Vino Cotto Spiced Fruit and Nut Biscuits

Vino Cotto Spiced Fruit and Nut Biscuits

The goodness of these spiced biscuits of almonds, fruit, honey and Vino Cotto are great to have on hand for guests over Christmas.  The biscuits have a good shelf life and would make excellent presents for Christmas.  Play around with various nuts and citrus rinds for different flavours.

Vino Cotto Spiced Fruit and Nut Biscuits _plate

Ingredients
130gm whole blanched almonds
250gm plain flour, sifted, plus extra
120gm unsalted butter, room temperature, chopped
160gm dried figs, finely chopped
60gm sultana, (cut in half optional)
100ml honey
1 small lemon zest, finely grated
½ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
½ tsp cinnamon
4 tbps Vino Cotto
120gm icing sugar, sifted (optional)

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degree.
Place almonds on a baking tray and bake for 8 – 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Allow to cool, then place in a food processor and chop until a coarse meal forms.

Meanwhile, place the figs, sultanas, honey, lemon zest, nutmeg, cinnamon and Vino Cotto in a non metallic bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. Leave at room temperature to allow fruit to steep, at least 15 minutes and stir occasionally. Add more Vino Cotto if the mixture looks too dry.

In a bowl add the flour and almond meal and combine. Rub in the butter. Add the fruit mixture and combine using a wooden spoon or by hand. Gently work the mixture into a dough and add more flour if needed as it may be slightly sticky.

Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 20minutes or place bowl in fridge if room temperature is too warm.

Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead gently but work quickly. Divide dough into workable pieces and roll them into 8cm logs, or alternatively use cookie cutters.
If dough is too sticky, rub some olive oil on your hands and work the dough.

Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 10-15minutes or until golden.

Remove from oven and while biscuits are slightly warm, roll them into the icing sugar.

The biscuits will harden as they cool.

These biscuits will keep well in an airtight container for 2 weeks and make excellent Christmas presents. Just make a big batch and place them on a beautiful Christmas plate wrapped up in cello paper and ribbons.

Buy the Vino Cotto you need for this recipe online. Click here.