Go Back
Hot Cross Biscuits
Servings: 12
: 203 kcal
Author: Just Jo
Ingredients
  • 125 g unsalted butter softened
  • 50 g caster sugar
  • 25 g soft light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp finely grated orange zest
  • 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 100 g plain white flour
  • 50 g plain wholemeal flour
  • 25 g cornflour
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground mixed spice
  • 40 g currants
  • 40 g sultanas
  • 20 g mixed peel
  • 3 tsp apricot jam
  • 50 g icing sugar
  • 1 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
  2. Cream the butter, sugars and zests together then mix in the egg yolk
  3. Sift together the flours, cornflour and spices and mix into the butter mixture adding the dried fruit and peel (if there is any bran in the sieve from the wholemeal flour, add that now)
  4. Bring together to form a dough with your hands then roll out between two sheets of cling film or reusable baking parchment to about 5mm thick.
  5. Cut out with a 7-8cm diameter cookie cutter and place on a lined baking tray well spaced, baking for approx 10 minutes.
  6. Mix the apricot jam with 1 tbsp just boiled water and at 10 minutes, brush the biscuits with the jam and return to the oven for 5 more minutes only.
  7. Cool on a rack.
  8. Mix the icing sugar and orange juice together to form a thick icing, place in a piping bag with a thin nozzle or a strong food bag with the corner cut off and pipe crosses on the cold biscuits, leaving until set before eating.
  9. Once the biscuits are completely cold, mix together the icing sugar and orange juice. Spoon into a piping bag or freezer bag, snip off the corner to give a hole about 2mmwide, and pipe a cross on top of each biscuit. Leave to set.
Recipe Notes

Adapted from Miranda Gore Browne's book, Biscuit