BY GARY THOMAS

This recipe for short, sweet and lightly spiced butter biscuits is from Gary Thomas from Spade to Blade. He uses Des O’Tooles messmate honey collected by bees foraging in local forests. He also uses emmer flour, an ancient grain, from Powlett Hill. If you can’t find emmer flour, substitute with plain flour. Perfect with a pot of hot tea.

INGREDIENTS

125g unsalted butter, cubed, room temp.
⅔ cup caster sugar
1 large tablespoon honey
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup emmer flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup self-raising flour
2 tablespoons caster sugar, extra
½ teaspoon cinnamon, extra

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180OC/160OC fan forced. Prepare two flat baking trays by lining with baking paper. In a bowl cream together the butter and until creamy. Add the honey and mix. Add the egg yolk and mix. Sift in the cinnamon, flours and baking powder. Mix to form a dough. Roll out to 1cm thick and cut out into small rounds using a biscuit cutter. Place on the trays. Mark with a fork. Mix extra sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over biscuits. Bake for around 10-15 minutes or until golden and the kitchen filled with the aroma of spice. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then place on cake rack.