Lemon & ginger biscuits

So the weather's been a bit rubbish lately (this is England after all), and January is just depressing and I really can't wait for February (a certain person's birthday, ahem!) aswell as my sisters', on the same day I should add!! I digress.. but basically I just want it to be spring.

I've also had a bit of a horrid week, so as the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, just bypass the tequila and buy some lemons down the market and get baking! Oh and while you're there, get some daffodils too!

This recipe really appealed to me and lemon and ginger are supposed to be calming, or is that just the tea? Either way, these didn't disappoint.



Ingredients for the biscuits:-

300g plain flour
3 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
230g butter or margarine
100g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp grated lemon zest

Method:-

Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl at medium speed until the butter is creamy. Mix in the lemon zest and vanilla. 

Sift flour, ginger, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture and mix it in until the mixture forms a dough. Divide the dough into two parts and cover each with cling foil and refrigerate for about 40 minutes, or until the dough is firm enough to roll.

Preheat oven to 170 C or gas mark 4. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper and set aside.

Lightly flour your worktop surface and the rolling pin. Unwrap the dough and roll one part carefully into a slab of about 3-4 mm thickness. Use a round cookie cutter with crinkled edges to cut out big circles from the dough. Transfer onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Place the circles not closer than 2 cm apart as they will not spread much. Gather all the scraps, roll, and use up that dough too. Repeat with the second part of the dough from the fridge.

Use one baking sheet for the tops of the biscuits - from half of the dough circles, cut out a 2 cm shape, I used a small flower shaped cutter. Keep the remaining full circles on the other baking sheet.

Bake the biscuits for about 10 to 12 minutes. Watch them carefully during those last minutes, as there is a small window of time in which they are in that perfect crisp light brown state you’ll want them in. The cut-out tops will brown quicker than the bottoms. Cool the biscuits for about 5 minutes before transferring them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Ingredients for the filling:-

110g butter or margarine
130g powdered sugar
1 tblsp lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon zest

Method:-
Mix the butter and the powdered sugar, add the lemon zest and lemon juice, and beat on medium speed until smooth.

Transfer to a small piping bag, with a small nozzle. On the biscuit without a hole pipe the filling in a swirl starting from the centre. Leave a space at the edge. Sandwich together with one of the biscuits with a cut-out centre. Press to spread the filling up to the edge, but not over.

Store in an airtight container, these will keep for a few days... apparently!