How to make Biscuits

Biscuit Ingredients Flour Sugar Butter/oil Raising Agent Flavourings/Decoration

Flour We also need flour that is made from wheat The flour comes from the grains at the end of the stalks

Flour Self raising flour has a raising agent added to it to make things rise when cooking Wholemeal flour is made using the whole grain of wheat You need to grind the grains up in a mill to make flour. Windmills were used to make flour but most is now made in modern factories. There are three different types: plain flour, self raising flour and wholemeal flour.

Sugar comes from two very different types of plant Where does Sugar come from? Photo Flickr.com Sugar comes from sugar cane that is grown in hot countries like India and the Caribbean Sugar also comes from sugar beet that grows in countries like the UK

Sugar After processing both types of sugar look the same Sugar makes things taste sweet – but too much can be bad for your teeth! You need sugar in biscuits to make them taste nice and to give them texture

Butter and oils For home baking most people will use butter or margarine. At United Biscuits we use more oils such as sunflower oil – which is healthier

Raising agents Baking powder or bicarbonate of soda are the most common raising agents. You need them to make biscuit doughs expand or rise up during cooking to make the biscuits bigger. They are not need in every recipe and you only need a small amount – normally less than a teaspoon full

Flavouring and Decoration Make your biscuits different by: Using different flavours Using different shapes Using different decoration What will you do with your biscuits?

Different Flavour Suggestions Oats will make your biscuits crunchier like a flapjack Dried fruit such as raisins, sultanas or cherries will give your biscuits a fruity taste Add grated coconut for a tropical taste Add a small amount of spices such as cinnamon or ‘mixed spice’ to spice up your biscuits A few chocolate chips will give your biscuits a chocolatey flavour

Shaping your biscuits These are biscuit cutters to make your biscuits different shapes But don’t worry if you do not have one, you can use an upside down cup instead to cut out your biscuits from the dough Or you can use a knife or spatula to cut out biscuits in any shape you like!

Decorating your biscuits Your can decorate the top of your biscuits with: More fruit such as cherries or raisins A sweet Chocolate chips Icing A Dusting of icing sugar to make them look frosted

….. And the results can be whatever you want them to be !!

Glossary Processing means how we change a raw material such as the sugar beet into sugar that can be used in cooking Texture is how things feel – this could mean how a biscuit is to hold in your hand or how it feels in your mouth eg hard and crunchy or soft and chewy Dough is the soft lump of mixture that is made by mixing the ingredients before they are cut into shapes and cooked Spatula is a flat knife like tool without sharp edges that is used to shape things like cakes and biscuits and to lift them or turn them over, especially when they are hot