Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Condensed Milk Biscuits



Don't you feel all warm and fuzzy when you remember the treats that your mother used to make when you were a child?  I often think that those treats taste the best because of the memories that they evoke.

One of the treats that my mother used to make quite often for us when we were children was Condensed Milk Biscuits.  The recipe for these sunny little biscuits came from a cookbook compiled by the mothers group at my kindergarten.  It was produced on A5 paper, with recipes typed up on a typewriter.  The pages were printed on one side only, and bound together with staples.  Ah, those were the days!  My mother was rather miffed at the time because they didn't publish any of her recipes, but being a  good supporter, she bought a copy of the book, and hence a few treasures  came into her recipe repertoire, including the Condensed Milk Biscuits.

These biscuits are as simple as can be to make, but taste really good.  My Pilates instructor dubbed them "Bomb-Shelter Biscuits" because there are no eggs in the recipe - which I hadn't even thought about when I made them.

To make them, you will need:

225g butter or margarine
4 tablespoons condensed milk
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
(or add 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder to the same quantity of plain flour if you don't have self raising flour)
1/2 cup custard powder

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Beat together the butter and condensed milk in a bowl.  Sift together the custard powder and flour in a separate bowl, then combine with the butter mixture until a soft dough forms. 

Roll teaspoons of the dough into  balls, then roll in white sugar.  Place balls about one inch apart on a lined baking sheet, then flatten slightly with a fork. 

Bake  the biscuits in the preheated oven for ~ 15 minutes or until cooked through.  Cool on the baking tray.

Enjoy!