are elderly or who live alone and who might not feel up to baking. And when presented in this way, biscuits and cookies fly off a fund-raising stall in no time at all.


SHORTBREAD BISCUITS
Simple and good – the queen of home-made biscuits.
Oven: 160°C / 325°F / gas mark 3 􀁸􀀃Baking time: 15–17 minutes
Equipment: 6 cm / 2½ in. fluted pastry cutter; baking sheet – buttered
Makes: about 20 biscuits
120 g / 4 oz butter 􀁸􀀃60 g / 2 oz caster sugar
175 g / 6 oz plain flour 􀁸􀀃1 tbs caster sugar for the end
In a warmed mixing bowl, beat the butter until soft. Add the sugar and
cream together. Gradually add the sieved flour and continue beating until
the mixture binds together in a lump. On a floured board, roll out the dough
until 5 mm / ¼ in. thick. Use the pastry cutter to cut out rounds of dough.
Place on the prepared baking sheet and prick each biscuit a couple of times
with a fork.
Bake in the preheated oven until just changing colour at the edges. Do not
overcook or the subtle buttery flavour will be lost. Cool on the baking sheet for
3 minutes then transfer to a wire rack and sprinkle with the extra caster sugar.
Variations
Orange Shortbread Biscuits – add ½ tsp finely grated zest of orange and / or
30 g / 1 oz finely shredded candied orange peel to the sieved flour.
Lemon Shortbread Biscuits – add ½ tsp finely grated zest of lemon and / or
30 g / 1 oz finely shredded candied lemon or citron peel to the sieved flour.
Ginger Shortbread Biscuits – add 45 g / 1½ oz finely chopped preserved or
candied ginger to the sieved flour.
Cherry Shortbread Biscuits – add 45 g / 1½ oz chopped dried cherries to the
sieved flour – glacé cherries can be used instead but they are rather sweet.
Rosemary Shortbread Biscuits – add ½ tsp finely chopped fresh young
rosemary leaves to the butter.
Lavender Shortbread Biscuits – add ½ tsp finely chopped fresh lavender
flowers or young leaves to the butter.