Do you have fond memories of ‘treats’ your nan use to make?
My nan use to make the most delicious butter biscuits. I still get a smile on my face when I think about how exciting it was going to her place because we knew they would be waiting. This is my nan’s butter biscuits but modified so they use banana and rice malt syrup to sweeten them rather than a heap of refined sugar. Yes I know, they aren’t exactly the same, but I do feel better knowing the kids can have one or two of these in their lunchbox without them triggering a craving for heaps more sugar.
These biscuits are awesome because you can throw them in a container in the freezer, then pop them straight into the lunchbox. The other great thing is you can make up the dough and just keep it rolled in a log in the freezer, then when guests pop around, you simply cut off how much you need, and cook for 15 minutes – Bam! delicious fresh biscuits to serve.
Ingredients
- 175g softened butter
- 1 large banana mashed
- 1 tspn cinnamon
- 4 tblspns rice malt syrup
- 230g plain or gluten-free plain flour
- 2 tblspns organic raisins
- 1 tblspns goji berries
- 1 tblspn cacao nibs
Directions
- Mix butter, banana, cinnamon, and rice malt syrup. You can do this in your food processor. It may look loose and lumpy at this stage
- Mix in the flour until the dough comes together – it is a sticky dough
- Blitz the raisins and goji berries so they are small pieces
- Stir through the raisins, goji and cacao nibs
- Lay out 2 pieces of glad wrap onto your bench top
- Split the dough in half and in your hands form each half into a log shape, then place onto the glad wrap
- Wrap up in the glad wrap and roll into more of a log shape – roll the log into the size you want the biscuits to be. I do mine a little bigger than a 20 cent piece
- Put dough in fridge for 1 hour or freezer for 25 minutes
- Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees, slice each log into rounds about 1 cm thick
- Place on lined baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes
- Cool on the tray
2 Other Ways
- Add some cacao powder to the mix to make chocolate biscuits
- Remove the fruit and cacao nibs, and make as plain butter biscuits
Story behind this photo
As we’ve travelled Australia, one of the things we have marvelled at is how mother nature has a way of taking care of herself. When left to her own devices, she will cull trees and plants in many different ways – sometimes not nice ways such as bush fires and severe storms, but sometimes, it’s evident trees and plants just come to the end of their natural life. They fall down and they just lie there making homes for animals or climbing obstacles for kids. This photo was taken at Belair National Park Caravan Park where it’s really obvious that trees have come to the end of their natural life. Israel used one of these fallen trees as the backdrop for this recipes photo.
Just a reminder, you don’t need to be a master chef, or have a big spotless kitchen to make awesome nutritious meals or snacks for your family.