Cinnamon Oat Biscuits

Amidst the cold, wintry weather we’ve been having lately, I’ve been craving some gluten free biscuits to dip into copious amounts of (decaf) tea to keep warm! Sadly here in the south of England we’ve not had snow, just lots of cold wind and rain, and the odd layer of ice on my car to make me fashionably late to work.

Having worked a few late nights this week, I decided to take a break and bake some sweet treats to cheer me up. Not only are these biscuits gluten free and dairy free, they are also a healthier alternative to flapjack/branded gluten free biscuit alternatives which are often full of sugar.

I stumbled across the recipe a little while back on the Tesco website,  I was quite surprised to find it there, however Tesco does seem to be ahead of the game in terms of their impressive free from range now available in most of their larger stores. I have adapted their recipe very slightly, just because I found the amount of cinnamon far too over-powering. They are very easy to make, and quick too! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do…

Ingredients
125g (4oz) butter (stork) softened
85g (3½oz) light brown sugar (caster can also be used)
150g gluten free porridge oats
60g (2¼oz) plain gluten free flour
¼ tsp xanthan gum
½ gluten free baking powder (I purchased this from Waitrose)
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 (180°C) and line two trays with baking paper.

First, cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the dry ingredients (flour, oats, xanthan gum, baking powder and ground cinnamon). Mix together and use your hands to bring the dough together. Make sure that the butter and sugar is evenly spread as this makes them easier to cut/transfer to the baking sheet.

 Place the ball of dough on a lightly floured surface and flatten with your hands. I then place cling film or baking paper on top to roll out (to prevent any sticking to the rolling pin… makes washing up a lot easier too!)

Roll the mixture to approximately 5mm thickness (dependent how you like your biscuits), and cut shapes of your choice. I tend to make an approximately 6cm wide circular biscuit (they don’t expand in the oven). Transfer your biscuits to the baking sheet, and place in the oven to bake for around 10-12 minutes. I often leave mine a little longer to ensure they have an even golden colouring.

Remove the biscuits from the oven, leave to cool for a few minutes (as they will be quite soft when hot), before transferring to a cooling rack. ​

With the run up to Christmas in full swing, these biscuits are the ideal festive snack as not only do they taste delicious, they also fill the house with a warm scent of cinnamon (who needs Yankee Candles when you can bake instead!) Let me know if you give these biscuits a try, I’d love to hear how they turn out. Alternatively, I’m hoping to try a ginger flavour soon, as they would be ideal for settling any flare ups, I’ll keep you posted on how they turn out.  

Alice x