Browning the butter adds a toasted, nutty depth to a three-ingredient classic. Black pepper does not make the biscuits spicy. It gives a warmth that lingers after each bite.
Makes: about 20 biscuits · Prep: 20 minutes, plus 1 hour 20 minutes chilling · Cook: 15 to 18 minutes · Contains: gluten, milk
Ingredients
- 250g unsalted butter
- 100g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- 300g plain flour
- 30g cornflour
- ½ tsp flaky sea salt
- ¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 to 2 tbsp milk, if needed
Method
- Melt the butter in a light-coloured pan over a medium heat. Keep swirling as it foams. After 6 to 8 minutes the solids at the bottom turn nut brown and it smells toasty.
- Pour it into a bowl, scraping in all the brown bits. Chill for about 1 hour, until firm but still soft enough to spread.
- Beat the chilled brown butter with the sugar for 2 minutes until creamy.
- Add the flour, cornflour, salt and pepper and mix to a dough. Browning removes some water from the butter, so add a little milk if it will not come together.
- Roll out between two sheets of baking paper to 1cm thick and chill for 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 150°C fan, 170°C conventional, gas 3.
- Cut into rounds or fingers and place on a lined baking tray. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until pale golden at the edges.
- Sprinkle with caster sugar straight away and cool on the tray for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack.
Tip
Use a light-coloured pan for browning butter. In a dark pan it is hard to see the moment it turns from brown to burnt.
