Catherine Wheel Biscuits recipe

It’s hard to believe how quickly this year has flown by, and that we’re nearly into November! With the howl of winter in the lum and Bonfire Night just around the corner, we thought it would be nice to cook something fun and bright to celebrate the occasion.

A Catherine Wheel is a firework that you mount on a fence post or stake. Once lit, it spins faster and faster, throwing out a display of bright sparks and coloured flame in a hypnotic spiral.

This recipe for Catherine Wheel biscuits comes from Naomi Bremner and makes a batch of about 15 beautiful crumbly, buttery, eye-catching shortbread biscuits.

Now a Catherine Wheel is a firework that you mount on a fence post or stake. Once lit, it spins faster and faster, throwing out a display of bright sparks and coloured flame in a hypnotic spiral.

However the name of the firework has a darker story. In the 4th century CE, St Catherine of Alexandria was condemned to death (by the Roman Emperor Maxentius for her strong Christian beliefs) on a breaking wheel – a torture device which looks like a wooden wheel with spikes. The tale goes that the wheel miraculously broke when Catherine touched it. She was eventually beheaded instead, and the beautiful firework, invented around the 17th century, is named after the wheel of martyrdom.

These cheerful biscuits are a perfect treat for children’s lunchboxes, or to enjoy with a hot drink and a yap with a friend by the fireside.

Ingredients:

• 225g (8 oz / 1½ cups) plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 112g (4 oz / ½ cup + 1 tbsp) caster sugar
• 150g (5.25 oz / ½ cup + 3 tbsp) soft butter
• 2 different food colourings of choice
• Edible glitter or sprinkles (hundreds and thousands) to decorate

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Measure the plain flour, salt, caster sugar, and butter and place it in a bowl.
3. Using your fingers, mix in the butter by pinching it through the flour until you have fine bread crumbs. Then you should be able to knead the breadcrumbs into a dough.

4. Divide the dough in half and knead a few drops of each food colouring into each half.

5. Squash each half into a long flat rectangle. After the food colouring has been added, the dough may be quite sticky, so you should do this on a sheet of baking paper. Folding the baking paper next to the edges will help to keep the rectangle of dough straight.

6. Carefully place one rectangle over the top of the other, with about 1cm of the bottom rectangle sticking out.
7. Fold the bottom piece of dough up over the edge of the top rectangle. You can use the baking paper, rolling it upwards, to help!

8. Then, carefully roll up the log of dough into a tight sausage.

9. Using a sharp knife, cut off slices slightly less than 1cm thick.

TIP – When cutting the sausage-shaped-dough into slices (stage 9) you may find the biscuit shape doesn’t look as circular and round as you like. We placed a much larger cookie cutter over the top, and swirled it, so the biscuit hits the sides. Soon it will have a much more pleasing and circular shape!

10. Place on a tray lined with baking paper and cook for 15 minutes.

11. Allow the biscuits to cool, then decorate with glitter and/or sprinkles.
12. Admire your lovely creations – though not for too long – as they are too tasty and tempting!

By Magnus Dixon
Orkney and Shetland enthusiast, family man, loves walks, likes animals, terrible at sports, dire taste in music, adores audiobooks and films, eats a little too much for his own good.

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