Common Biscuits

[valoise]

I'm fascinated by recipes from old cookbooks. This recipe for Common Biscuits from Cookery And Pastry as Taught and Practised by Mrs. Maciver looked interesting. With only eggs as a liquid and not butter, I was curious what the texture of the finished biscuit might be

To make common Biscuit.
Cast a pound of eggs with a pound of sugar pounded and sifted; dry a pound of flour; when the eggs and sugar are very thick and well cast, stir in the pound of dried flour and some caraway seeds; drop them on paper, and glaze them on the top with sugar.

At first glance, this was one that could easily be scaled down: the proportion of eggs, sugar, and flour were identical by weight. I used:
2 eggs (108 grams)
108 grams sugar
108 grams flour
1/2 tablespoon caraway seeds

Because there was no other leavening, the eggs needed to be very well beaten before the sugar was added. I dusted the top of each cookie with sugar and baked them on parchment paper at 350 F. for 11 minutes.

The end result: a bit tough & chewy. Not one I'll try again.

Comments

[mama_kestrel]

That looks like a recipe for pound cake without the butter. Interesting. Thanks for the result.

[valoise]

It does read a bit like pound cake, except that normally also contains butter. And is tastier, too.