I am back to Istanbul, to my kitchen, and to my food. Even though the new discoveries from travel are always enchanting, it feels so good to be back home. I will post more photos from my trip to Cappadocia and the hot-air balloon tour in the next post with some more stories, but for now I will leave you with the teaser shots before continuing on to my lemon biscuits.

I brought this beautiful honey from the hotel I stayed in Cappadocia. The honey served at breakfast was so good that I dared asked the hotel owner to give me some and to my surprise, I was given a big container full by the generous owner, Orhan.

The following post was written before my trip and I hope you read it, keeping that in mind.

I’ve made my decadent Lemon Biscuits in various versions (check my Lemon Lavender Shortbread Biscuits if you haven’t) and have written about the m over two posts (please check the post on Biscuit Crime). The latest improvised recipe was very successful and I’d like to share it with you. The main flavours are LEMON+COCONUT. Sounds exotic and refreshing? Hmm..I feel saliva building up in my mouth. You do, too?

When you take a bite, the lemon, coconut and honey flavours will dance in the mouth. As I’ve been repeating the recipe, now I can whip it up with ease anytime. Especially the fact that all is done with a processor helps to keep my hands clean and save the hard work of whisking. Additionally, the dough will be rested in the fridge so I don’t need to rush in baking. If something comes up and I have to go out, I can bake it when I come back home or even the next day.

It is handy to even freeze the dough for unexpected guests, unexpected moments of craving and unknown future. They are like backup-drive biscuits and true survival biscuits. Another advantage worth mentioning is that because you slice the chilled dough, you have the freedom and flexibility to shape it however you want them and the shape is regular; small or big, ultra thin and crispy, square, triangle, etc. I personally prefer them really thin so I slice and further flatten them.

I usually use white flour but this time I replaced half the normal flour with whole wheat flour and it worked fine. The coconut flakes seemed to add lightness to the texture, which I liked. Also, this egg-free biscuits will keep for long, but only if you can resist the temptation. I usually go “one more, one more…” and end up eating 4,5,6 pieces.

Until you try my recipe, you won’t know why I’m making such a fuss over mere biscuits. They are not just biscuits; they are divine lemon slices in a dry, sweet and crispy form. To keep the sour taste of lemon, please make sure you don’t add baking soda, which will neutralise the acidity. How else can I tweak this recipe? Well, I think I will stick to this recipe unchanged for a while because it is just PERFECT!

Lemon Coconut Honey Biscuits

Adapted from Lavender Lemon Shortbread Biscuits

Ingredients (makes 24-30)

100g unsalted butter, cut in cubes, chilled
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup coconut flakes
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp honey
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 large lemon, zested
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Steps:

1.In a food processor, pulse together the flours, coconut flakes, sugar, salt and baking powder for 10 seconds.
2.Add the butter and lemon zest and pulse until the mixture forms a coarse meal for 20 seconds.
3.Add honey and lemon juice and pulse untill the dough forms a soft dough for 20 seconds.
4.Form the dough into a long log, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, and then wrap it with cling film and chill for 30 mins.
5.Preheat the oven to 175’C before taking the dough out of the fridge. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6.Slice the dough in 1/4 inch thickness and arrange on the prepared baking sheet.
7.Bake for 10-12 mins until light brown around the edges. Cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Related articles

• Good Eats | Honey-Butter Biscuits (pslovecharli.com)
• Sweet Potato Biscuits with Honey Butter (whatchamakinnow.blogspot.com)