Bacon biscuits

Classic cookies, 240pp.
by The Australian Women’s Weekly
ACP Books, Sydney, 2011
Cooking on page 32–33

The Australian Women’s Weekly cookbooks pop up all over the world. I’ve even seen them in bookstores in Vietnam, Egypt and Kazakhstan.

I reckon they are popular because they share recipes that are, for the most part, quite easy to make and have instructions that are virtually idiot-proof. Plus, every recipe gives metric and imperial measurements.

The main title—using the word ‘cookies’ instead of ‘biscuits’—is a giveaway that this book is meant for sale in the USA and other places where cookie is the more common term. It is one of a set of three with the other two covering cakes and cupcakes. I don’t own any of them. I checked this out of the library.

Bacon biscuits

Ingredients
2 rindless bacon slices (130g), chopped finely
60g (2 ounces) butter, softened
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup (60g) grated cheddar cheese
2/3 cup (100g) plain (all-purpose) flour
1/2 cup (60g) grated cheddar cheese, extra

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Oil oven trays; line with baking paper.

Cook bacon in small frying pan over medium–high heat until brown and crisp; drain on absorbent paper. Cool.

Meanwhile, beat butter, egg yolk, cheese and sifted flour in small bowl with electric mixer until mixture come together. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes. Roll dough on floured surface until 3mm (1/8 inch) thick. Cut into 40 x 4cm (1 1/2) rounds, place 3cm (1 1/4 inches) apart on oven trays; sprinkle with combined extra cheese and bacon.

Bake biscuit about 12 minutes or until brown lightly; cool on trays.

Makes 40. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

How it played out
This wasn’t quite as straightforward to make as I expected. The dough wasn’t very easy to knead—I kind of forced it together. And because it’s winter in Australia, I needn’t have popped it in the fridge. The dough got too firm and I had to let it warm up a bit so I could roll it out.

I couldn’t get a whole sheet rolled out, so I worked with chunks at a time. I pulled off a bit and rolled it out, then repeated the process until all the dough was used. In the end, I got 32 cookies, not the predicted 40. I used a scalloped cookie cutter, which was the only one I had that was the right size. Pretty effect.

Verdict
A very tasty cookie that my daughter took to work for an afternoon tea. She said everyone loved them. Hey, what’s not to love about bacon!

If I make these again, it will be in summer when warmer weather might make the dough more manageable. I suppose it doesn’t help that my kitchen benches are granite and are especially cold in winter. 🙂 If you make them, let me know how they go for you.

Travel
Be sure to check out my travel blog.