These fork biscuits are the quickest and easiest biscuits ever and loved by kids and adults alike. All you need is 3 simple ingredients, 30 minutes and perhaps a little helper or two (optional).
This simple fork biscuits recipe is based on one by Mary Berry from her book My Kitchen Table: 100 Sweet Treats and Puds.
We absolutely adore fork biscuits in our house and make them or their chocolate equivalent on regular basis.
My boys (9 and 12) usually take charge now and I'm simply left to enjoy the fruits of their labour in the form of finished product, which suits me just fine.
Even if you have much younger children, I'm sure they will be more than happy to have a go at these (with some assistance of course).
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Easy recipe to make with kids.
- Delicious, melt in the mouth, shortbread style vegan biscuits.
- Take only 30 minutes to make.
- 3 basic ingredients (or 4 if you want to elevate the flavour a bit).
- They keep well and are freezer friendly.
- Easy to adapt with flavours and extras.
- One bowl recipe.
- Vegan, dairy and nut-free.
📝 Ingredients and substitutes
Here's what you will need to make my Easy Fork Biscuits:
Self-Raising Flour - I've used it here as per Mary Berry's recipe but if you don't have self-raising flour then plain (all-purpose) flour with added 1 teaspoon of baking powder can be used instead.
Vegan Butter - Any vegan block butter will work fine here. I like to use Flora Plant (either salted or unsalted) but feel free to use your favourite type of vegan butter or regular dairy butter.
***Quick Tip*** I mostly use salted version of Flora Plant in my biscuits which doesn't make them salty at all but in my opinion does enhances the overall flavour. If you don't have salted butter, you can add a small pinch of salt instead.
Caster Sugar - Fine sugar works best in shortbread style biscuits in my opinion but you could use granulated sugar too. Golden caster is another alternative.
Vanilla Extract (optional) - Even though not used by Mary Berry, I love vanilla flavour in these simple biscuits so this is my optional extra which you can simply leave out.
🔪 Instructions
Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and prepare two baking trays by lining them with some baking paper.
Put softened butter in a large bowl and mix/beat it until it starts to go creamy. I used a wooden spoon here but feel free to use hand-held mixer instead.
***Quick Tip*** Don't worry if you forget to take out your butter out to soften ahead of time. Microwave it in short 2 sec bursts until it's soft but take care not to melt it.
Add caster sugar and mix it into the butter until incorporated.
Next, add vanilla extract (if using), followed by flour.
Start mixing everything in with a wooden spoon first and then using your hand, bring the mixture together to form a ball of dough.
Divide the dough into 16 walnut size balls and place them on prepared baking sheets leaving enough room for the biscuits to spread out a bit.
Flatten each biscuit gently with a fork leaving a fork mark.
***Quick Tip*** To prevent fork from sticking dip it in flour and repeat as needed.
Bake your biscuits in preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Let them cool on baking trays for 5 minutes before transferring them onto the cooling rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!
🥡 Storing
Store: Keep in the airtight container for up to a week (although there is no way they'll last that long).
Freeze: Fork biscuits freeze brilliantly (both baked and unbaked).
Simply wait for them to cool completely and open freeze them on a tray until frozen solid (this way they won't stick together).
Once frozen, transfer them into freezer friendly bag for easy storage.
Defrost: Take them out of the fridge and they will defrost on the kitchen counter in an hour or so.
If you froze unbaked biscuits, there is no need to defrost them. Simply bake as you would adding couple more minutes of baking time.
💭 Pro Tips
- Fork biscuits are easy enough to make by hand but I've also made them using either hand-held mixer (see my Chocolate Fork Biscuits) or food processor so choose whichever way suits you best.
- Number of biscuits will depend on the size you choose to make them. I usually get anything between 14-16 biscuits when rolling my dough balls to the size of a walnut.
- Feel free to vary the flavours a bit by adding some lemon or orange zest for slightly citrussy biscuits, mixing in some chocolate chips, cocoa nibs or some dried fruit or adding touch of almond extract for almond flavoured biscuits.
❓FAQ
Yes you can. These can be frozen both baked and unbaked for up to 3 months. See - Storing above for more details.
It's not a problem at all. Simply use plain (all-purpose) flour and add 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
No they're not as I use standard wheat flour. However you can try and use your favourite gluten-free flour to make them. I haven't tried so please do let me know if you do.
Have you tried my Fork Biscuits recipe?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below and share your views or tips in the comments.
😋 More easy recipes you can make with kids
No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Chocolate Fork Cookies
Easter Chocolate Nests
📋 Recipe
Fork Biscuits
Ingredients
- 150 g self-raising flour see notes
- 100 g vegan block butter (salted or unsalted) or any butter you like softened ( I use Flora Plant)
- 50 g caster sugar or granulated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and prepare two baking trays by lining them with some baking paper.
- Put softened butter in a large bowl and mix/beat it until it starts to go creamy. I used a wooden spoon here but feel free to use hand-held mixer instead.Don't worry if you forget to take out your butter out to soften ahead of time. Microwave it in short 2 sec bursts until it's soft but take care not to melt it.100 g vegan block butter (salted or unsalted) or any butter you like
- Add caster sugar and mix it into the butter until incorporated.50 g caster sugar
- Next, add vanilla extract if using, followed by flour.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 150 g self-raising flour
- Start mixing everything in with a wooden spoon first and then using your hand, bring the mixture together to form a ball of dough.
- Divide the dough into 16 walnut size balls and place them on prepared baking sheets leaving enough room for the biscuits to spread out a bit. Flatten each biscuit gently with a fork leaving a fork mark.To prevent fork from sticking dip it in flour and repeat as needed.
- Bake your biscuits in preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let them cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring them onto the cooling rack to cool completely Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per biscuits (based on 16 biscuits) and should be treated as a rough guideline only.
- Self-raising flour can be substituted with plain (all-purpose) flour + 1 teaspoon baking powder.
- Fork biscuits will keep in the airtight container for up to a week or can be frozen (baked or unbaked for up to 3 months).
- Fork biscuits are easy enough to make by hand but I've also made them using either hand-held mixer (see my Chocolate Fork Biscuits) or food processor so choose whichever way suits you best.
- Feel free to vary the flavours a bit by adding some lemon or orange zest for slightly citrussy biscuits, mixing in some chocolate chips, cocoa nibs or some dried fruit or adding touch of almond extract for almond flavoured biscuits.
Richard says
Excellent recipe,easy to follow,great stuff. Keep it going 👍👍
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Richard!🙂