Monday 7 May 2012

Biscuit by Miranda Gore Browne – Review


I’ve been looking forward to this book for months! Miranda came to prominence after taking part in the Great British Bake Off in 2010. She was a finalist along with Ruth Clemens and Edd Kimber – the eventual winner. I wanted all three of them to win.

On the TV show that went with the bake off I remember Miranda particularly for her gorgeous cakes and beautiful iced biscuits. So it is very fitting that Biscuit by Miranda Gore Browne published in 2012 by Ebury Press is her first cookbook.

It has a really classic feel to it, one to dip into now and come back to for years to come. Pages are nicely laid out and the recipes are easy to follow. Every recipe is certainly not pictured, but the recipes where there are pictures make them very homely and do-able – the biscuits are the stars.

I love biscuits, they are a treat, even the healthier ones – they are still treats. Little bite-sized ones that won’t blow your diet if you have a couple. I have a friend and she says “I’m a girl for a biscuit” and I think I might be too. I’ve recently been trying my hand at iced biscuits and they are such a fun way to spend a bit of time in the kitchen. There are a couple of pages of ideas in the book to get anyone who hasn’t done this before started.

Chapters are: *Biscuits for Beginners* Cup of Tea and a Chat Biscuits* Seasonal Biscuits* Outdoor Biscuits* Savoury Nibbles* Almost Healthy Biscuits* Children’s Party Biscuits* Petit Fours* Making and Decorating Celebration Biscuits* and finally * Say it with Biscuits* which is a page about gifting biscuits.

Some of the biscuits I have marked to try are: Sweetie Biscuits, Chocolate Bourbons, Coconut Cherry Macaroons, Chocolate Flapjack Biscuits, Pear and Ginger Fairings, Mini Christmas Puddings, Boozy White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies and Healthy Monkeys.

Here are the two I tried so far:

Chocolate Toffee Melts
From the Biscuits for Beginners chapter, easy to do with children. A simple chocolate biscuit with a melted rolo in the middle.

Lemon Drizzlers
Another easy biscuit from the Cup of Tea and a Chat chapter. My glaze ran off the top and went underneath the biscuits a bit. The drizzle gave these little almondy lemon biscuits a seriously lemon kick, we all loved them. Will thicken the glaze a bit more next time, and there will be a next time! If you have a look on Amazon UK there is a little video clip of Miranda making these, if you are interested.

Next Up: Livwise by Olivia Newton-John

5 comments:

thecelticcookinshanghai said...

Isn't it great when a cook book you've been waiting for comes out. This looks like it would be a good one to have on the shelves. Although I sometimes wonder how many books on the one subject I need.
What I am waiting for is a book no one has thought of, completely new ideas, let me know if you find it.

Hello said...

The chocolate toffee melts look delicious. Miranda also has some nice recipes in the first GBBO baking book. x

Anonymous said...

I bought this book too a couple of weeks ago. These two recipes were the first to catch my eye! Great minds think alike lol :-)

Maggie said...

I like Miranda - her book looks lovely too but unfortunately I don't make biscuits very often.

Jean said...

I bought this book a month ago and confess all I have done with it so far is enjoy reading it. I hardly know where to start, there is so much in it !!