Lemon, Rose and Cardamom Biscuits

This recipe is a masterclass in flavour pairings – the floral, gentle flavours of rose pair wonderfully with the brightness of lemon and just a hint of spicy, warmth from the cardamom

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This recipe was adapted from Small Batch Cookies by Edd Kimber. All his books are a winner and I would definitely recommend purchasing them, if you are looking for a good cookie book.

FOR LEMON, ROSE AND CARDAMOM BISCUITS (Makes about 15 piped biscuits)

• 150g salted butter, in 2cm cubes at room temperature
• 60g icing sugar
• 150g cakeflour
• 40g cornflour
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom (I bash the cardamom pods, remove the seeds and grind that. It has the best flavour)

FOR THE GLAZE

• 2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon good quality rose water
• 80g icing sugar
• zest of a lemon, to decorate
• ground pistachios, to decorate
• dried rose petals, to decorate

METHOD

1. Prepare the butter and sugar: Cream the butter, sugar and cardamom until pale and fluffy. This will take a good 2 to 3 minutes with an electric, hand held mixer.
2. Add the dry ingredients: Add the remaining ingredients and to form a soft dough.
3. Pipe the biscuits: Scrape the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large closed star piping tip and pipe about 6 cookies onto a baking tray. I piped “S-shaped” cookies, but you can use any design you are comfortable piping. Whilst soft, the dough is thick, so you will need to apply a good amount of pressure when piping.
4. Chill the biscuits:
5. Bake the biscuits: Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius. If you are not using a non-stick baking tray, grease and line three trays with baking paper. Bake the biscuits for 10 – 12 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. They will be pale and golden in colour and the base will be a golden, brown.
6. Let Rest on the tray before removing: Once out of the oven, let the lemon, rose and cardamom biscuits rest on the tray for 5 minutes to firm up. They are too tender to remove by hand. Then, using a spatula, lift the biscuits off the tray and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely.
7. Decorate: For the glaze, mix together the lemon juice, rose water and icing sugar until a thin glaze has formed. Dip the biscuit into the glaze, then sprinkle with some lemon zest. Decorate with some crushed pistachios and dried rose petals.
8. Storage: These biscuits will keep well for up to 3 – 4 days, stored in the fridge in an airtight container. They will soften a bit as they age. I suggest that you store them without the glaze, refresh them in a warm oven on the day of serving and then glazing and decorating.

Recipe by adventureswithsugar.com