Easy lemon biscuit recipe

It’s National Biscuit Day here in the UK today and this easy lemon biscuit recipe is not only a yummy afternoon treat, it’s a fun and creative baking activity. Perfect if you’re quarantining with children and in need of something to keep them entertained.

A weekend trip to Paris last year saw my mum returning with token gifts for my siblings and myself. As the baker in the family, it was only fitting I receive an Eiffel Tower biscuit cutter. Not that I need an excuse to bake, it felt only right to try out my new toy.

Ingredients

6 oz / 175g soft, unsalted butter
7 oz / 200g caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 lemon zest
14 oz / 400g plain flour (plus more if needed)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Icing

10.5 oz / 300g icing sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Food colouring

Easy peasy lemon biscuit recipe method

Firstly, preheat the oven to 180 degrees/ 160 fan /356 Fahrenheit and line two baking trays with baking parchment. Scrunch up the paper to make it more malleable and use a little butter or water to help it stick it to the tray.

Next, cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until the mixture is light, fluffy, and pale. If you think you’ve mixed enough, mix it a bit more.

Then, add the eggs one at a time, and mix fully before adding the lemon zest and mixing again.

Next, sift the flour, baking powder and salt and combine slowly and gently. Trust that it will all come together. If it feels too sticky, add a little extra flour to the mixture. However, be careful not to add too much as the dough can become tough.

Halve the dough, roll each section into a disc and then wrap each half in clingfilm. Place them both into the fridge for at least 1 hour. If you don’t want to wait that long, place them into the freezer for 30 minutes.

Taking one disc out of the fridge, place your chosen ball on to a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle some flour on top and on a rolling pin, and roll the dough to about ½ cm thickness. Then, cut the dough and place onto the trays, giving them space between each one. When you’ve run out of dough to cut, bring the remaining dough together to form a ball, and roll out again.

Bake for 8 – 10 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges and place on a cooling rack. Meanwhile, begin with the second disc of dough, repeating the process.

Lemon biscuit tip – Mine spread because I didn’t leave the dough to rest long enough. Also, I should have turned the baking tray in the oven halfway through to get a more even bake across the biscuits.

For the icing

Firstly, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the lemon juice slowly and mix until you get your desired consistency. Too much liquid? Add some more icing sugar. Not enough? Add some water.

Once the biscuits are cool, you can begin icing them. This is a great time to get creative with the food colouring and designs!

I didn’t have the correct piping nozzle for the smaller biscuits, so I used cocktail sticks for the delicate designs. This is a great biscuit recipe to have a bit of fun with and kids will love getting involved with the creative mess of this activity.

By omitting the lemons in this recipe, you can easily substitute another flavour for them or leave them to have plain biscuits. Likewise, if lemony baked good are your thing, head to my recipe for Lemon Drizzle Traybake.

This easy lemon biscuit recipe is a simple way to have freshly made, zesty biscuits in little time. Plus, if you have young children, they’ll love to get involved in the whole process.

Els x

For more foodie inspiration, head to my baking section. Or, for drool-worthy baked goods photos, follow @theardentbakery on Insta.