• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • All Recipes
    • Cakes and Desserts
    • Main Courses
    • Light Meals
    • Sides, Salads and Snacks
    • Drinks
  • Tips and Techniques
  • About
    • About Me
    • What is an Everyday Cook?
    • Privacy Policy
  • Sign up for the newsletter!
  • Everyday Cooks

Everyday Cooks

menu icon
go to homepage
  • All Recipes
    • Meals
    • Cakes and Desserts
    • Basics
    • Drinks
  • About
    • Everyday Cooks
    • E-mail
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • All Recipes
      • Meals
      • Cakes and Desserts
      • Basics
      • Drinks
    • About
      • Everyday Cooks
    • E-mail
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    Home » Cakes and Desserts

    We use cookies · See Privacy Policy in footer · Post contains affiliate links

    Traditional Easter Biscuits

    There's a long tradition of eating spiced biscuits with currants and a sugar topping at Easter. I'm not sure there's a traditional Easter biscuit recipe anymore. Each recipe has its own twist - this has lemon juice and zest for a light zing.

    Jump to Recipe
    A row of traditional Easter Biscuits on a white plate
    Traditional Easter Biscuits

    There are so many lovely traditional Easter biscuits and cakes but, once my children were old enough to eat them, I stopped making most of them because they don't like dried fruit. Chocolate and mini eggs took over as the basis for most of the baking I did at this time of year.

    Traditional Easter Biscuits on a plate

    It's been so long since I made these biscuits that I had to have a couple of attempts at them. You have to take the biscuits out when they're partially cooked to add the egg white and sugar topping. The first lot I made late one evening - always a mistake - and I brushed the egg white too thickly over the top so that the sugar clumped a bit. They tasted good, but look a bit uneven.

    I wanted to make sure that they could look better so I made them again, in the afternoon, paying much more attention to how I finished them.

    Traditional Easter biscuits on a wire tray

    The point is to brush the egg white very thinly over the biscuits and do one at a time - egg white then sugar.

    I also made some the second time without the sugar topping. The biscuits on the left don't have any topping - they still look okay but not quite as special. One thing that most of the recipes I've seen have in common is the topping, so I stick with it.

    I shan't be offering these to my children, although my stepchildren might appreciate them, but they're all looking forward to a chocolate Easter cake with mini eggs.

    If you like this...

    ...Why don’t you try:

    Iced Easter Bunny Biscuits and chicks in a variety of colours on a wire rack

    Easter Bunny Biscuits

    Easter Bunny Biscuits are fun to make and can be iced and decorated any way you or your children want.
    Pieces of Easter Rocky Road on a plate

    Easter Rocky Road

    No-bake Easter Rocky Road is a seasonal twist on a modern favourite. Full of all your favourite Easter sweets and chocolates and easy to make.
    8 Easter Nest Cupcakes full of mini eggs on a grey plate

    Easter Nest Cupcakes

    Easter Nest Cupcakes are a teatime treat for the Easter holidays using your favourite chocolate mini eggs. Easy for kids to make or help decorate,

    Recipe

    16 Easter Biscuits on a wire tray , some sprinkled with sugar.
    Print Recipe
    4.12 from 9 votes

    Traditional Easter Biscuits

    Traditional Easter biscuits are lightly spiced, with currants and a sugar topping. Every recipe has its own twist - these have lemon juice and zest for a light zing.
    Prep Time25 minutes mins
    Cook Time15 minutes mins
    Total Time40 minutes mins
    Servings: 20 biscuits
    Author: Susie@Everyday Cooks

    Ingredients

    For the biscuits:

    • 100 g butter
    • 90 g caster sugar
    • 200 g plain/all-purpose flour
    • ½ teaspoon mixed spice (2.5ml)
    • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (2.5ml)
    • ½ lemon, juice and grated zest
    • 1 large egg yolk
    • 75 g currants

    For the topping:

    • 1 egg white
    • Caster sugar
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    Baking sheet
    Silicone baking mat OR
    Magic Liner
    Rolling pin
    5-6cm round fluted cutter
    Stand mixer or food processor (optional)

    Instructions

    PREPARATION:

    • Set the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan/ gas mark 4/ 350°F
    • Grease the baking trays if you aren’t using a liner
    • Grate the lemon rind. Juice the lemon
      ½ lemon,

    For the biscuits:

    • Put all the ingredients for the biscuits, apart from the currants, in the bowl of your mixer or processor and mix well to combine.
      100 g butter, 90 g caster sugar, 200 g plain/all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon mixed spice, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 large egg yolk
    • Scrape down and mix again.
      You will have a ball of dough of a soft consistency
    • Add the currants and mix in by hand
      75 g currants
    • Gather the dough into a ball and squish onto your rolling surface.
      If you're using a magic liner or silicone sheet you don't need to dust with flour. Otherwise, you do
    • Roll the dough to about ½ cm thick and cut out rounds with the cutter, transferring to the prepared baking sheet. Gather the dough together and roll and cut again until it's all used up.
      The dough is quite resilient and doesn't mind a few rollings out
    • Gather the dough together and roll and cut again until it's all used up.
      The dough is quite resilient and doesn't mind a few rollings out
    • Bake for about 10-12 minutes
    • Remove from the oven and brush each biscuit, very lightly, with the lightly beaten egg white
      Sprinkle with a little caster sugar and return to the oven for 4-5 minutes or until pale golden brown.
      For best results do one biscuit at a time, i.e. egg white and sugar
      1 egg white, Caster sugar
    • Cool on the tray for 5-10 minutes then lift onto a wire rack until completely cool

    Video

    Notes

    To make by hand

    Beat the butter and sugar together (butter needs to be at room temperature);
    Add the egg yolk, lemon juice and zest and beat in;
    Mix flour and spice(s) together;
    Combine flour etc with the mixture;
    Stir in the currants.

    Storing

    Store Easter biscuits in an airtight container. They will keep for 1-2 weeks.

    More Everyday Cake, Bakes and Dessert Recipes

    • Sherry Trifle decorated with cream and raspberries in a crystal bowl on a dark worktop
      Sherry Trifle
    • Small Christmas Loaf Cake decorated with marzipan, icing and marzipan stars. Two mugs of tea and a Christmas decorations in the background.
      Easy Christmas Loaf Cake
    • Half a Coconut Loaf Cake with a slice cut on a grey plate
      Coconut Loaf Cake
    • Stack of 6 Anzac Biscuits on a square white plate
      Anzac Biscuits

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Chris says

      March 19, 2024 at 8:19 pm

      Can I make these biscuits without a mixer?

      Reply
      • Susie Collings says

        March 20, 2024 at 12:49 pm

        Hi Chris, You can. I've added the instructions to the recipe card 🙂

        Reply
    2. Rox says

      May 08, 2022 at 4:17 am

      5 stars
      Lovely recipe - followed and had no problems

      Reply
      • Susie Collings says

        May 15, 2022 at 12:31 pm

        Glad you like the biscuits 🙂

        Reply
    3. Marianne says

      November 08, 2019 at 8:48 pm

      5 stars
      Excellent result. When you are about to bind the dough together you might think it is too dry but if you add just a teaspoon of milk along with the yolk, hands in the bowl to knead it & the mixture comes together well. Good tip about the sugar frosting. Have made these biscuits many times

      Reply
      • Susie says

        December 04, 2019 at 5:20 pm

        Hi Marianne. Good tip - glad you like the biscuits 🙂

        Reply
      • Bev says

        April 10, 2020 at 10:45 am

        I made these and replaced the currants with cranberries and the lemon with orange.
        Great results ....

        Reply
        • Susie Collings says

          April 13, 2020 at 3:16 pm

          Hi Bev, Sounds delicious!

          Reply
    4. Karen says

      April 11, 2019 at 4:28 pm

      Thank you, will have to have another go.

      Reply
    5. Karen says

      April 11, 2019 at 1:38 pm

      Sorry meant added more egg not milk

      Reply
      • Susie says

        April 11, 2019 at 4:17 pm

        Hi Karen,
        Confusion possibly - down to me - about adding lemon juice. Milk would have been a good substitute. I've updated the recipe to make it clearer.

        Reply
    6. Karen says

      April 11, 2019 at 1:37 pm

      1 star
      Hi I followed this recipe as you said, and there was not enough ingredients to bind it, stayed like breadcrumbs , so added some milk to try and combine ingredients.... not nice Im afraid.

      Reply
    7. Nicky says

      February 21, 2019 at 6:35 pm

      very good recipe, but I presume you mean juice and zest, rather than the bitter white rind of the lemon?

      Reply
      • Susie says

        March 06, 2019 at 5:07 pm

        Hi Nicky, You're right. The pith, the white part, is not what you want. It is the juice and zest. Hope you enjoy the biscuits. Cheers - Susie.

        Reply
    4.12 from 9 votes (6 ratings without comment)

    Made this recipe or got a question? Let me know! Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Susie. Mostly I love cooking and baking, but combining work and home life often leaves me feeling that providing healthy, tasty food for my family is a chore. On those days I am decidedly an Everyday Cook...

    More about me →

    Popular Recipes

    • Selection of cakes and cookies for Easter.
      Best Easter Cakes
    • Pieces of Easter Rocky Road on a plate
      Easter Rocky Road
    • 8 Easter Nest Cupcakes full of mini eggs on a grey plate
      Easter Nest Cupcakes
    • Light Simnel Cake on a patterned plate on a pinkcloth
      Light Simnel Cake

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Privacy

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • About
    • What is an Everyday Cook?

    Copyright © 2018-2021 Everyday Cooks

    5 Easter Biscuits, sprinkled with sugar, on a pretty plate

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.