Okay, so here it is. THAT biscuit recipe.
I don’t consider this to be one of Mum’s traditional recipes, but somehow they became and institution. In truth, this recipe came from a Hungarian woman who did tuck-shop duty with Mum when I was in high school. They are meant for Christmas.
Mum would make vast amounts of these for the simple reason that they kept really well. She stored them in tins on top of the kitchen cupboards. (She had lovely old Arnott’s biscuit tins with beautiful pictures on them.) Inside she would have pieces of cardboard cut to the side of the tins and covered in foil to make layers and layers of biscuits in each tin. When people stopped by she was able to pull out some lovely little homemade shortbreads.
Here is the recipe…
250g soft unsalted butter
150g ground hazelnuts and almonds
400g self-raising flour
50g icing sugar mixture
1 tsp vanilla sugar
Extra:
100g icing sugar mixture
1tsp vanilla sugar
Combine first five ingredients, mixing well by hand.
Roll heaped teaspoonfuls on mixture into ropes, then form into horseshoe shapes.
Bake in a moderate oven for about 12 minutes.
While still hot, roll in extra icing and vanilla sugar mixture.
Store in foil, in an airtight tin, when cool.
Yield 60-70
