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Easy Almond Biscuits – a.k.a my mum’s fabulous Kirchals.

My mum has a famous Kichal recipe- well, it’s famous in our family anyway. Whenever she needs to make some biscuits to take to someones house these are what she takes. She cuts them in a crinkly circle and adds either a slither of chopped almond or a tiny piece of cherry on the top and she keeps them nice and thin. That’s the secret. To bake them long enough to be cooked right through but not so long as they go too brown. If truth be told I am the first to eat the ‘burnt’ ones as they are just as tasty- they’re just the wrong colour! Then she piles them high. They never last very long!

When my mum gave me this recipe I wrote it on the inside cover of The Red Book . The back cover has a pancake recipe on it. (I have had this book for a very long time!) I was talking to my sister about it and it turns out she has mum’s recipe written inside her red book too. I think I feel a family tradition coming on!

Almond biscuit recipe

Makes around 50 biscuits

  • 226g (1 cup or 2 sticks)  butter at room temperature
  • 460g (3 ½ cups)  Self raising Flour
  • 226g (1 ¼ cup) caster sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbsp water
  • ½ tea spoon almond essence/ extract

How to make Almond biscuits

  1. Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature- especially the butter and eggs.
  2. Pre- heat your oven to 160ºC (140ºC Fan) and line your baking sheet with silicon paper
  3. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until it forms a ball of dough. You can use a food processor or stand mixer but the best way to mix is with your hands as their warmth will combine the ingredients in a way that makes them taste the best. I’ve tried it all ways and by hand always wins- hands down!
  4. This makes quite a lot of dough so I will often knead two balls and freeze one. It will defrost in about 30 mins and it’s always great to have some ready to go. Whether you want to chill or freeze, wrap the dough in clingfilm. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
  5. Once you are ready to roll out, lightly dust your surface and knead the dough. If it’s really sticky add just a little flour. The dough will soften quickly as you handle it so handle it as little as possible.
  6. For really thin biscuits roll out the dough to a depth of around the size of a coin then cut out your shapes and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes then turn the baking sheet around inside the oven so the biscuits bake evenly. Bake for a further 5 minutes. You know they are done when the edges start to brown ever so slightly. Watch them like a hawk if you don’t want them to burn.
  7. Place the cookies on a cooling rack and try to resist eating them hot!

 enjoy!

More biscuits and cookies you may enjoy 

Dairy Free chocolate chip cookie recipe

Fast from the freezer Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Kierchals 

Some seriously chocolatey cookies

The easy way to make Viennese biscuits

Lemon Biscuit Recipe 

How To Make Boozy, Gooey, Raisin, Choc-chip, Oat Cookies

My Mum’s almond biscuits 

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EmmaMT from CakesBakesAndCookies.com

Follow me at www.cakesbakesandcookies.com for inspirational cake design, recipes and cake decorating tips.

6 Comments

  1. igetakickoutofyou says:

    They look delicious. Could do with some right now! Cx

  2. Joyce Sundstrom says:

    They look delicious but will probably not make as it requires an American cook to transpose the measurements. I wouldn’t be likely to do that or to trust that it would be accurate.

    1. EmmaMT from CakesBakesAndCookies.com says:

      Hello,

      You may have posted a comment ages ago but I didn’t forget you!! I made these biscuits again last weekend and tested that the US cup conversion was correct so that I could share it with you. I’ve amended the post and included it below. I’ll try and convert my recipes in the future.

      Enjoy

      EmmaMT

      Almond biscuit recipe

      Makes around 50 biscuits

      226g (1 cup or 2 sticks) butter at room temperature
      460g (3 ½ cups) Self raising Flour
      226g (1 ¼ cup) caster sugar
      1 large egg
      1 tbsp water
      ½ tea spoon almond essence/ extract

  3. Carole Bas says:

    Oh..sound delicious!
    how long can i store these please? need them for a party but would love to be able to bake them ahead of the event!
    thank you!!!!

    1. EmmaMT from CakesBakesAndCookies.com says:

      Hello again,

      These are dangerously good. I even eat the ones my mum calls ‘burnt!’. Unfortunately these don’t last so long – maybe 3-4 days at a push. What you can do is make them to the rolled out/ cut out ready for the oven stage and then freeze them. You can pop them in the oven adding a minute or two onto the baking time and you’re good to go. I do this all the time as I hate friends to pop round and not have something home made to offer them with a cup of tea!
      You can also make the dough ahead and freeze that too. I use it to make apple pies with tinned apples when I’m short on time.

      Hope that helps. Have fun baking

      EmmaMT

      1. Carole Bas says:

        thank you Emma!!

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