Burnt butter biscuits

Burnt butter biscuits.  Sounds as though something went terribly wrong in the kitchen, doesn't it?  Not so.  These are lovely, buttery biscuits just perfect with a cup of coffee and a good book on rainy afternoons.  

The recipe was given to me by my sister and I have been intending to make these biscuits for a while.   Looks like today is the day.  My niece (of the red quilt) made a batch for their local agricultural show.  I'm very pleased and proud to say that she won a prize.  Not sure which one, however these biscuits are so delicious, I'm sure it must have been first prize.

Here is the recipe - in old money but pretty easy to convert the amounts to metric if you prefer.

Burnt butter biscuits - makes at least 2 dozen

1/4 pound butter

1/4 pound sugar

1 egg (I used a medium egg)

5 ounces of self raising flour

Melt the butter in a saucepan until it turns nut brown in colour.  Don't let it get too dark or it will taste bitter.  That would not be good.

Cool slightly (you want it to be cool enough that you can touch the sides of the pan) and then beat in the sugar.   

Add the egg,  mix well and then add the flour.
Stir until combined.

Roll into balls about the size of a walnut and flatten them slightly on the baking tray.  Leave some room between them as they spread when baking.

Pop half a glace cherry (my favourite!) or piece of blanched almond on top of each biscuit.

Bake in a moderate oven (180C or 160C for fan ovens) for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown.   

Allow to cool on a wire rack and store in a tin.

Don't have a tin?  Not a problem.  These biscuits will be gone long before you need worry about a tin! 

Enjoy!