Tea Biscuits aka Bisqvittim

These are my basic cookie which satisfies a deep need within me. They use oil, not margarine, so even though it’s healthier 😉 , it surpases margarine in that this makes for a crunchier cookie. They are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee or a glass of milk. You can dunk them and they hold up since they are baked till they are crispy and crunchy through and through.

These are very versatile. You can change the spices up and add a few tablespoons of sesame seeds for a more Moroccan feel to the cookie, as well as crushed anise or even a tablespoon of caraway seeds which is surprisingly nice but some of my kids/grandkids turn their noses up at this so I generally use cinnamon and nutmeg. This is a spicy cookie with a lot of flavor. If you wish, you can dial back the spiciness by omitting the ginger and cutting the cinnamon and nutmeg down. Personally, I like the spiciness and the fragrance of these cookies as they bake will drive you potty. Try to wait till they cool so you get the full crunchy effect.

Since this makes a very large quantity of cookies, you can freeze the dough rolled into logs inside parchment paper (this is not greaseproof paper – it is non stick and used to bake) and bake as needed, only defrosting a bit, enough to make cutting them into rounds easier. These can be shaped in balls and flattened with a glass or rolled out and cut into squares or circles or cut out with cookie cutters. If you really want them to look like tea biscuits, you can cut them out with biscuit cutters which give them a pretty edge. It’s also a one bowl recipe, so how can you go wrong? First, mix the dry ingredients together thoroughly.

Then add the liquid and eggs.

Then mix thoroughly together till you get a nice dough which is both malleable and not too dry or wet.

Then you can roll into balls or roll out with a rolling pin

After baking, let them cool completely so that they won’t soften upon storing them. They keep their crispiness best in a tin. These cookies do not rise much at all so you can put them fairly close together. In addition, since they don’t rise much, they will mostly retain the shape that you started with. Thus, if you leave them in a ball, so they will stay. They look prettier if you use a glass to flatten the balls.

Tea Biscuits – Bisqvittim

7 cups (1 kilo) flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tsp baking powder

1 scant teaspoon salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 cup oil
4 large eggs
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup water

or 2 heaping tablespoons orange juice concentrate and 1 1/4 cup water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a mixer, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the oil, eggs, juice and water. Mix thoroughly until a pliable softish dough forms. Since this makes a large quantity of dough, you have a few choices. You can bake all the cookies and freeze them – they freeze very well. Or, you can bake only what you want at the moment and roll the rest into logs and wrap with parchment paper and freeze. They keep well this way as well.

If baking, roll dough into balls and flatten with an oil dipped or flour dipped glass or roll out with rolling pin in a rectangle and cut out with biscuit or cookie cutters or cut out in rectangles or circles. Place fairly close together on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes till medium brown and crispy, crunchy. Let cool on wire racks. Store in a tin for maximum crunchiness.