I always think that October heralds a new season of baking with warm aromas and colourful spices such as ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg to embrace. There are so many festivals, both religious and cultural in the calendar which call out to our baking repertoire. I love this recipe for Scarecrow Biscuits which appeals to children of all ages and sets the scene for Harvest festivals and Halloween. You can use a variety of cereals, candy or liquorice to decorate your creations.
What
you need …
½ lb/225g plain flour
5 oz/150g butter
2 oz/50g caster sugar
1 lemon (zest and juice)
4oz/110g Icing Sugar
Warm water
Malted wheat (or similar for hats and mouth)
Raisins (for eyes and mouth)
Glace cherries (for nose)
How to bake …
Pre heat the oven to 180C or 160C fan Rub the flour and butter to resemble
fine breadcrumbs. Add
the sugar, grated lemon zest, and then the lemon juice. Mix to a dough, and leave to chill for half an
hour. Roll out to ¼ inch thick, and cut out the biscuits. Bake for 12-15
minutes until golden-brown. Leave to cool on rack.
How to decorate ….
Make up a small
amount of glace icing with the icing sugar and warm water. Use this or
Raspberry Jam to glue the assorted decorations for the
scarecrows’ hats, eyes, nose and mouth.
Meryl says : You can spice these biscuits up by adding a dash of ginger into the glace icing. Make the biscuits as scary as you like. Add this recipe to Half term baking. Go on - get creative!
More ideas from Grandma Abson’s Recipes for baking in October :
