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    Home » Recipes » Biscuits

    Easter Biscuits

    Published: Apr 9, 2019 · Modified: Mar 13, 2024 by Libby Hakim · Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Want to enjoy an Easter treat minus the chocolate overload? These traditional English Easter Biscuits are light and crisp, with a delicate spiced flavour and sweet currants and peel scattered throughout.

    These biscuits really are the taste of Easter-time from years gone by, but completely enjoyable today – even my 11-year old loved them!

    Jump to:
    • Easter 1940's style
    • What you’ll need
    • How to make Easter Biscuits
    • Storage
    • More Easter Recipes
    • Easter Biscuits

    Easter 1940's style

    There's a dizzying choice of Easter goodies on our supermarket shelves today, and of course the ol' Hot Cross Buns are often sold from Boxing Day in many supermarkets. In fact, some supermarkets now sell them all year round!

    Wind back the clock about 80 years and Easter would have looked a whole lot different. I reckon if you had asked for Hot Cross Buns on Boxing Day people would have thought you were mad! And the shops were probably all closed Boxing Day, anyway.

    And while there may not have been the variety we have today, there were a few special little treats that we don't often see these days – including these old-fashioned Easter Biscuits dotted with currants and peel.

    This recipe is an English one, and I've based it on a recipe I found in The North Western Courier (Narrabri) dated 20 March 1941.

    What you’ll need

    To make these biscuits, you'll need two baking rays and a round (5cm) cookie cutter.

    The ingredient list includes:

    • plain flour (all purpose flour)
    • mixed spice
    • baking powder
    • pinch salt
    • butter
    • caster sugar
    • an egg
    • currants
    • mixed peel
    • icing sugar
    • lemon juice.

    See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for precise quantities of ingredients.

    How to make Easter Biscuits

    The recipe for Easter Biscuits is fairly straightforward.

    Start by pre-heating your oven to moderate (180 degrees celsius / 360 degrees fahrenheit, fan-forced) and lightly greasing the two baking trays.

    Cream butter and sugar, beating the butter first and adding the sugar gradually.

    Add the lightly whisked egg and beat again until smooth.

    Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and spice, and then gradually fold into the mixture.

    Add currants and peel and stir through until distributed throughout the mixture.

    Place the mixture onto a floured bench and form into two round balls. Roll out the balls to about 5-6mm thickness.

    Use the round cutter to cut out biscuits and then place on the trays. If the mixture becomes difficult to work with, place in the fridge for 15 minutes before proceeding.

    Add enough lemon juice to the icing sugar to form a runny paste. Brush the tops of the biscuit with the lemon juice and icing sugar mixture. Yes, before baking!

    Place trays into oven and bake for 15 minutes or until a golden colour.

    Allow to cool for about 10 minutes on trays before using a spatula to transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack.

    Storage

    These biscuits can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

    They can also be stored in a freezer bag and frozen for up to a few months.

    More Easter Recipes

    Enjoy more Easter recipes from the collection:

    • simnel cake.
      Simnel Cake
    • Easter grazing box
      DIY Easter Grazing Box
    • hot cross bun pudding
      Bread and Butter Hot Cross Bun Pudding
    • puff pastry carrots for easter
      Puff Pastry Carrots for Easter
    easter biscuits

    Easter Biscuits

    Libby Hakim
    An old fashioned recipe for sweet, crispy Easter Biscuits with currants and mixed spice.
    5 from 2 votes
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    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Cook Time 15 minutes mins
    Total Time 35 minutes mins
    Course Snack
    Cuisine Arabic, Australian, English, New Zealand
    Servings 36 small biscuits
    Calories 73 kcal

    Equipment

    • round cutter (5cm diameter) (ideally with scalloped edge)

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 1 ¾ cups plain flour (all purpose flour) (240 grams)
    • ½ teaspoon mixed spice
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • pinch salt
    • 150 grams butter
    • ½ cup caster sugar (110 grams)
    • 1 egg, lightly beaten
    • ¼ cup currants (35 grams)
    • 1 tablespoon mixed peel, chopped finely
    • ⅓ cup icing sugar (50 grams)
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

    Instructions
     

    • Pre-heat oven to moderate (180 degrees celsius / 360 degrees fahrenheit, fan-forced) and lightly grease two baking trays.
    • Beat butter and add sugar gradually. Beat to a cream.
    • Add egg and beat again until smooth.
    • Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and spice. Gradually fold into mixture.
    • Add currants and peel and stir through until distributed throughout mixture.
    • Tip out mixture onto a floured bench and form into two rounds. Roll out the rounds to about 5-6mm thickness. Use round cutter to cut out biscuits and place on the trays. If the mixture becomes difficult to work with, place in the fridge for 15 minutes before proceeding.
    • Add enough lemon juice to the icing sugar to form a runny paste. Brush the tops of the biscuit with the lemon juice and icing sugar mixture.
    • Place trays into oven and bake for 15 minutes or until a golden colour.
    • Allow to cool for about 10 minutes on trays before using a spatula to transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack.

    Notes

    Storing:
    These biscuits can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
    Freezing:
    They can also be stored in a freezer bag and frozen for up to a few months.
    Nutrition:
    The nutrition information is an automatically generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 73kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 30mgPotassium: 23mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 112IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 6mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?If you love it, let me know!

    More Easy Biscuit Recipes

    • Smartie Cookies recipe.
      Smartie Cookies
    • YoYo Biscuits recipe.
      YoYo Biscuits
    • Honey Snaps Biscuits stacked on plate.
      Honey Snaps
    • Burnt Butter Biscuits on cooling tray.
      Burnt Butter Biscuits
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    Hi, I'm Libby, a recipe collector and writer. I love everything about home cooking and share modern classics and recipes that have been passed down for generations – I hope you find a few that bring back treasured memories.

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