Today we are making German Biscuits, these can also be know as Linzer or Belgian Biscuits and are two shortcake style biscuits sandwiched with jam and topped with water icing. This recipe creates a delicate biscuit so be gentle whilst handling. As these biscuits contain no egg or egg substitute they are both vegetarian and vegan friendly if you use a suitable margarine and topping.
German Biscuits
Ingredients
- 250g of margarine
- 250g of plain flour
- 100g of cornflour
- 30g of custard powder
- Jam, beaten slightly to thin
- 100g of icing sugar
- 2dsps of cold water
- Sprinkles of choice
Method
- In a large bowl, cream the margarine.
- Add the dried ingredients and mix until you create a dough.
- Turn out onto a well floured surface and quarter.
- Doing a quarter at a time, roll out gently until around a quarter of an inch thick. (No need to be exact)
- Cut out with a pastry cutter, the size is up to you, I use the middle sized cutter.
- Place gently onto a baking sheet using baking paper if not non stick.
- In a preheated oven 180°c, 375°f, Gas mark 4
- As these are a pale biscuit, bake for between 10 and 15 minutes on the middle shelf, checking after 10mins to make sure they are not burning.
- Remove when firm to the touch.
- Place on a baking rack and allow to cool.
- Mix your icing sugar and water until you have a thickish paste. It should be thick enough not to run but thin enough to spread.
- Sandwich together with jam and spread your icing over the top.
- Sprinkle with the topping of your choice, taking care that they are vegetarian and vegan friendly if needed.
- Allow icing to set.
- Enjoy.
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First time I’ve seen a recipe for these biscuits Helen.
So thanks a lot. They seem easy enough to make.
My mother never made them. When we had them for after-school tea she’d bought them from the local bakery – Maybe she wasn’t confident about “being gentle enough while handling”. Or maybe she hadn’t time.
Thank you Ben, not all recipes you come across for these shall make such a soft dough and biscuit but this one does. It’s a recipe I’ve used for almost 40yrs (jings) and the closest I can give you for a texture comparison is Viennese whirl or fingers, so as long as you enjoy a soft dry texture then these are a biscuit for you. As always, thanks again for the feedback. H
Thank you Ben, not all recipes you come across for these shall make such a soft dough and biscuit but this one does. It’s a recipe I’ve used for almost 40yrs (jings) and the closest I can give you for a texture comparison is Viennese whirl or fingers, so as long as you enjoy a soft dry texture then these are a biscuit for you. As always, thanks again for the feedback. H
Your written recipe does not show any amount of cornflour. Please advise
Hi Trudy sorry about that, it should have said 100g of cornflour not icing sugar thank you for bring my attention to this. H