CookEat Recipe
Anise Cornmeal Biscuits
Golden cut-out biscuits made with fine cornmeal, wheat flour, butter, lard and anise seeds, egg-glazed and finished with icing sugar.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 200 g fine yellow cornmeal, plus a little for rolling; 160 g plain wheat flour: 150 g for the dough and 10 g for the trays, plus a little for rolling; 150 g caster sugar; 100 g butter, softened; 60 g fresh rendered lard: 50 g for the dough and 10 g for the trays; 10 g anise seeds, not star anise; 1 egg for the dough; 1 extra egg for glazing; About 1–2 tablespoons white wine and 1–2 tablespoons water, added only as needed; 20 g icing sugar for finishing.
Step 2
Mix the measured 200 g cornmeal, 150 g dough flour, caster sugar and anise seeds. Add the softened butter, 50 g dough lard and the dough egg. Mix with a blunt knife, then bring together as much as will bind into one piece without adding liquid. Set this first piece aside.
Step 3
Moisten the remaining dry crumbs with a little white wine and water, added a teaspoon at a time, until they form a second soft piece. Combine the two pieces with as little handling as possible. Stop adding liquid once the dough is soft and cohesive, not sticky; the stated liquid ranges are guides.
Step 4
Grease two metal baking trays with the remaining 10 g lard and dust with the 10 g tray flour. Heat the oven to 175°C. Lightly dust the work surface and rolling pin with a mixture of cornmeal and wheat flour. Roll the dough about 7–8 mm thick and cut into simple assorted shapes, about 4–5 cm across. Gather scraps gently and reroll once.
Step 5
Set the biscuits a little apart on the trays and brush thinly with the extra beaten egg. Bake for about 15–22 minutes, rotating the trays if needed, until golden and cooked through with no raw dough in a broken test biscuit. Adjust the time for different-sized shapes.
Step 6
Let firm on the trays for about 5 minutes, then move to a rack. Dust with the icing sugar and allow to cool completely. Expect roughly 40–50 biscuits, depending on the cutters; the portion count uses 44.
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