Syrup diamonds are the biscuits you can bake first of all. They get better with keeping, and the spices round out with every week that passes. If you bake them at the end of November, you have one kind less to think about in December.
Black Month pack What you need
The recipe makes about 140 biscuits.
- 200 ml dark syrup
- 200 g sugar
- 200 g butter
- 100 ml double cream
- About 600 g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground pepper
- Blanched almonds and 1 egg to decorate
How to make it
- Heat the syrup, sugar and butter in a pan until everything has melted. It should not boil.
- Let the mixture cool, and stir in the cream.
- Mix the flour, baking soda and spices, and stir it in to make a firm dough.
- Cover the dough, and leave it in the fridge overnight.
- Heat the oven to 180 °C, and line the baking trays with baking paper.
- Roll the dough out to about 2 mm.
- Cut diamonds of about 5 × 5 cm with a knife or a pastry wheel.
- Brush with egg, and press half an almond into each biscuit.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Watch them closely, as dark dough burns fast.
Crisp or soft?
Thin biscuits turn crisp, thicker ones turn chewy. Roll to about 2 mm and you get the classic biscuit. If you like them soft, take them out a minute earlier. Make sure they do not share a tin with Krumkaker or other crisp kinds, as they give off moisture.
Why they should be left to rest
Dark bakes with syrup mature. In the first few days the spices are sharp. After a week or two the flavour is rounder. Put the biscuits in an airtight tin on their own in a cool place, and they will keep until Christmas. You can count on three to four weeks.
Food Container 1,600 ml589 NOKContainer, lid and pump in the same pack. The pump draws out the air and charges with the included USB-C cable.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use golden syrup?
Yes, but the biscuits turn paler and milder. Dark syrup gives the familiar flavour.
Can the dough be frozen?
Yes. Wrap it tightly, and thaw it in the fridge overnight.
Why are the biscuits hard?
They may have been in the oven a little too long. A piece of apple on baking paper in the tin softens them in a day. Take it out afterwards.
Can I use almonds with the skin on?
Yes, but blanched almonds give the fine, pale dot on top.
Do you like spiced biscuits? See also gingerbread biscuits.
The biscuits that should rest until Christmas
You can see the biscuits through the side, and the pump draws out the air before they are put away.
See the food container →- Pump included
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- Lid with clips
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- Transparent container