Classic British Biscuit Recipes

Custard Creams, Jammie Dodgers, Bourbon Biscuits, Party Rings – we all have our favourites when it comes to these classic British biscuits. Now there’s no need to head to the shop when the biscuit tin’s running low though; with our set of Classic British Biscuit Cutters in your baking kit and the recipes below, you can make your own whenever you fancy.
Custard Cream Recipe
For the biscuits
- 225g unsalted butter, softened
- 115g caster sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp milk
- 350g plain flour
- 125g instant custard powder
For the filling
- 300g icing sugar
- 150g unsalted butter, softened
- 1tbsp instant custard powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Method
- Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180ºC, fan 160ºC
- Mix the butter and sugar and beat until combined. Then, add the vanilla extract and milk and beat until combined.
- Add the flour and custard powder into your mixture and beat together until you have a smooth dough.
- Shape the dough into a long oblong shape 5cm x 4cm in depth and width. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 20 minutes or until firm.
- Once firm, use the custard cream mould to create your biscuits. Place them on large baking trays lined with baking paper.
- Bake in the oven for 8-12 mins, or until the edges begin to turn a pale golden-brown colour. Remove and leave to cool on a wire rack.
- For the filling, cream together the icing sugar, butter, custard powder and vanilla extract. Spoon a teaspoon of the filling onto the base of a biscuit and evenly spread to the edges using a small palette knife. Top with another biscuit. Repeat until all the biscuits and filling has been used up.
Bourbon Cream Recipe
- 125g soft unsalted butter
- 125g golden caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- 2tbsp golden syrup
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 50g cocoa powder
- 1tsp baking powder
For the filling
- 150g unsalted butter, softened
- 360g icing sugar,
- 4tbsp cocoa powder
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
- Beat the butter and sugar together until combined, then mix in the rest of the ingredients until your mixture forms a dough.
- Line your baking sheets, dust lightly with flour, then roll a third of the dough out to approximately half a centimeter each. Cover and freeze for around 20 minutes.
- Slide the dough off the trays and put a new piece of parchment on each. Cut your dough into rectangles, roughly 6 x 3cm.
- Carefully place your biscuits onto the baking tray, leaving some space between them as they’ll expand. Use your bourbon biscuit mould to gently press down onto your biscuits creating the design.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then leave to cool on the sheet, only removing once cooled. Sprinkle over some sugar.
Jammy Dodger Recipe
Ingredients
- 170g strawberry jam
- 100g unsalted butter
- 175g caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1tsp vanilla paste
- 200g plain flour
Method
- Preheat your oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.
- To make your biscuits, begin by mixing together the butter and sugar until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla, and continue to beat by hand until fully incorporated.
- Add the flour into the mixture and fold together until fully combined, then shape into a ball.
- Roll the dough out onto a floured sheet of baking parchment to a depth of around 5mm. Transfer the sheet to a baking tray and put in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up.
- Remove from the fridge and press out your biscuits using the jammy dodger mould. You should create around 16 base biscuits and 16 top biscuits, with small holes in the centre.
- Once the shapes are cut out, arrange your biscuits on baking sheets lined with baking parchment and leave to cool in the fridge for a further 10 minutes.
- Bake the biscuits for 10 minutes and remove from the oven and allow to cool fully. When cool, spread jam on the bottom biscuit and top with another biscuit, sandwiching them together.
Party Ring Recipe
Ingredients
- 225g plain flour
- 1 medium egg
- 25 g cornflour
- 125g butter, cut into small cubes
- 100g caster sugar
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- 300g icing sugar
- food colouring gels
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4.
- Place the plain flour, cornflour and butter in a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, egg and vanilla extract and pulse again briefly until combined. Remove the dough from the processor and gently knead into a disc. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 20-30 minutes.
- Lightly dust your work surface with flour, then roll out the dough until it’s about the thickness of a £1 coin. Using the party ring cutter, cut as many circles as you can from the dough. Use a smaller circle cutter to cut a small circle from the centre of each biscuit. Work the scraps into a ball, re-roll and cut some more biscuits.
- Transfer the biscuits to a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until they’re pale golden. Transfer to a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
- Split the icing sugar into small bowls depending on how many colours you want to decorate with. Add 1tbsp water to each and mix until you have a smooth, runny icing. Colour each bowl of icing using food colouring.
- Dip each biscuit in a base colour and place on a cooling rack. Using a spoon, immediately drizzle the biscuit with an alternate colour in horizontal lines, then use a toothpick to feather the icing, dragging the lines vertically until the icing feathers. Repeat until all the biscuits are all covered. Leave to set for 30 minutes for the icing to dry.
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