These vanilla snap biscuits are wonderfully buttery and irresistibly delicious. They have a lovely snappy texture and are so moreish. Whether you enjoy them as is with a cup of tea or use them as a canvas for creative icing decorations, these cookies are perfect. This recipe is one of the most popular on my website, and it’s super easy to whip up with just five ingredients.
I’ve used a variety of cookie-cutter shapes to create these biscuits. Be sure to keep them similar in size within each batch, as smaller cookies will bake more quickly than larger ones. This way, you’ll achieve that even bake on these biscuits (cookies).
Since they only take 10 minutes to bake, it’s best to do them in batches.
What You Will Need to Make These Vanilla Biscuits
These are the five simple store cupboard ingredients you will need:
- Butter: 185 grams (softened)
- Caster sugar: 220 grams (1 cup)
- Vanilla extract or paste: 1½ teaspoons
- Cake or all-purpose flour: 375 grams (2½ cups)
- Egg: 1 large
- Egg yolk: 1 large
- Icing sugar: for dusting (optional) or you can use icing/frosting for decoration
How to Make This Recipe
Everything comes together in minutes in a food processor. Just allow 30 minutes for the dough to chill before rolling it out.
Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). This can be done from halfway through the time the dough takes to chill.
To a bowl of a food processor, add the butter, sugar, and vanilla and process until smooth. Approximately 30 seconds.
Next, add the flour, egg, and egg yolk, processing until a soft dough forms. It’s as easy as that!
Once the dough is ready, decant from the processor and knead it slightly to bring it together into a ball. It may still be a bit crumbly. Then, wrap it in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
After chilling, roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper (on a lightly floured surface) until it’s about ½ cm (5 mm) thick.
Use a cookie cutter to cut the dough into round shapes (or any shape you fancy!).
Place the dough rounds on a lined baking sheet, and bake for 10–12 minutes until they just start to turn golden brown on the edges.
Finally, remove the biscuits carefully from the tray and allow them to cool on a wire rack. They might continue cooking a bit, so keep an eye on them!
When they’re cool, feel free to dust them with icing sugar or decorate them as you like. They’re delicious on their own!
FAQs for This Recipe
What if I don’t have a food processor? No worries! You can mix the ingredients by hand with a pastry cutter or a hand-held mixer. Just add the eggs and egg yolk to the creamed butter and mix this before adding the flour. You will need to mix the flour by hand with a spoon.
Substitutions & Variations
Feeling creative? Here are some substitutions and variations to try:
Flavouring: Substitute vanilla with almond extract or lemon zest for a different flavour profile.
Flour: You should be able to use gluten-free flour that is interchangeable with cake or all-purpose flour. The results could vary from one brand to another, and I have not tested a gluten-free option.
Decorations: Instead of icing sugar, consider using chocolate drizzle or sprinkles for a fun twist!
Storage Instructions
Room Temperature: Keep in an airtight container for a few weeks. These are perfect to fill a cookie jar.
Freezing: These biscuits freeze well! Just place them in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Thawing: To enjoy, thaw at room temperature for a couple of hours before serving.
A few of my other baking recipes:
My best baking recipes on Drizzleanddip
My best cake recipes
More biscuit/cookie recipes I love:
The best South African crunchie recipe
Easy ginger biscuits
White chocolate, cranberry, and pecan nut cookies
The best mince pie crumble cookies
Espresso chocolate chip cookies
Whipped vanilla shortbread The BEST recipe to make with or for kids
*Pro Tip – Add toasted milk powder to the recipe to bring out a delicious nutty brown butter flavour. 1-2 Tablespoons will do the trick.
This is a Donna Hay recipe from her baking book “Modern Classics 2”. I have added and tested the metric measurements, which were not published with her recipe in the book.
- 185 grams butter
- 220 grams caster sugar (1 cup)
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 375 grams Cake or all-purpose flour (2 1/2 cups)
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- icing sugar to dust optional or decorate with icing/frosting
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Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F
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In a food processor mix the butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth
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Add the flour, egg, and egg yolk and process until the mixture forms a soft dough
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Take the dough out of the processor and knead slightly bringing it together in a ball. Wrap it in cling film and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes
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Roll the dough out between 2 sheets of baking paper or on a lightly floured surface until about ½ cm / 5mm thick
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Cut the dough into shapes approximately 7cm (or as desired). Ensure the sizes are similar when baking in each batch.
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Place the dough rounds on a baking sheet that has been lined with baking paper or silicone baking sheets
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Bake for 10 – 12 minutes until golden brown (check at 10 minutes). Rotate the pan halfway through the cooking time to ensure an even baking and if necessary.
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Remove the biscuits carefully from the baking tray and allow them to cool on a wire cooling rack as they have a tendency to carry over cooking on the tray and could turn too brown once removed from the oven.
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When cooled, dust them with some icing sugar or decorate them as desired.
These biscuits are delicious and eaten as is but make a perfect canvas to decorate.
Servings: 45
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