Bee Sting Bikkies

 

A couple of years ago (2014) my sister gave me a packet of almond butter biscuits that were thin, deliciously crisp & buttery - they were so very moreish. I had a couple of attempts at converting them to gluten free based on the ingredients but they weren't working out the way I wanted them to as such I put the recipe on hold. After I made some Bee Sting Buns & Speculaas biscuits I simply had to try & make the almond butter biscuits. Bee Sting & Speculaas doesn't sound like a very good mix but I knew how I could make a gluten free version of those little almond butter biscuits with the combination of the almond flavour (Bee Sting Buns), crunch (Speculaas) & buttery goodness (my Mother-in-law's burnt butter biscuits). If you (or members of your family) like eating cookie dough ensure there is enough dough left to make the bikkies. 

This recipe was designed specifically to be made with Bakers' Magic gluten free flour. The finished baked product will not be the same if you use another gluten free flour and you will need to adjust the recipe, particularly if the flour you're using contains rice flour.

 

 Ingredients

150 g Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour

120 g Butter 

90 g Caster sugar 

30 g Honey

1 Egg 

50 g Flaked almonds (toasted)

1/2 tsp Bicarb of soda 

1/4 tsp Salt 

 

Method

Put the butter in a small saucepan over a gentle heat. Increase the heat when the butter has melted, we want the butter to get to the foaming stage or for it to be golden in colour. When it starts to foam take the saucepan off the heat. Let the butter cool (but not set).

Mix the honey with the cool(ish) melted butter.  

Cream butter/honey, sugar & egg until light and fluffy.

Mix together the Bakers' Magic flour, bicarb & salt and slowly add to the creamed mixture. Beat until the dough is uniform. Gently mix in the toasted flaked almonds. 

Do you want the bikkies to be roughly the same size? If so roll out to 5mm & cut as per below. If not put 1/2 tsp of the dough on to the baking tray & repeat.  

The dough will be very soft & it needs to be refrigerated before cutting. To save a bit of time :) I roll out the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper to a thickness of 5 mm lay it on a baking tray & put the tray in the fridge.

Place the dough between two sheets of baking paper & squash the dough to spread it a little before rolling. To ensure the biscuits are an even thickness follow this tip. Find two placements (dinner setting) place them on either side of the dough (my placemats are 4 mm high). For the Bee Sting Bikkies pictured above I used stainless steel spacers (5 mm) instead of placemats. I find it easier to work with this dough when it is between two sheets of baking paper. When rolling out the dough ensure the rolling pin is wide enough to span the dough and part of the two placemats/spacers. My rolling pin is large – 61 cm from handle to handle. Initially when rolling the pin may not necessarily rest on the placemats/spacers, however, when the dough is the same thickness as the placemats it will. At this stage the dough should be all the same thickness. Transfer rolled dough to a baking tray & refrigerate for ~30 mins. 

Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. 

Cutting & Baking

Preheat oven to 150 C (fan forced).

Gently lift off the top piece of baking paper, put it back down on the dough. Holding on to both sheets of baking paper on both sides of the dough gently flip the dough over. Lift off the top piece of baking paper - do not discard. 

I used a small circle cutter for the bikkies shown. Transfer the cutout dough to a baking tray. The dough will expand a considerable amount when baking - leave plenty of room. Left over dough can be rerolled. If the dough is too soft to cut out place it back in the fridge (or freezer) to firm it up.

The length of time required to bake the biscuits will depend on the size you make them & your oven. Bake for ~10 mins until the bikkies are a golden colour -  turn the trays halfway through baking. 

Simply enjoy!