
Flower Flakemeal Shortbread

Since September 2024 I have been attending a Tuesday evening class at the Belfast Metropolitan College to attempt to become a better baker. I’ve always considered myself to be an average baker. Not intuitive. Impatient. Confused. And then, not even really enjoying what I have made. I’m just not a cake person. But bread, pastry and biscuits? Yes, that is me. And this one is a good one that I learned to make at this class with a few changes. Flakemeal shortbread are a classic Ulster ‘tray bake’ biscuit and in my opinion by far the superior shortbread.
There is something about the inclusion of coconut and oats that makes a crumb that flour alone cannot compete with. I don’t think I am a better baker, yet, but this little recipe makes me feel like a better baker. I have included gorse flowers in this recipe, but feel free to experiment with with other edible flowers – I have had success with campanula, dandelion and even daisies. Gorse is lovely though and compliments the coconut in the recipe so perfectly. They are a little faffy to gather so you can absolutely leave them out of this recipe all together and you still get an extremely easy treat to add to the side of a lemon and elderflower posset or nettle tea.
Ingredients
Makes about 20 biscuits depending on how you cut them!
300g Butter – softened (or vegan Spread to make this a dairy free recipe)
70g Caster Sugar
200g Plain Flour plus a little extra for dusting
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1/2 Tsp Fine Salt Descicated Coconut
200g Porridge Oats
A couple of handfuls of picked edible flowers – gorse is ideal!
Instructions

Collecting gorse flowers is a little tricky! They are very spiky and it’s important that you only consume the flowers. I also like to remove the outer papery cover on each of the flowers for a more pleasant texture to eat. Yes, this is more work but I think it’s worth it!
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C
2. Cream together the butter and sugar using a mixer or just by hand with a wooden spoon. They don’t need to be very fluffy – a few minutes until well combined is enough. The flowers can be added at this stage to ensure they are well distributed.
3. Sift the flour, salt, bicarb and baking powder into the bowl with the creamed butter and sugar. Add in the other dry ingredients – coconut and oats and mix thoroughly by hand.


4. Turn out the dough onto a lightly flour dusted surface. Roll out to about a 1/2 cm thickness. Re-roll the dough and keep cutting out discs until the dough is spent.
5. Transfer the biscuits to a prepared tray and bake for 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them after the 10 minute mark – they should be lightly golden on the edges.
6. Allow to cool on a wire rack before eating. These last really well in an airtight container for a week or so.

