Citrus & spice biscuits

My husband grew up in Germany and enjoys little reminders of his childhood through the food we cook. These biscuits are loosely based on the flavours of lebkuchen – spiced biscuits traditionally prepared around Christmas time. I have included two glaze options – citrus and chocolate – if you want to use just one then double the quantity of the ingredients for the chosen glaze.

PREP TIME 30 minutes // COOK TIME 15-18 minutes MAKES 24 small biscuits

Biscuit dough

• 2 free-range eggs

• ½ cup (80g) packed brown sugar

• 1 cup (120g) ground hazelnuts or almonds

• ¾ cup (110g) plain flour (can use gluten-free)

• 50g (1/3 cup) glacé mixed peel

• Zest of 1 orange

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp mixed spice

• ½ tsp ground ginger

• ¼ tsp grated nutmeg

• ½ tsp baking powder

• Pinch of salt

Chocolate glaze

• 50g quality dark chocolate • ½ tsp olive oil

Orange glaze

• cup (50g) icing sugar

2-3 tsp orange juice

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Place the eggs and sugar into a stand mixer (or use hand held beaters) and whisk on a medium speed until tripled in volume (ribbon stage). This will take about 8-12 minutes depending on the machine used.

In a mixing bowl combine the remaining biscuit ingredients. Add the voluminous eggs to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to mix into a sticky dough. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up for easier rolling.

Preheat the oven to 170ºC (fan 150ºC). Line a cookie tray with baking paper.

Use slightly damp hands to roll the biscuit dough into small walnut-sized balls and arrange on the tray, pressing down lightly. They won’t spread much so 2-3cm spacing will be sufficient.

Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden. Cool on the tray. Prepare the glazes. For the chocolate glaze, place the chocolate into a small bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Add the olive oil and stir until melted.

For the orange glaze, place the icing sugar into a bowl and add the orange juice 1 tsp at a time until a thick glaze is produced.

Use a teaspoon to pour a little glaze over each cookie – half chocolate, half orange glaze. Leave for 2 hours to set then store the biscuits in a sealed container in the pantry. See rocky road recipe for packaging ideas for gifting.