Old School Iced Gem Biscuits (Updated Recipe!)

 Those of you who followed me long enough will know that 10 years ago I was on a quest to nail the recipe for old school iced gem biscuits. It took me some tries to get something I am satisfied with and bakers who tried my original recipe all agreed it tastes pretty close to the actual stuff from Khong Guan. Click here for the original recipe if you are interested. I decided to tweak it a little and now it's even better!

I also used raw egg whites to make the royal icing the old fashioned way instead of using meringue powder because there have been requests for it. Many people who don't bake regularly prefer not to buy a big portion of meringue powder just to make these. Don't worry, it's perfectly still safe for consumption as the egg whites are going to be cooked.

Here's a peek at the insides!

Please watch the reel over here for the process.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8mFFEQycTo/?igsh=MXZoNHJnY2Q0MDhkaA==

What did I do differently this time? I have included milk powder to give these light tasting crisp biscuits a stronger hint of milk flavour. I included a 30 minutes resting time for the dough to relax as well before rolling it out.

Iced Gem Biscuit Recipe

The recipe makes about 110 biscuits. Feel free to use half the recipe if it's too much for you to handle.

Biscuit base:
140g plain flour 
1 tbs (10g) full cream milk powder
2 tsp baking powder
20g icing sugar 
1/8 tsp salt
50g vegetable shortening
50-60g milk or as much as needed to form dough
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Royal icing:
25g fresh egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar or 1/4 tsp lemon juice
120g sifted icing sugar 
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Gel/powdered food colouring or flavoured pastes as desired ( I used pandan, strawberry & lemon pastes. Original gems have unflavoured icing or just a hint of vanilla)

Steps:

1. Make the biscuit base. Sift together milk powder, icing sugar, flour, salt and baking powder.

2. Rub in shortening until it resembles fine breadcrumbs 

3. Gradually add milk with vanilla extract added until a ball of dough forms. As long as the dough ball doesn't split when you squish it, it is ready.

4. Wrap the dough in cling wrap. Set aside at room temperature for 30 min

5. Preheat oven to 170C fan/180C.

6. Roll the dough between parchment paper or lightly floured surface until 3mm thick. Dust your rolling pin lightly to prevent it from sticking to the dough if you are not rolling between parchment paper.

7. Cut out the dough with 2-2.5cm round/oval or scalloped cookie cutters. Lay on lined baking tray about 2cm apart. You may use parchment/teflon sheet/silicone mat/perforated mat to line your trays.

8. Bake for 10-15 min or lightly browned. Cool completely before icing 

9. Prepare royal icing. Whip egg whites with cream of tartar or lemon juice until foamy. Gradually add sifted icing sugar and whip until stiff peaks. You may add vanilla if you wish.

10. Divide icing into different colours. You may use gel or powdered colouring, or flavoured pastes to colour the icing. Original iced gems are not flavoured or only mildly vanilla flavoured. I chose to include a little variation in flavour.

11. Use a small open star tip to pipe the icing onto the biscuit base. 

12. Dry in 70C oven for an hour or until thoroughly dry and crispy. If the biscuits are hard or not crisp, you didn't dry it long enough. The drying time here is just a reference so adjust accordingly. Do not be tempted to speed up the drying process by increasing the temperature as the icing may crack above 75-80C. The biscuits should be really light and crisp when baked correctly. 

Storage

Store in airtight condition after cooling completely in the oven. If stored well, it can keep for a few weeks at cool room temperature. Simply pop the biscuits into the oven to dry them out again anytime they lose their crispiness.

Baker's Notes

🔸Use royal icing made with meringue powder if you wish. I used raw egg whites as I received queries over the years about making these without meringue powder but safe enough for consumption

🔸Do not replace shortening with butter if you prefer it crisp, light, with a slight hint of milky flavour but without any buttery notes like the old school biscuits in Southeast Asia. Feel free to use butter instead if that's your preference. Rest the dough in the fridge if you are choosing to use butter 

🔸The secret of making the biscuits really light & crisp is the long time spent in the oven to thoroughly dry out any moisture. This helps to extend the shelf life too!

🔸You may use round cookie cutters, piping tips or cutters with scalloped edges as long as they are about 2-2.5cm in diameter

Tag me on Instagram if you make this! I am sure you will be pleased with the results like those who tried my original recipe 10 years ago! 

with love,

Phay Shing