Normally if there are no left over yummies from trials of recipes I have developed I will make a quick slice using Arnott's Scotch Finger biscuits for the family. Yes, Scotch Finger biscuits are made from wheat however no one in my family needs to be on a gluten free diet. My slices are pretty quick to make & usually will involve the addition of cocoa, coffee, peanut butter, sometimes caramel and of course butter & sugar. To convert my wicked tasty little slices to gluten free I need to have a biscuit that I can use - something similar to a Scotch Finger.

These biscuits are plain little gems designed to be decorated or sandwiched together with icing or used as a slice base or cheesecake base. One of the hardest things was working out what to call them, with no flavouring these are plain Jane biscuits or as my daughter suggested Plain Scott biscuits :).

The following recipe will make approximately 450 g of biscuits. Only use 1 egg if doubling the recipe.

This recipe was designed specifically to be made with Bakers' Magic gluten free flour. The finished baked product will not be the same if you use another gluten free flour and you will need to adjust the recipe, particularly if the flour you're using contains rice flour. 

 

Ingredients

Dry

250 g Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour

100 g Caster sugar

1/4 tsp Baking powder

Wet 

125 g Butter

25 g Oil

1 Egg

Method

Combine the dry ingredients - Bakers' Magic gluten free flour, sugar, baking powder & salt.

Melt the butter. Whisk in the oil & egg.

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until uniform.

Refrigerate dough for 30 mins.  

Rolling out the dough 

Bring the dough out of the fridge. It will still be a little soft.

Put the dough on a sheet of baking paper or pastry mat. Bring it together with your hands & knead it a little.

Place the dough between two sheets of baking paper. To ensure the biscuits are an even in thickness follow this tip. Find two placements (dinner setting) place them on either side of the dough (my placemats are 4 mm high). For the Plain Scotts pictured above I used stainless steel spacers (5 mm) instead of placemats. The placemats can be on top of or underneath the pieces of baking paper. I find it easier to work with this dough when it is between two sheets of baking paper. When rolling out the dough ensure the rolling pin is wide enough to span the dough and part of the two top placemats. My rolling pin is large – 61 cm from handle to handle. Initially when rolling the pin may not necessarily rest on the placemats, however, when the dough is the same thickness as the placemats it will. At this stage the dough should be all the same thickness. 

Cutting & Cooking

Turn the oven on to 170 C.

Line 2 trays with baking paper.

Gently lift off the top piece of baking paper, put it back down on the dough. Holding on to both sheets of baking paper on both sides of the dough gently flip the dough over. Lift off the top piece of baking paper - do not discard. 

Optional - put dough in freezer for ~10 mins if you think the dough is too soft to cut out & transfer the shapes. 

Using a cutter of your choice cut out shapes and place them on a baking tray. Use a flat knife to help transfer the cut dough to the tray. When you have cut out as many shapes as possible bring the dough together and roll it out again between the two sheets of baking paper. Continue cutting out shapes in the newly rolled dough. Repeat until you can't cut out any more shapes.  

The length of time required to bake the biscuits will depend on the size of the cutter you have used, the thickness of the dough & your oven. I baked these for 18 mins turning the trays halfway through baking. 

Simply enjoy!