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Thyme Biscuits (Cookies) with Pinenuts
These quick and easy sweet Thyme Biscuits (Cookies) are crumbly, buttery and sweet with a fantastic fresh herby flavour. The thyme provides a gentle but complex flavour which really makes these biscuits special. They are topped with golden roasted pinenuts which provide added crunch.
If you are a bit wary of using thyme in a sweet recipe, I would really encourage you to try making these biscuits. I firmly believe that one of the joys of home-cooking is to experiment with different flavours, and combinations of flavours. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will know that all my recipes are very easy and simple which allows a focus on but the common thread is , and to have the freedom to discover new flavours and to use familiar ingredients in new ways.
This recipe is very loosely inspired by the Italian pinolatebiscuits, which are often lemon flavoured and contain ground pinenuts in addition to a topping of whole ones. When I was putting together a recipe for thyme-flavoured biscuits, I thought that a topping of pinenuts would make them look attractive and go well with the herby flavour. The pinenuts become golden and toasted while the biscuits are cooking in the oven and this makes them crunchy and also enhances their flavour.
- Easy Shortbread Recipe
- Cranberry Gin
- Beetroot Soup with Coconut
- Leek and Potato Soup with Fresh Chives
- Blackberry Gin
Other sweet herby recipes
If you like this recipe, I have a number of other recipes that use herbs in sweet dishes. I have two simple loaf cake recipes, for Thyme Cake and Rosemary Cake, which highlight how brilliant these herbs are as flavourings for cakes. I also have a great recipe for Thyme Ice Cream with Honey and Mascarpone which goes pretty well with these Thyme Biscuits!
In praise of thyme
Thyme is one of my favourite herbs. It is extremely versatile and I use it in both sweet and savoury dishes. The fresh thyme that you buy in the supermarket will generally be common thyme which does make a good flavouring for these biscuits. However, I used lemon thyme when making these biscuits, as I grow it in my garden and particularly like its lemony-herby flavour. If you have space for a few pots and want to grow your own thyme, there are many different types, a number of which have distinctive citrus notes such as lemon, orange or lime. Herbal Haven has a very large variety of thyme and other herbs which can be bought online.
In addition to my sweet recipes for Thyme Cake and Thyme Ice Cream with Honey and Mascarpone, I also use thyme a lot in savoury dishes. It is a great partner for onions and shallots, such as Shallot Tart with Thyme and Anchovies, and is also brilliant with chicken as in my Roast Chicken with Garlic, Lemon and Thyme.
Other easy biscuit and cookie recipes
Biscuits and cookie recipes are a great place to start if you are new to home-baking. They are quick and easy to make and taste so much better than shop-bought varieties. You can have home-baked treats on the table in under an hour.
Shortbread is one of the easiest baking recipes. I have a number of shortbread recipes including Almond Shortbread with Rosewater, Shortbread with White Chocolate and Raspberries and Lavender Shortbread. I also have a very simple recipe for crisp and buttery Lemon Biscuits (Cookies). My recipe for Ginger Biscuits (Cookies) is oaty and mildly spiced. If you are looking for something savoury, I have an extremely moreish recipe for Cheese Biscuits (Cookies).
Recipe for Thyme Biscuits (Cookies) with Pinenuts
Thyme Biscuits (Cookies) with Pinenuts
★★★★★5 from 3 reviews
- Author: Tastebotanical
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 30 biscuits 1x
- Category: Biscuits
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: English
Description
These biscuits (cookies) are flavoured with fresh thyme and topped with crunchy, toasted pinenuts. They are great eaten on their own or as an accompaniment to ice-cream.
Ingredients
Scale
- 150 g (6 oz) plain flour
- 100 g (4 oz) butter
- 50 g (2 oz) caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or half a tablespoon of dried thyme
- 50 g (2 oz) pinenuts
Instructions
- Set the oven to 170 C/325 F/Gas Mark 3
- Put the flour and butter into a bowl and rub together using your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively, process in a food processor.
- Add the sugar and the chopped fresh thyme.
- Squeeze the mixture together with your hands until it forms a soft dough.
- Roll the dough out to approximately 1 cm thickness.
- Cut into circles or other shapes if you wish.
- Place the circles on a baking tray lined with baking parchment or grease-proof paper.
- Press pinenuts into the top of each circle of dough.
- Bake for 15 minutes until golden.
Keywords: biscuits, thyme, pinenuts
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