Frills 'n' Spills

I have been waiting to post about these as we made them before Christmas but they were a present for my parents and I didn't want to spoil the surprise! Biscotti are one of those things that always seem 'posh' but these were surprisingly easy to make and will definitely be the recipe I use to impress people! ;) I used this vanilla biscotti recipe from Baking Mad but made a couple of changes to it...

Ingredients:

* 175g plain white flour

* 50g semolina

* 1 vanilla pod

* 50g granulated sugar

* 1 tsp baking powder

* 1 lemon (for zest only)

* 28g margarine 

* 1 egg (beaten)

Place the vanilla pod on a chopping board and split it down the centre using a sharp knife. 

Use the blade to remove the seeds and add to the beaten egg. I also added a couple of teaspoons of  vanilla extract to give it an extra vanilla-y kick...

Add the sugar, baking powder and lemon zest to the flour. Mix in the margarine and egg mixture to form a soft dough. I had to add quite a lot of milk to get this to bind so just something to bear in mind!

Place the dough on a floured surface and split into 4 parts. Roll each part into a long sausage shape and place them onto a non-stick baking tray.

Remove from the oven and place onto a chopping board . Use a knife to slice the dough at a 45 degree angle at 2 cm (1 inch) intervals.

Place the cut biscuits back onto the baking tray and cook for another 15 minutes until crisp.  Allow to cool then store in an airtight container until you are ready to eat them. Yes, we went full hipster with our mini Kilner jar!

These were absolutely lovely (I had to try them!) but were very lemony, despite my vanilla extract addition so I would probably cut down the amount of zest next time... They were definitely a hit with my parents though so I'm sure these will be being made again soon!