Belgium Biscuits

I have mentioned before that Mum and Dad were up over the weekend. The perfect excuse to do some baking! Dad’s favourite is Belgium biscuits and on this occasion he had specifically asked if I would make him some! Belgium biscuits are a real kiwi favourite. I am not sure how the name originated, but they are effectively a spiced biscuit joined together with raspberry jam and one side is iced, usually with white or pale pink icing and decorated with pink jelly crystals. I usually lightly colour my icing pink and also add a dash of raspberry essence.

I have a couple of different recipes that I use when making Belgium biscuits – one has a little cocoa and golden syrup in it. The other just has spices added to give the distinctive spiced flavour. One of my treasures is an old recipe book of my Nana’s (Dad’s Mum) in which she has written her own variations of recipes and comments on the recipes she likes. One of the recipes is for Aunty Bubs’ Belgium biscuits (Aunty Bubs was actually Nana’s aunty, but she lived well into her 90s and I remember her well). I decided to make Aunty Bubs’ Belgium biscuits for Dad.

The biscuits are lovely and crisp – the trick is to join them together with jam as you go, rather that joining them all at once, as they tend to go soft. Dad loved them. If you haven’t tried them before, have a go at making them. They are really easy!



Aunty Bubs’ Belgium Biscuits

120g butter
90g brown sugar
1 egg
1 heaped tsp each cinnamon and mixed spice
1 tsp baking powder
225g flour

· Cream butter and sugar, them mix in egg
· Stir in dry ingredients
· Roll out dough thinly and cut into round (or other shapes)
· Bake @ 180c for 15 minutes
· Once cool, ice half the biscuits with simple icing made with icing sugar and hot water and a touch of pink food colouring (optional). Sprinkle with raspberry flavoured jelly crystals. Join iced tops with plain bottoms, using raspberry jam.