The nice folk at www.buywholefoodsonline.co.uk sent me a box of unusual ingredients for me to try out. I was keen to try out the beetroot powder, I like beetroot anyway, especially in chocolate brownie form but I don’t like the hassle of cooking and peeling it.
Beetroot powder is still good for you but it is a lot easier to use. And I found out that if you use it as colouring a little goes a very long way! I can’t identify the taste of beetroot in these biscuits at all but I think it is adding a slight earthiness which balances out the floral element.
These edible rose petals are something I have never considered cooking with. I had no idea what to expect so I treated them like I would use lavender in shortbread. The end result was a very delicate rose taste that comes after you have finished the biscuit. It is not over powering and it goes really well with a good cup of coffee. If you have time to leave the petals sitting in the sugar overnight you should get a stronger taste. They are a little bit crispy when you eat them so combined with the silky icing and the crumbly biscuit you get a load of nice sensations going on.
This is a very easy and versatile recipe based on normal shortbread. You could vary the amount of beetroot powder to have a more pink and delicate biscuit or you could add a little more to get something gory looking for Halloween.
It would be nice to use a white icing with pink drizzled onto it too. Don’t expect to be able to make neat biscuits using the rose petals – you cannot easily get a clear cut through them. Rustic is delicious though!
Rose petal and beetroot shortbread
Ingredients
- 10 g dried rose petals
- 55 g granulated or caster sugar
- 125 g butter or hard margarine
- 180 g plain flour
- 10 g beetroot powder
- 50 g icing sugar
- 2 tsp milk, rice, soya or cow
Instructions
Biscuits
- Mix the dried rose petals into the sugar and leave to stand while you turn the oven on to 180 and get the baking tray ready by greasing it or lining it with paper.
- Use a wooden spoon to cream the petal and sugar mixture with the butter. You will need to squish hard to mix in all the petals.
- Add the flour and 5g of beetroot powder if you want pink biscuits. Mix with your hands to form a crumbly dough. You might want to add a little milk if the mixture is really dry.
- Dust the work surface with a little flour and roll out to about 1cm thick. Use a biscuit cutter to make shapes, or cut squares or fingers with a knife.
- Place on the baking tray and cool in the fridge for 5 minutes. You can sprinkle a bit of sugar onto the top at this stage if you are not going to ice them.
- Cook for 15 to 20 minutes watching for any browning at the edges. It is better to take them out too early than too late - mine were just starting to get too brown. You can leave them on the baking tray to cool and to ice.
Icing
- I used 1 tsp of beetroot powder to get a really deep red when mixed with the icing sugar. You don't need much to get a pink colour. Mix well to get rid of any lumps then either drizzle over the biscuits or blob a teaspoons worth on each one to spread out later.
- While the icing is still wet sprinkle over the remaining rose petals.
Disclosure – I have not been paid to develop this recipe or write this post. Buy Wholefoods Online sent me a box of ingredients for review purposes.