Orange and Thyme Sugar Biscuits

I think a large part of being a food blogger means you have to find a love for collecting a range of quirky and increasingly different kitchen wares, particularly plates, cutlery and tins (and have the budget to be able to do so, as a student - that can be a challenge for me, although I have become quite good at spotting charity shop jewels.) For those in the know, food stylists like to refer to it all as food props. I'm starting to generate a rather nice assortment which I try to fit all together like a mad jigsaw puzzle just so that it can all handily fit in my large wicker basket. This basket of props lives under my bed at my uni flat, not the average collection of items you'd expect to find under a student bed, you might say?! 

I'm not gonna lie, the main reason why I wanted to make some biscuits was just so that I could use this wonderful vintage tin! I stumbled across it at a vintage stall when I was at the Bakewell baking festival last summer and I knew straight away that it would look just perfect for a future blog photo packed full of biscuits. 
Months later and still yet to use it, now was the time to uncover this bad boy on its first outing. I think it really does add something to the photos, I mean, there is only so much you can do to make a biscuit look exciting. Not that the biscuit itself isn't exciting! These little, down in two mouthful biscuits are inspired by a traditional Finnish sugar cookie recipe and instead of using lemons, (which I'm not a fan of) I opted for oranges instead. The addition of thyme is welcomed as a nice pairing to the citrus kick, with just a subtle aromatic hint. 

These orange biscuits are the best accompaniment to a cup of tea, whether you chose to dunk or not to dunk, (I say DUNK), they do just the trick as a mid afternoon snack. I've been snacking on them all afternoon as I prepare the last bits of my uni deadlines before summer. 

Orange and Thyme Sugar Cookies

Makes around 30-35

Ingredients

250g (2 cups) plain flour 75g (1/4 + 1/8 cup) caster sugar 1 orange, finely grated zest and 1 tsp juice 1 ½ tbsp thyme leaves, chopped finely 200g (14 tbsp) butter, cubed 1 egg, beaten 2-3 tbsp granulated sugar

Method

Put the flour and caster sugar into a mixing bowl with the orange zest and chopped thyme, mix to combine. Start off by rubbing the butter into the flour mixture and once it starts to clump, add the orange juice and use a wooden spoon to combine to a smooth, soft dough. 
Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. 
Preheat the oven to 190° C/375° F/gas 5. 
Once the dough has finished chilling, unwrap and then place between 2 baking parchment sheets. Roll out the dough between the sheets, until you have a rough rectangle that is 1.5cm thick. 
Remove the top layer of baking parchment. Brush beaten egg over the dough and then generously sprinkle the egg washed surface with granulated sugar. Use the rolling pin to carefully and lightly press the sugar into the dough surface. Cut cookies into 2 x 3 cm pieces. Place onto baking trays lined with baking parchment. 
Bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes until pale golden. Leave to cool on wire rack. They should keep for 2 to 3 days in an air tight container.