Everyday dinners
Gluten-free biscuits
Vanilla biscuits with lightly golden edges, rolled and cut for the biscuit tin.
These vanilla biscuits use an egg-bound dough, with cornflour for a delicate crumb. Roll them evenly so the centres bake through before the edges darken.
Makes approximately 24 biscuits, giving 12 servings of two biscuits. Let them cool completely before putting them in the tin.
The recipe
Gluten-free biscuits
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 18 min
- Total*
- 43 min
- Makes
- 12 servings
*Estimated development timings. Allow 60 minutes for chilling and approximately 30 minutes for cooling, including 10 minutes standing on the trays. These are additional to the 43-minute preparation and cooking total, giving approximately 133 minutes from starting to cooled biscuits.
Ingredients
Tick things off as you go.
For the biscuits
Equipment
- Use digital kitchen scales and measuring spoons.
- Use a large mixing bowl, a smaller bowl and an electric hand whisk or wooden spoon.
- Use a rolling pin, baking parchment and a ruler to check the dough thickness.
- Use a round biscuit cutter approximately 6 cm wide.
- Use two large baking trays that fit in the oven and fridge.
- Use a flat spatula and a wire cooling rack.
Let’s make it.
- 01
Prepare the workspace
Wash your hands and clean the worktop and equipment, removing any ordinary flour or crumbs. Line both trays with baking parchment. Check that the butter yields easily when pressed but has no melted patches.
- 02
Mix the butter and sugar
Beat the butter and sugar together for about 2 minutes until creamy and slightly paler. Beat the egg in the smaller bowl, then add it gradually to the butter mixture with the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl so no lumps of butter remain.
- 03
Bring the dough together
Wash and dry the smaller bowl, then use it to mix the flour blend, cornflour, xanthan gum and salt. Stir them into the butter mixture, pressing gently with a spoon until the dough gathers together without loose flour. Do not taste raw dough. Flatten into a disc, wrap in baking parchment and refrigerate for 40 minutes, until firm enough to roll without smearing. Wash your hands and clean utensils after handling raw dough.
- 04
Roll and cut
Roll the dough between sheets of baking parchment to an even 6 mm thickness. If it cracks badly, leave it at room temperature for 5 minutes and try again. Cut out rounds with the 6 cm cutter and lift onto the trays, leaving 2 cm between them. Gather and reroll the scraps to make approximately 24 biscuits. The rounds should have an even thickness with no thin, ragged edges.
- 05
Chill the rounds
Refrigerate the filled trays for 20 minutes, until the rounds feel firm and lift cleanly at the edges. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / gas 4, with shelves around the middle.
- 06
Bake
Bake both trays for 15–18 minutes, swapping their positions after 10 minutes. The biscuits should have lightly golden rims and dry, set tops, without glossy dough in the centres. If necessary, bake for another 2–3 minutes and check again; follow any longer cooking requirement on your flour packet.
- 07
Cool
Leave the biscuits on their trays for 10 minutes, until sturdy enough to lift with a spatula. Transfer to a rack for approximately 20 minutes more, until completely cool and firm. Break one open before serving: the centre should have a baked crumb with no sticky raw dough.
Ingredient checks
Use a flour blend labelled gluten-free and check the cornflour, xanthan gum and vanilla for gluten-free suitability. Choose a blend without added xanthan gum for the stated formula. Check all labels for other allergens. For someone with coeliac disease, use clean equipment, fresh baking parchment and ingredients protected from contact with ordinary flour or crumbs.
Allergens: Contains milk from butter and eggs from the egg.; The specified ingredients do not intentionally include celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, fish, lupin, molluscs, mustard, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, soya or sulphites; check each product label for ingredients and cross-contact warnings.; Gluten-free flour blends vary and may contain additional allergens, so reassess the recipe if you change the blend..
Make it work for you
Replace the vanilla extract with the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon for lemon biscuits.
Salted butter can replace unsalted butter in the same quantity; omit the added salt.
A firm dairy-free baking block can replace the butter by weight, but spreading and texture may change; check it for gluten and additional allergens such as soya.
Use the specified flour blend for the first batch; almond flour, coconut flour and single rice flour are not direct substitutes.
For another day
Once completely cool, keep the biscuits in an airtight container in a cool, dry place and aim to eat within three days for best texture.
For longer storage, freeze the cooled biscuits in a sealed container, separated with baking parchment, for up to one month for best quality.
Thaw only the portion needed, keeping it covered until it reaches room temperature; freezing and thawing texture have not been kitchen-tested.
Exploding food
What goes in.
The ingredients, seen a little differently. This image is an illustration of the main ingredients; use the written recipe for the full list and quantities.
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