Vanilla-saffron Biscuit

The recipe below is great in that it could be used as a basis for a variety different tasting biscuits.  You could skip saffron and have purely vanilla tasting biscuit, add walnuts to the batter and have walnut-tasting ones or replace vanilla with orange or citrus zest to have the refreshing fruit tasting biscuits. And of course, you could use your creativity to add to the list!

I initially saw this recipe in a friend’s blog, Saloomeh’s Kitchen. Then I added saffron and pistachio component to her vanilla formula and felt it looked and tasted great!

Ingredients:

• Melted and cooled butter 125 gr (1/2 cup)
• Caster sugar 110 gr (1/2 cup)
• Liquid vanilla essence 1 teaspoon
• Milk 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk
• White flour 150 gr (1 cup)
• Self-raising flour 110 gr (3/4 cup)
• Saffron powder ¼ teaspoon, diluted in 1/2 tbsp.  warm water
• Sliced pistachio 1 tbsp.  

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).
• Line 2 baking cheeps with non stick baking paper.
• Using an electronic beater on medium speed, beat together sugar and butter for about 3 minutes or until you get a homogenous and creamy batter. Add milk and vanilla and combine well.
• Sift the self-raising and white flour together into a bowl. Slowly add the mix flour into your butter-mixed bowl and continue beating- now on slow speed, until the batter becomes difficult to beat.
• Use your hand to get the batter off the beater and form a well-mixed dough. If it is too hard, you can add a bit milk; make sure no dry bits are left at the bottom of the bowl.
• Using a tbsp., roll the dough into balls; place the balls 4 cm apart on the trays and press gently to flatten. 
• Make a deeper whole at the center of each ball and add one drop of diluted saffron plus a few slices of pistachio.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until biscuits are raised and slightly cracked on top.  Remove from the oven and let cool for 3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Place on a serving platter when completely cool.