Apricot and Chocolate Crunchy Biscuits

20 February 2023

These biscuits taste really crisp and chocolatey – even though they don’t contain any actual chocolate! They are ideal for lunchboxes and picnics.

Ingredients

1 x 5ml spoon sunflower oil for greasing
100g dried ready-to-eat apricots
100g unsaturated fat spread
50g light brown sugar
1 x 15ml spoon cocoa powder
100g self-raising flour
100g porridge oats


Equipment

Weighing scales
Baking tray x 2
Pastry brush
Baking parchment
Scissors
Measuring spoons
Medium saucepan
Wooden spoon
Pan stand
Sieve
Large mixing bowl
Teaspoon
Oven gloves
Palette knife or fish slice
Wire cooling rack


Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan or gas mark 3.
  2. Grease the baking trays with a little oil, then line with baking parchment.
  3. Cut up the apricots into small currant-sized pieces.
  4. Put the spread and sugar into the saucepan. Gently melt the mixture, stirring continually, then remove from the heat.
  5. Sift the cocoa and flour into the bowl and mix in the porridge oats. Add these dry ingredients to the melted mixture together with the apricots and stir well.
  6. Using the teaspoon, take big teaspoon sized pieces and roll each into a ball with clean hands, then place on the tray and press flat. Leave a little space around each biscuit for the mixture to spread. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
  7. Bake for 12–15 minutes until they are golden brown. The biscuits shouldn’t be dark brown so be careful not to cook them for longer than this time.
  8. Leave on the tray for 5 minutes to cool and firm up before removing with a palette knife and putting onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Skills used include:
Weighing, measuring, chopping, mixing/combining, sifting, baking and melting.


Top Tips

  • Do not cook them for longer than 12-15 minutes as they will be too crispy and the apricots will harden.
  • Check on the pack that the unsaturated fat spread is suitable for baking. Some unsaturated fat spreads contain a high proportion of water and are not suitable for baking or cooking.

Something to try next time

  • Add 1 x 5ml spoon of mixed spice at step 5 if you like things spicy.
  • Replace half the dried apricots with 50g of cranberries to make jewelled biscuits.

Prepare now, eat later

  • Weigh and measure the cocoa, flour and porridge oats in advance and store in an airtight container for up to 48 hours.
  • The crunchy biscuits will keep for a week in an airtight container