polenta and raisin biscuits

polenta and raisin biscuits

• 29 Apr 2019

It's just over a week now until I leave for Europe but on Sunday I discovered my biscuit tin was empty. I was looking for something uncomplicated to bake that would tide me over until I fly out.



I'd bookmarked this biscuit recipe in Skye McAlpine's book, A Table in Venice and it looked pretty easy to put together. The cookies are made with polenta and I like to use fine polenta for baking. I'd run out but I couldn't find any at the fruit shop where I'd last bought it. Instead I found a packet of maize flour which looked pretty similar to the polenta flour I'd used in the past.



I decided to halve the recipe because there is no way I could eat 40 biscuits before I go. I needed to make a few adjustments to the recipe though maybe because of the maize flour. The mixture was really dry so I had to use more liquid than indicated before it would come together. I also added some lemon rind to give the flavour a lift and swapped the grappa for rum, because that's all I had on hand.



Here's the recipe for you with my adjustments but there is a link to the original recipe below. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C. 



Polenta and Raisin Biscuits, adapted from A Table in Venice by Skye McAlpine  - makes 20

Ingredients
50g raisins
10ml rum
150g maize flour
100g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt

75g caster sugar
½ tsp finely grated lemon rind
1 tbsp milk
50g salted butter, diced
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Cover the raisins with boiling water and soak for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse then combine the raisins and rum in a small bowl and cover with a tea towel. Leave to steep while you make the dough.

Put the maize flour, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and lemon rind in a bowl and mix well. Put the milk and butter into a small saucepan and leave over a low heat for 1-2 minutes, until the butter has melted.

Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and then add the egg. Add the raisins and any remaining liquid to the mixture and bring everything together. You may need to use your hands to do this.

Take heaped teaspoonfuls of the dough and shape them into small ovals, roughly the size of a walnut. Arrange them on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment, leaving a little space around each one. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. 



The biscuits will keep in an airtight container for up to a week. I've only had one of the biscuits so far with a cup of tea. The biscuit wasn't  overly sweet and has a crunchy texture from the polenta. They're definitely moreish.

See you all again.

Bye for now,

Jillian