We know that January can be a tough month to get through, but put a smile back on your face with these colourful biscuits. Make them on a rainy day to cheer up the whole family, or serve for a special occasion as something a bit different!
![Rainbow biscuits 458]()
Recipe for Rainbow Biscuits
Preparation time 20 minutes, plus chilling
Baking time 13 minutes
Makes 40
INGREDIENTS
550g plain flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder, sifted
200g caster sugar
150g unsalted butter, diced
2 medium free-range eggs, beaten
100g golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Gel food colouring in six colours
METHOD
1 Grease 2-3 baking trays and set aside. Place the flour and baking powder in a bowl and stir in the sugar. Rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2 Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl, add the golden syrup and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Pour into the flour mixture and bring together to form a dough.
3 Divide the dough into six portions as follows: 120g, 145g, 160g, 180g, 235g, and 255g. Add a little red gel food colouring to the largest portion and knead until the colour is even throughout. Place in a food bag.
4 Add a different gel colour to the next size portion of dough, knead and place in another bag. Continue in this way kneading a different colour into each portion of dough and placing in individual bags – it’s important to keep the dough in order of size for rolling later on. Chill the dough in the fridge for 1 hour.
5 Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and starting with the smallest portion, roll it into a sausage shape approx 20cm in length. Roll the next size portion of dough into a rough rectangle that is large enough to surround the first sausage shaped piece of dough. Wrap the rectangle around the sausage and squeeze the join together. Roll on a non stick mat to retain the shape and smooth any joins.
6 Take the next size portion of dough and roll as before into a rectangle large enough to surround the sausage shaped dough. Wrap around the sausage, squeeze the join then roll to shape and smooth. Repeat with the remainder of the dough.
7 Trim the ends of the rolled dough to neaten then slice into 5mm-1cm wide pieces. Use your hands to lightly reshape each slice into a circle and place on the prepared baking trays spaced apart to allow for spreading. Place in the fridge for 30 mins and towards the end of this time preheat the oven to 170˚C/Gas Mark 3.
8 Bake for approx 13 minutes – the biscuits will retain a fair amount of colour but they won't be as vibrant as the uncooked dough. Cut each biscuit in half whilst still hot to create semi circle rainbows then allow to cool completely.
TIP It can be difficult to cut thin slices of the rolled dough so if your slices are quite thick just flatten out each circle by gently pressing a flat item on top.
![Rainbow biscuits 458]()
Recipe for Rainbow Biscuits
Preparation time 20 minutes, plus chilling
Baking time 13 minutes
Makes 40
INGREDIENTS
550g plain flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder, sifted
200g caster sugar
150g unsalted butter, diced
2 medium free-range eggs, beaten
100g golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Gel food colouring in six colours
METHOD
1 Grease 2-3 baking trays and set aside. Place the flour and baking powder in a bowl and stir in the sugar. Rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2 Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl, add the golden syrup and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Pour into the flour mixture and bring together to form a dough.
3 Divide the dough into six portions as follows: 120g, 145g, 160g, 180g, 235g, and 255g. Add a little red gel food colouring to the largest portion and knead until the colour is even throughout. Place in a food bag.
4 Add a different gel colour to the next size portion of dough, knead and place in another bag. Continue in this way kneading a different colour into each portion of dough and placing in individual bags – it’s important to keep the dough in order of size for rolling later on. Chill the dough in the fridge for 1 hour.
5 Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and starting with the smallest portion, roll it into a sausage shape approx 20cm in length. Roll the next size portion of dough into a rough rectangle that is large enough to surround the first sausage shaped piece of dough. Wrap the rectangle around the sausage and squeeze the join together. Roll on a non stick mat to retain the shape and smooth any joins.
6 Take the next size portion of dough and roll as before into a rectangle large enough to surround the sausage shaped dough. Wrap around the sausage, squeeze the join then roll to shape and smooth. Repeat with the remainder of the dough.
7 Trim the ends of the rolled dough to neaten then slice into 5mm-1cm wide pieces. Use your hands to lightly reshape each slice into a circle and place on the prepared baking trays spaced apart to allow for spreading. Place in the fridge for 30 mins and towards the end of this time preheat the oven to 170˚C/Gas Mark 3.
8 Bake for approx 13 minutes – the biscuits will retain a fair amount of colour but they won't be as vibrant as the uncooked dough. Cut each biscuit in half whilst still hot to create semi circle rainbows then allow to cool completely.
TIP It can be difficult to cut thin slices of the rolled dough so if your slices are quite thick just flatten out each circle by gently pressing a flat item on top.
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