Orange biscuits with pine nuts

Recipe~Finder

Cooking time: More than 1 hour

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 10 or more

Type: Kids; Cake; Biscuit; Family

Tools

Kitchen friendly view

Photography: Brett Stevens

By Suzanne Gibbs

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup (165g) caster sugar
3 eggs
¼ cup (60ml) Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
grated rind of 1 orange
1 ½ cups (225g) plain flour, sifted
¾ cup (110g) self-raising flour, sifted
1 cup (155g) pine nuts, toasted

Preparation method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in orange liqueur and rind. Fold in remaining ingredients until mixture forms a soft dough.

3. Divide dough in half and shape each piece into a 7 x 30cm log. Place onto prepared tray and bake for 25 minutes, until risen and golden all over. Cool completely.

4. Cut into 1cm slices and place on baking trays in a single layer. Reduce oven to 160°C or 140°C fan. Bake for another 20 minutes, until crisp and crunchy. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. Serve or store in an airtight container.

Tip: Toasting nuts enhances their flavour, as cooking releases the natural oils, and it also gives the biscuits extra crunch. Simply place the nuts in a dry frying pan on medium heat and cook for about 4 minutes. Stir or shake the pan frequently, as they tend to burn quickly.

Cut the log into 1cm slices only when completely cool. Place on baking tray in a single layer before re-baking. This second cooking gives a delicious short, crisp and crunchy biscuit, commonly used for dipping in coffee.

Also in this section

Orange mustard chicken with couscous

Orange and date salad

Cranberry and orange icypoles

Mini jaffa cheesecakes

More inspiration

Traditional FocacciaI recently put the call out to my social media people, what they thought the most popular food of the nineties was and I received a resounding “Focaccia”. Of course! Who can forget the ol’ sun dried...

Hopetoun Tea Rooms' pavlovaFlavours of Melbourne is a locally sourced cookbook-come-city guide for all things food related in Victoria's capital. Bursting with almost 400 pages of photography from the streets, laneways...

Nine-year-old food critic grades her school lunchesA nine-year-old school girl in Scotland has become a blogging sensation after posting reviews of her school lunches on the internet.

Recipe finder