Christmas Biscuits

Greek Biscuits:

My daughter is turning out to be a bit of an intellectual and a linguist. She is, in fact, just about to do her GCSE in Ancient Greek...something which I remember attempting only for about a term. Her lovely teachers held a 'Classical' Christmas party, to which the students all turned up dolled up as gods and goddesses, gladiators and lions and I made her my version of some Greek biscuits to take as a gift. We used to always buythem for breakfast from the local bakers when on holiday on the Greek island of Levkas...years and years ago in the pre-touristy days before an airport was built there. 

These bitesize biscuits melt in your mouth and are perfect for Christmas, especially if you add a little mixed spice or cinnamon to them....They are not particularly healthy as they contain butter, sugar and white flour, but it is Christmas and you could always keep them as a treat to eat after your run. They do also contain whole blanched almonds, toasted, which are a bit of a superfood, low G.I., high in vitamin E, magnesium and potassium and health-promoting mono-unsaturated fats. 

Here's the basic recipe:

250g plain flour

175g unsalted butter, softened

75g caster sugar

Large handful of whole blanched almonds, toasted

pinch of salt

1 tsp mixed spice/cinnamon (optional)

Mixture of 1 tbsp cornflour and 2 tbsp icing sugar

1. Lightly grease a baking tray and heat the oven to 170. Lightly toast the almonds.
2. Mix together the flour, sugar, salt and butter by gently rubbing together with your fingers until it becomes like fine breadcrumbs - just like you would do with a crumble mixture.
3. Add the almonds to the mixture.
4. Squeeze together small handfuls of the mixture to form little slug-shaped pellets (sorry, that is the only way I can think of describing them).
5. Place on the baking tray and cook for about 15 minutes until golden.
6. Remove and cool slightly and then roll in the icing sugar/cornflour mix.
7. Eat...