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On Shrewsbury biscuits and bickie tins

20/9/2015

46 Comments

 
Shrewsbury biscuits by Liz Posmyk, Good Things
‘We are the everyday biscuit capital of the world,’ says Nigel Slater in Eating for England: the Delights & Eccentricities of the British at Table. ‘What France is to cheese and Italy is to pasta, Britain is to the biscuit. The tin, with its tight lid and cute pictures, is a playground for those who like their snacks sweet and crisp and reeking of tradition. Welcome to the British biscuit tin.’

Armed with this knowledge, who could blame me for wanting to sample as many British biscuits – and, for that matter, other baked goods – as possible?! And, so I did. Among my favourites was a little packet of hand made Shrewsbury biscuits bought on a whim from a café in Port Isaac in Cornwall. The fluted edges and polka dot currants reminded me of biscuits from my childhood.

My mother’s biscuit tin was a 1960s WILLOW classic. A spray of cerise camellias adorned the white lid. The side panel was the colour of French rose. I saw a square version of it in an antique store-come-café in Boorowa last year and toyed with the idea of buying it, but then decided not to as I couldn’t open the lid. 

Interestingly, Ralph and Richard Wilson – sons of a Durham-born draper who ran away to sea before settling in Melbourne – began producing biscuit and tea canisters from their back shed in 1889. Their grandfather was a lead miner who might well have worked alongside my Peter’s family members in the County! In 1995, more than 100 years on, Ralph V was appointed as CEO and Willow is still manufacturing kitchenware and other goods today.

There were always packets of store-bought biscuits inside mum’s tin. Butter Shortbreads, Milk Coffee, Arrowroots, Nice, Monte Carlos, Teddy Bears and Choc Wheatens, among them. Biscuits suited to dunking in mum's café au lait. One was never enough, and neither of my generous-hearted parents ever stopped me from helping myself to another. Curiously, even though she was an artisan baker, my mother never made biscuits – apart from continental wafers layered with her rich chocolate butter cream. Yeasted cakes, strudels and the like were more her thing.

I remember that my father had a biscuit tin, too. A rectangular Arnott’s FAMOUS BISCUITS box with sprays of wheat and a parrot eating a biscuit on the label. Incidentally, did you know that Mr William Arnot [single 'T'] founded Arnott’s in 1865. The captain of a Newcastle coal fleet gave him a Mexican parrot and hence Mr Arnot's daughter in law, Leslie, sketched the bird, which became synonymous with the brand. Dad kept important papers in his biscuit tin. The last time I saw it was in 1997, just after my mother died and my father moved back to Hungary. I wish I knew what happened to it – and mum’s WILLOW tin for that matter. They’d be shabby chic vintage collector’s item now, not that I’d part with them, mind.

Shrewsbury cakes, as they were once known, were first documented in the 1500s, according to Laura Mason and Catherine Brown in The Taste of Britain. Research tells me that they were often offered to visitors after a funeral. There is a 17th century recipe cited in Florence White’s Good Things in England, but the earliest online version I could find is from The Queen-like Closet or Rich Cabinet by Hannah Woolley, 1672. It reads:
To make Shrewsbury Cakes. Take four pounds of flower, two pounds of butter, one pound and an half of fine sugar, four eggs, a little beaten cinnamon, a little rosewater, make a hole in the flower, and put the eggs into it when they are beaten, then mix the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and rosewater together, and then mix them with the eggs and flower, then make them into thin round cakes, and put them into an oven after the houshold bread is drawn; this quantity will make three dozen of cakes [sic].
I have yet to try that olde worlde version. The recipe I’m sharing here is adapted from one by Paul Hollywood in British Baking and is true to the biscuits I bought in Port Isaac. You can make them by hand, use a stand mixer or food processor.

SHREWSBURY BISCUITS
100g unsalted butter, chopped, softened
100g vanilla infused caster sugar
finely chopped zest of a lemon
1 free-range egg
200g plain (AP) flour (gluten free plain flour works well too!)
50g currants
extra caster sugar for sprinkling over the top

Combine the butter, caster sugar and lemon zest in a bowl and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the egg, beat, then fold in the flour and currants. Mix until well combined.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board, knead it gently, then wrap it in cling film and pop it into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes to an hour.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Dust the board lightly with flour once again and roll out the dough to 5mm thickness. Working quickly, but with gentle hands, cut out the biscuits with a 6cm fluted cutter and place them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Sprinkle with the extra caster sugar and bake for 10-12 minutes until firm and just beginning to turn brown. Allow to cool and then store in an airtight container. Makes around 30 biscuits. 

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My biscuit tin on hessian by Liz Posmyk Good Things
Please watch for more about our adventures in Port Isaac in a future Good Things article. Thank you for stopping by xxx

Tell me dear readers, do you have fond memories of your family's biscuit tin? Which biscuits were your favourites? And have you ever tasted Shrewsbury biscuits?
46 Comments
Amanda link
20/9/2015 01:45:38 am

Our biscuit tin at home was never much of an inspiration. Once a week we got a packet of Arnotts Family assortment (no creams in it back in those days) which never went far with 3 hungry kids, and the Scotch Shortbreads were always off limits to us - they were the property of my grandmother. Once they were gone, all we had to look forward to were Yoyo's and the boring Milk Coffee biscuits.
I took to hanging around at friends places who had mother's who baked or who were lucky enough to have chocolate biscuits in their tins!

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Lizzy
20/9/2015 02:51:33 am

Ah yes, Scotch shortbreads... I think we bought the smaller ones... you just reminded me, we did have Teddy Bears too, the big ones... and those plain yellow biscuits coated in chocolate... not sure what they were. Glad your friends mothers offered more choice, Amanda xx

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Glamorous Glutton link
20/9/2015 03:12:53 am

We didn't really have biscuits as children except at my grandmothers house. But once I was at boarding school we made biscuits in cookery and my favourite were Shrewsbury biscuits. They were such a luxury to a biscuit deprived child! The tin I have is vey plain and rather unimaginative but it's the tin the Glams have grown up with so it can't be changed even though I'd like to. GG

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:16:45 pm

Oh Amanda, thank you for sharing your story xx

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Sammie link
20/9/2015 03:24:33 am

Shrewsbury biscuits were the first biscuits I learned to make, although I wasn't sophisticated enough to add lemon zest! Biscuits and cookies along with bread are my most baked items. I love the detail with which you remember your parents biscuit tins and they were always tins weren't they. I'm a true biscuit lover, no cup of tea, or coffee is complete without something to dunk. Beautifully written post thank you. Sammie x

Reply
Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:17:29 pm

Hi Sammie, thank you for your very kind words... I love dunking, though I must admit it's been a while since I indulged. xx

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Andrea
20/9/2015 04:07:20 am

A lovely nostalgic read, made me smile and feel comforted xx

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:17:51 pm

Awwww, thank you Andrea xx

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Judy (your sister)
20/9/2015 04:19:14 am

Yes, I remember those tins, sis. I kept my sewing threads in that old tin of mum's for years. I don't have it any more, but wish I had kept it! xx Love you.

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:18:15 pm

Ahhhhh, so that's where it go to. Thanks sis! xxx Love you too.

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Glenda link
20/9/2015 09:42:59 am

Hi Liz, I love your biscuits.

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:19:16 pm

Thank you Glenda x

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David link
20/9/2015 10:06:47 am

My aunt had a biscuit tin of sorts, but it was really just a Saltines Cracker tin she used for crackers. Until this post, I had no idea there was such a thing as a biscuit tin. And now I want one... but, first, I want to make these Shrewsbury biscuits! They sound pretty amazing, Liz! Thanks for sharing your family stories - so wonderful!

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:19:55 pm

Are you serious, David? Wow, you MUST go out and buy a bickie tin, but make it a vintage one xx

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Laura (Tutti Dolci) link
20/9/2015 04:13:31 pm

What scrumptious biscuits, I love the fluted edges!

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:20:14 pm

Me too, thanks lovely Laura xx

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e / dig in hobart link
20/9/2015 06:05:42 pm

I have made this very recipe! it is a good dependable biscuit and well suited for tea dunking :-)
it's lovely to read your other readers' fond memories of shrewsbury biscuits.

Reply
Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:20:37 pm

Aha, E.... thank you for that xx

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Ambra Sancin link
20/9/2015 07:04:08 pm

Liz, I think almost everyone of (ahem) our vintage grew up with biscuit tins used as receptacles for buttons, threads and other assorted bits of haberdashery. My mother still has them, bless her. She asked me recently if I could buy her a tin of those Danish butter biscuits 'Royal Dansk' I think, so I will oblige. Anything to keep a 91-year-old happy!

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:21:31 pm

Oh Ambra, your mum is 91... bless, bless, bless! Thank you darling for stopping by to share xx

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Francesca link
20/9/2015 08:03:19 pm

I have never made these nor heard of them before: they look like my kind of bicky- not too rich. Biscuit tins memories are an important part of my DNA- I collect them now, to bring back these nostalgic memories, although my mother, at 92, still bakes biscuits twice a week.

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:22:22 pm

Hi Francesca, oh, so you collect bickie tins? Awesome! And your mother is 92... how wonderful!! xx PS these are surprisingly yummy.

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Maureen | Orgasmic Chef link
20/9/2015 09:45:10 pm

What a lovely story. I will admit that my mother didn't have a biscuit tin but she had a couple of great cookie jars. She only ever kept cookies in one and the other held her keys.

I'd love these shrewsbury biscuits.

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:23:17 pm

Why thank you, Maureen, very kind. Aha, yes, the cookie jar... same same but different. xx

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Tandy | Lavender and Lime link
21/9/2015 02:00:51 am

We did not have a biscuit tin growing up. Thanks for sharing your memories and this recipe Liz. I am sure I would enjoy these :)

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:24:07 pm

Really Tandy? Interesting. Thanks for stopping by xx

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Gourmet Getaways link
21/9/2015 02:41:22 am

Yum, I would love to be munching on that right now!

Thanks for sharing

Julie

Gourmet Getaways

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:24:28 pm

Munch! Thanks for stopping by xx

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Liz link
21/9/2015 09:40:46 am

I've never heard of these cookies, but they look perfect to accompany my afternoon tea! I need some biscuit tins :)

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:24:50 pm

Thank you, Liz, they are rather delicious xx

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kellie@foodtoglow link
21/9/2015 01:40:49 pm

Your research on food history is just so spot on - full of admiration for you for delving deep and sharing what you find. And I'm full of admiration also for your careful sampling research into British biscuits. Someone has to do it! PS I've never owned a biscuit tin!

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:25:45 pm

Oh Kellie, thank you very much! It's really something I LOVE doing! Thanks for sharing your bickie tin story... or lack there of xx

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InTolerant Chef link
22/9/2015 05:13:06 am

Yummy Liz! My dad kept all his bits and pieces in tea tins, they make me feel the same way as your bikkie tins :)

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:26:17 pm

Oh how nice, Bec... actually you might like these... they worked beautifully with GF flour xx

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Zsuzsa link
22/9/2015 11:00:10 am

Lizzy, as time goes on I am more into biscuits, keksz, than anything else. Maybe because I took to afternoon tea. I don't dip though. So your Dad went back to Hungary... I won't ask personal questions, but I often wondered what possesses people to go back to their birthplace in old age. Nothing ever stays the same and we change too. I noticed that only after 5 years of absence. I had a great aunt in Vancouver B.C.who went back to Budapest when she got old and sick. I told her she will regret it and she did. I could never go back to Hungary to live, it would suffocate me. Hugs.

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:27:43 pm

Hello lovely Zsuzsa... I quite like biscuits... the less rich and sweet the better really. Same with cakes. Yes, my dad went back to Hungary after my mother died... I think he wanted to travel, and also always said he didn't want to be a burden. I think though, as he lay dying in a Budapest hospital, he regretted it, from what my sister told me xxx

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Hotly Spiced link
23/9/2015 02:49:02 am

I remember those biscuit tins and we were always given them for Christmas. They were such a treat! And I remember people dunking them in their tea as well. Shrewsbury biscuits are wonderful xx

Reply
Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:28:05 pm

Oh really? Wow... thanks Charlie... xxx

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Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella link
24/9/2015 12:36:59 am

Lovely memories Lizzy. What a shame that the lid couldn't come off. It would have been a gorgeous purchase.

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:28:30 pm

Aw, thank you Lorraine, so kind. It sure would have xx

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Kat link
24/9/2015 03:12:43 am

What a gorgeous recipe Lizzy, this biscuits look delightful!! I love my mother in law's biscuit tin, which is a bit of a bright orange and lime green seventies number, with plenty of swirls - perfect when it is filled with mustokolouria. A simple biscuit made with grapemust and plenty of cinnamon and cloves. Its perfect with a Greek coffee and tastes, well, a little bit like a mulled wine biscuit xx

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:29:26 pm

Thank you so much, Kat... very kind... your mother in law's tin sounds lovely... no doubt you will share photos of it on Mrs M... thank you for stopping by xx

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Krista Bjorn link
24/9/2015 08:40:42 pm

I've never had Shrewsbury biscuits, Liz, but they sound like just my sort of thing. :-) I do love bickie tins. Especially ones that keep the ants out. :-)

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Lizzy
25/9/2015 11:29:48 pm

Ah yes, those dreaded ants! xx

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Beck @ Golden Pudding link
1/10/2015 06:52:23 pm

Lovely post Liz! I remember that show of Nigel Slater’s, it was fantastic. We had a biscuit jar rather than tin I think, and very rarely had bought biscuits, but I have a Beatrix Potter tin now that I use for biscuits or fruitcake.
The Shrewsbury Biscuits sound wonderful, and I’m very tempted to try a small batch of the old ones too, though they must have had a very different idea of biscuit sizes as a recipe with almost 2kg of flour only makes 3 doz...

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Adri link
7/10/2015 07:45:12 pm

Oh my goodness. I just sort of fell into this post on your site as I was scrolling around, and am I ever glad I did. These sound like a MUST MAKE. Thanksa!

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