Easy biscuit recipe

Ingredients

• 200g plain flour
• 90g butter or margarine
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

An easy butter biscuit dough is a useful recipe to have in your collection. Delicious as a plain biscuit on its own, this dough is perfect for using with cookie cutters as it keeps the shape while baking. You can then decorate your shaped biscuits with coloured icing – perfect for any party, celebration or as a gift.

Highly versatile, this basic biscuit dough can be adapted to suit your tastes. By adding extra ingredients and flavours or changing the shape, you can create a biscuit for every occasion, whether it's heart-shaped biscuits for Valentine's Day or bunny, chick or egg-shaped biscuits for Easter.

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking paper.

2. Using a wooden spoon or food mixer, beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract, then mix until well combined.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the butter mixture. Don’t over mix as this will result in tough and dry biscuits.

If you have time wrap the dough in cling-film and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. This will help prevent your biscuits from spreading when baking.

4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 1/2cm. Cut out the biscuits and carefully place on the baking trays.

5. Place in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden.

6. Leave the biscuits on the trays for a couple of minutes to firm up, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

If you would like to make colourful celebration biscuits for Easter or a children's party then find out how to make fondant icing. Use the cookie cutter to cut out some icing as a base colour and decorate with piped swirls, spots, stripes and other details.

Cooking tips

If possible, re-roll the dough only once or twice when cutting out your biscuits, as over-handling the dough will make for tough biscuits.

Mix it up

This basic biscuit dough can easily be adapted to create a whole range of different biscuits by simply adding new ingredients. The variations are unlimited.

Try adding chocolate chips or substitute 50g of the flour with the same amount of good-quality cocoa for a delicious buttery chocolate biscuit. Or throw in some dried fruit such as raisins, sultanas and cherries; or nuts such as pistachios, almonds and hazelnuts. 

Flavour your biscuit dough with lemon or orange zest, ginger, coconut or cinnamon; or simply sprinkle the biscuits with caster sugar for a sweet treat.

Visit our baking recipe section for more delicious cakes and biscuits.