Deliciously easy, melt-in-the-mouth cookies, with just a touch of spice, these Easy Peasy Christmas Star Biscuits are the perfect Christmas treat. They make great homemade Christmas presents and are super simple – so a great recipe to make with kids.
Easy Peasy Christmas Star Biscuits
I just love these little biscuits. They have a melt-in-the-mouth texture and are gently spiced for a crowd-pleasing Christmassy flavour. I’ve kept the spicing gentle as they are designed to be eaten by children. (My daughter, in particular, is not a fan of ginger biscuits, but will happily eat these.) I have been making these every year since my kids were very small and they are a very much established Christmas tradition in our house. If your kids won’t go near spices, they are still nice without the spices in them. You could always add a teaspoon of vanilla extract instead, if you like.
Perfect for making with kids
The kids absolutely love making these and they are so easy and quick to make (2 things I consider essential for any recipe designed for children to make!). When my kids were younger they needed a little help rolling the mixture out and getting the shapes into the tray… and of course putting them in the oven and taking them out again, but now they are older (10 and 12) they can pretty much make these biscuits all by themselves.
How many biscuits does this recipe make?
I can’t give you an exact quantity of biscuits this makes as it varies depending on the size of cutter you use. I use a mixture of different cutter sizes and this usually produces between 30 and 40 biscuits.
A word of warning…
Do be careful not to let these biscuits burn – they cook VERY quickly and will burn easily if you don’t get them out of the oven as soon as they are cooked. When they are cooked, they will be pale gold on top and just slightly darker round the edges and they will be slightly soft in the middle, but will crisp up as they cool down.
I start checking if the biscuits are done after about 5 minutes. I usually find they take about 10 minutes, but the bigger ones can take up to 15. If in doubt get them out. You can always pop them back in if you decide they are not quite done but you can’t un-burn them!
Can you make Christmas biscuits in other shapes apart from stars?
I usually make stars, but this biscuit dough is very forgiving and will work equally well as bells, Christmas trees, reindeer or whatever else you decide to make!
Ideas for Christmas biscuits
These easy Christmas Star Biscuits are the perfect Christmas holiday baking project for kids and they make a great snack. (You could even pop a couple them in your child’s lunchbox as a surprise treat.) But they also make great gifts. Simply wrap a few up in cellophane and tie with gold ribbon for an easy peasy homemade Christmas present.
How to store Christmas biscuits
Once the biscuits have cooled completely, they should be stored in an airtight container (for example a biscuit tin or a cake tin) where they will keep for about a week.
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Easy Peasy Christmas Star Biscuits
Equipment
- 2 large baking trays (or whatever you’ve got…pizza trays, roasting trays and cake tins all work well)
- Baking paper or the butter wrapper (for greasing the baking trays)
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
- Rolling pin
- Star shaped cutters (or any other shape you fancy)
- Wire cooling rack (or improvise with your grill rack or a roasting rack)
- Biscuit tin for storing your biscuits in when they’ve cooled down
Ingredients
- 250 g self raising flour (US - self rising four) (plus extra for rolling out)
- 125 g cold butter cut into 1cm (½inch) cubes (plus extra for greasing)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- 125 g caster sugar
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- Grease 2 large baking sheets with a thin layer of butter. Preheat your oven to 200C / 180C fan / gas mark 6 / 400F.
- Place the flour in a large mixing bowl (you can sieve it if you like, but I never bother) and add the cubes of cold butter. Rub the butter and flour between your fingers (as if you are trying to rub the flour into the butter) until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the sugar and spices, and stir in thoroughly. Then add the beaten egg and stir again. Gradually the mixture should start to come together as a dough, but if it doesn’t all stick together, add a tiny bit of water to help it come together. Don’t add too much, though!
- As soon as your biscuit mixture starts coming together, use your hands to squish it together into a ball.
- Sprinkle your work surface with a little flour and pop your ball of biscuit dough on top. Sprinkle some more flour on top of your dough, then roll out the biscuit dough to a thickness of about 5mm / ¼inch (it doesn’t have to be perfect – no need to get your ruler out!)
- Using a selection of star shaped cutters, cut out your stars and gently lay them on the prepared baking tray. Be sure to spread them out a bit as they will grow a little in the oven.
- When you have got as many stars out of the biscuit dough as possible, squish the mixture back together, shape into a ball again and then roll out again. You should find you can get a few more stars out of the re-rolled dough. Keep squishing and rerolling until you have run out of biscuit dough.
- Put the biscuits in your preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until the stars are pale gold on top and just a little bit darker round the edges. Start checking after 5 minutes and if in doubt get them out! They can always be popped back in if they are not done enough.
- When your biscuits are cooked, place them on a wire rack to cool. They can be eaten warm or cold. When they are completely cool they can be stored in a biscuit tin or other airtight container, where they will keep for about a week.
Video
Notes
- The length of time these biscuits take to cook varies enormously, depending on the size and thickness of your stars. Use the colour of the biscuits in the photos as your guide. They should be pale gold on top and just a little bit darker round the edges. They will still be a little soft when you get them out of the oven, but will harden as they cool. If in doubt, take them out of the oven! You can always pop them back in if they are not done enough!
- Not suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Only Crumbs Remain / Angela says
These look so lovely Eb, I personally think it’s lovely to have a slightly wonky star, it makes them look more homemade and loved rather than mass produces shop bought biscuits. Your family look really proficient in the kitchen knowing exactly what to do to make these cookies 🙂
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Angela. I personally think the wonky ones taste the best!! Shows they’ve been made with love by little hands 🙂 My kids have been cooking and baking with me since they’ve been old enough to hold a spoon! They just love it….If only they could learn to do it without making quite so much mess!! Eb x
Jennifer Tammy says
Oh these are so sweet – and I love seeing the kids in the kitchen helping 🙂 Especially when they are all tatted up, LOL
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Jennifer! My kids love to help me out with baking just like I used to help my Mum and Dad when I was little. It’s such a lovely thing for kids to do!! Haha – yes they had just been to the school disco the night before and spent much of their pocket money on tattoos, bless them. 🙂
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
What a fun post and the biscuits look fabulous. Well done to your helpers. What a lovely family tradition
Eb Gargano says
The biscuits are delicious and such a lovely bake to make with kids! I love family traditions – especially around Christmas time. Makes it all feel so special and the kids love them – they are always asking me when we are going to make these or my mince pies or decorate the Christmas tree…or see Santa in the bus shelter (we have a village Christmas evening and this is where Santa sets up shop!!) Eb x
Carole says
really subtle flavour of cinnamon and ginger. I loved these biscuits and will be majing some for Christmas presents, but did a trial run today. very happy!
Eb Gargano says
Thank, Carole – so pleased these worked out well for you. What a lovely idea to make them for Christmas presents! Eb 🙂
Maeilyn says
Am I missing the oven temperature??
Eb Gargano says
It’s in the first step: 200C (180C fan / gas mark 6 / 400F). Hope you enjoy them! Eb 🙂
Claire says
Hello, so should it be 180 fan (per recipe instructions) or 160 fan per above comment? Thanks for clarifying
Eb Gargano says
My apologies. I must’ve misread my own recipe when I wrote that comment! It should be 180C fan.
Eb Gargano says
P.S. I’ve amended my comment now, so it doesn’t cause any more confusion. Thanks for spotting this and letting me know!
Gail Bartholomew says
I loved this recipe, making to put into a hamper for the blind in Durban SA. Going to make another batch Tomorrow. But putting 1/4 tsp cardamon as well as ginger and cinnamon
Eb Gargano says
Yay! I am so happy to read this. And I LOVE the idea of adding cardamom 😀
Choclette says
Stars somehow just make any biscuit taste better. And spiced biscuits are a must at Christmas. They look really pretty and sound delicious.
Eb Gargano says
Oh they so do! Thanks for your kind words, Choclette 🙂
Corina Blum says
They look delicious! My kids love helping to make biscuits too. We tend to make shortbread or gingerbread as they usually want to make their favourites!
Eb Gargano says
It’s such a great activity to do with kids, isn’t it? I love watching how much more they can do each year as they get older. I remember back when they were small having to do almost everything, now they can pretty much do the lot! 😀
Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery says
These are so cute! Love an easy biscuit recipe and there is nothing better than biscuits at christmas!
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Midge 🙂
Chloe Edges says
These are so cute, I don’t think I’d be able to stop at one batch!
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Chloe! Haha – I know what you mean. We make several batches over the Christmas period! Eb 🙂
Janice says
A lovely idea for a simple way to celebrate the season.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Janice!
Sara says
I don’t have self raising flour! Can I use regular? And if so how much baking powder should I use?
Eb Gargano says
Yes, absolutely! You can use plain flour plus 2 teaspoons baking powder. (Technically self-raising flour is 1tsp baking powder per 110g plain flour, so make the second teaspoon a little on the big side and you’ll be spot on!) Enjoy 😀
Mel says
Yummy biscuits but mine came out a little hard. Any tips on how to ensure they don’t come out hard again? Thanks
Eb Gargano says
Hi Mel, Delighted you liked them! To ensure these biscuits don’t come out so hard, I would simply cook them for a little bit less time. Maybe just 1 or 2 minutes less should do the trick… these are supposed to be on the harder side for biscuits… i.e. biscuits which snap, rather than biscuits which are soft and squishy in the middle… but equally they shouldn’t break your teeth! So yeah, a minute or 2 less in the oven should make all the difference! Eb 🙂
Emily says
Hey!
I have tried this one with my Kids and we had great fun! Our mixture was very sticky even though we did not add water!
I look forward to hearing your reply!
Many Thanks
Emily! X
Eb Gargano says
Hi Emily, Good to hear you and your kid enjoyed making these. Hmmm – strange your mixture was sticky even before adding water. The only thing I can think is that your egg must have been bigger than mine! (I use a medium egg) Next time I suggest you either use a smaller egg and/or add the egg little by little until the dough is wet enough to stick together properly, but not sticky. Hope that helps! Eb 🙂
jade garbett says
Hi, love the look of this recipe, will be making with the kids this weekend. Sorry if this is a silly question, but do you know roughly how long these will keep in an airtight container please?
Hope you have a lovely christmas!
Eb Gargano says
Yay! That’s good to hear 😀 They keep for about a week in an airtight container. Hope you have a lovely Christmas too! Eb 🙂