I absolutely adore Parma Violets. They are probably my favourite sweet. I’ve had a big bag of them in my cupboard for a while waiting for me to bake with. I didn’t know what I wanted to make with them, but the other day I was craving a biscuit. One thing led to another and the next thing I know, I’m eating a Parma Violet Shortbread in the garden with a cup of tea.
These Parma Violet Shortbread Biscuits are as light as a feather. I smashed up the Parma Violets and added them into my shortbread mix, so there are tiny crunchy bits of Parma Violets throughout the biscuits. They’re really good, a little bit unusual but quite subtle. If there’s not enough Parma Violet in them, you can always add more to the mixture.
Parma Violet Shortbread Biscuits
Ingredients:
225g butter
80g caster sugar
50g Parma Violets, bashed up
330g plain flour
Caster sugar for sprinkling
Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 180. You’ll need to have a couple of baking trays covered with greaseproof paper ready.
Put your Parma Violets into a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin until it’s a mixture of fine powder and small fragments of violet flavoured rubble.
In a mixing bowl, thoroughly beat the butter and sugar together. Once fluffy, add the Parma Violets and little by little add the plain flour. Mix with a wooden spoon as best you can. Try not to overwork it too much or the dough will go gluey.
I find the following method tidier and it stops you manhandling the dough too much. Once the shortbread dough is mixed, tip it out onto a large sheet of greaseproof paper; bring the dough together with your hands and then fold the paper in half with the mixture sandwiched in between.
With a rolling-pin, roll it out so it’s about 5mm thick and cut into rounds. I used a glass for this and carefully lifted each shortbread biscuit onto the baking tray. You should get around 18 good-sized shortbread biscuits out of the dough. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar over each round before baking.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on the shortbread, they still need to be pale and not brown. Once they’re baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack.
They’re as easy as that. Delicious with a cup of tea and as light as a feather too. A real treat for Parma Violet fans!
If you enjoyed this recipe you might also like these Crumbly Cranachan Shortbread with Whisky or these Cinnamon & Raisin Shortbread biscuits.
