Easy French Butter Biscuits

This homemade biscuit recipe is very easy and quick to make. With only 5 ingredients you will have on hand, it is a gem. The kids love them as they are just scrumptious!

Easy to change between metric and USCS, & double or triple recipe. ⬇️

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Galette Nantaises

This galette recipe is an easy and quick to make tasty light cookie and requires only 5 ingredients. The dough is made with commonly stocked kitchen supplies and are similar to shortbread biscuit recipes in there make up and texture. They make a great anytime snack or dessert.

✅About Biscuits

In North America the name biscuits more commonly refer to a soft, leavened quick bread which is similar to an unsweetened scone.

But in the UK and France the name usually describes a hard sweet "cookie".

This particular recipe is called Nantes biscuits in France because they are from Nantes a city on the Loire River in the Upper Brittany region of western France.

These little cookies or biscuits, which ever you like to call them, are a delight with your morning coffee, a snack at any time of the day, or as a light dessert.

The kids love them too as they are just scrumptious and can be made in many fun shapes. But they go fast so be prepared to make more!

With only 5 ingredients most of us already have on hand, it can be a real spur of the moment satisfaction!

Just mix the ingredients together, choose your shape by piping or cookie cutter style, bake and you are done!

📋Ingredients

• all-purpose flour
• unsalted butter
• sugar
• ground almonds
• egg yolks
• salt (is the 6th)

🔢Instructions

1. Sift the flour into a large bowl, and then measure out what you need. It is important to sift the flour if you want a nice light melt-in-your-mouth cookie.
2. With the butter that has been finely chopped rub the butter with light fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs (don't pack the butter and flour tightly together).
3. Add the sugar, salt, and ground almonds. Again mixing with a light hand.
4. Add the 2 egg yolks and mix into the dough until it is smooth.
5. Grease the cookie sheet. I like coconut oil for greasing baking pans. Or line sheet with parchment paper.

Shaping The Cookies

Method One

1. Place the dough in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to rest if you want to make cut out cookies.
2. Then take it out of the fridge and roll out the dough on a lightly floured board until it is about ⅛ inch thick.
3. Use a small pastry cutter to cut out small round biscuits or any shape you like.
4. Place them on a lightly greased baking tray.

Method Two

1. You can pipe the cookie dough onto the cookie sheet instead of cutting them out. If you decide to shape your biscuits this way, don't put the dough into the refrigerator to firm up. 
2. If you do discover that the piped cookies before baking are not holding their shape then chill it for short periods until it is the right consistency. Easy to pipe and holds its shape.

To Finish Off Before Baking 

• Brush lightly with egg or milk, will produce a light glaze.
• Score the tops with a knife or a fork. (For cut out cookies only.)
• Sprinkle a little ground almonds, and dust lightly with icing sugar.
• Or dust with granulated sugar. (Dye a little sugar different colors to sprinkle on.)

How To Bake

• Bake in a hot oven 375°F/191°C/Gas 5 for about 6-8 minutes for small cookies, 9-10 minutes for large cookies or when they are golden brown around the edges.
• Take them out of the oven and place the cookie sheet on a cooling rack, letting it cool for 2-3 minutes before removing the cookies to the rack to completely cool.

🔄Substitutions

I have not tried substituting the all-purpose flour or the ground almonds, but I see no reason why this would not work. The only one I would caution about is coconut flour, as it is very dry and will absorb all the moisture of the egg yolk to unsatisfactory results. If you do try a replacement please let me know in the comments below or use the contact form.

🍴Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• flour sifter
• piping bag
• cookie cutter
• cooling rack
• cookie sheet

💡TIPS

• These are wonderful versatile cookies which can be made into cut out cookies of any shape you wish. Great for Christmas treats, Halloween, birthdays, any special occasion you need them for.
• You can also pipe the dough onto a cookie sheet in a swirl, squiggles, circles, it's time to be creative and using any tip in the piping set to make super decorative treats. The only thing to ensure is that all the cookies are roughly the same size and thickness so they bake at the same time. You don't want to have smaller ones burning while waiting for the larger biscuits to bake.
• If you decide to pipe the cookies instead of cutting them out you don't need to put the dough into the refrigerator to cool, as the dough needs to be flexible and easy to work with.
• If you do discover that the piped cookies before baking are not holding their shape then scoop them back in the bowl and chill it for short periods of time until it is the right consistency.

🤭Cookie Baking Secrets

• When baking your biscuits don't open the oven which will let the heat out and cool down your oven. This will create inconsistent results in the food in the oven and from one baking session to another. To keep an eye on your baking use the oven window with the oven light on.
• If the cookies are small they will not take as long as larger ones. This is why it is important to try and make all your cookies the same size before placing the baking sheet in the oven. Dough is forgiving it can be gathered up and reshaped to make even results. (Not several times or you will have unsatisfactory snacks!)
• Cut out shapes require rolling your dough evenly so that some of it is not too thin which will create biscuits that cook faster and result in an over browned biscuit.
• Same principle holds for piped shapes. Try to use the same amount of dough for each one.
• They will continue to cook for a short time when taken out of the oven until they cool down sufficiently to stop, that's why it is important to leave them on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before removing them.

✨More Great French Cookies

• Shortbread Biscuits
• Breton Butter Cake
• Madeleines Cookies Recipe
• Palmiers

📖 Recipe

Easy French Butter Biscuits

Judith Coates

This homemade biscuit recipe is very easy and quick to make. With only 5 ingredients you will have on hand, it is a gem. The kids love them as they are just scrumptious!

Easy to change between metric and USCS, & double or triple recipe. ⬇️

Print Recipe Pin

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Servings 1 dozen, small

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• ▢ 6 ounce/3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 ounce/1/4 cup unsalted butter - cut into small pieces
• ▢ 2 ounce/1/4 cup sugar
• ▢ 2 ounce/1/4 cup ground almonds
• ▢ 2 egg yolks
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

 

• Sift the flour into a large bowl, and then measure out what you need. It is important to sift the flour if you want a nice light melt-in-your-mouth cookie.
• With the butter that has been finely chopped rub the butter with light fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs (don't pack the butter and flour tightly together).
• Add the sugar, salt, and ground almonds. Again mixing with a light hand.
• Add the 2 egg yolks and mix into the dough until it is smooth.

Shaping The Cookies

Method One

• Place the dough in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to rest if you want to make cut out cookies.
• Then take it out of the fridge and roll out the dough on a lightly floured board until it is about ⅛ inch thick.
• Use a small pastry cutter to cut out small round biscuits or any shape you like.
• Place them on a lightly greased baking tray.

Method Two

• You can pipe the cookie dough onto the cookie sheet instead of cutting them out. If you decide to shape your biscuits this way, don't put the dough into the refrigerator to firm up. 
• If you do discover that the piped cookies before baking are not holding their shape then chill it for short periods until it is therBight consistency. Easy to pipe and holds its shape.

To Finish Off Before baking 

• Brush lightly with egg or milk, will produce a light glaze.
• Score the tops with a knife or a fork. (For cut out cookies only.)
• Sprinkle a little ground almonds, and dust lightly with icing sugar.
• Or dust with granulated sugar. (Dye a little sugar different colors to sprinkle on.)
• Bake in a hot oven 375°F/191°C/Gas 5  for about 6-8 minutes for small cookies, 9-10 minutes for large cookies or when they are golden brown around the edges.

Keyword breton biscuits, butter biscuit, cookies, french desserts, galettes bretonnes

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!