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Vegan Fruit Shortcake Biscuits (Vegan Easter Biscuits)

Easter Biscuits are a traditional British bake, although I can’t say I remember my family ever baking them! However, these short, crumbly, sweet, fruity vegan Easter biscuits deserve to be baked all year round!

Vegan Easter Biscuits

Easter (or Lenten) Biscuits were traditionally made as a Shrove Tuesday treat, before the forty days of fasting began. Nowadays we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, but try these less time-consuming biscuits for a change!

This was inspired by my simple vegan shortbread recipe and my sourdough shortbread cookies, and I love to serve them alongside my vegan hot cross buns and hot cross bun bread pudding!

A tray of vegan easter biscuits

What are Easter Biscuits?

I discovered this recipe in a vintage British cookbook, the kind I love to read for inspiration and they were also called Lenten Biscuits. I googled Lenten biscuits and found a quite different Italian variant, so have decided to call these Easter Biscuits for the avoidance of confusion!

Traditional English Easter biscuits are a sturdy little shortbread biscuit, flavoured with nutmeg (one of my favourite spices) and studded with currants and peel. The kind of cookies I would have strongly disliked as a kid, as I hated dried fruit until I was a grown-up!

If you have ever tried McVities Fruit Shortcake, these are very similar to those, but, dare I say, nicer (and vegan).

Vegan Easter Biscuit

They are very simple to make, maybe a couple of minutes longer than than normal shortbread, but believe me, the extra effort to cream the butter and sugar is well worth it.

These vegan Easter biscuits last quite a while in the tin and make a great foodie gift as well.

Ingredients

Ingredients for Easter Cookies
  • plain flour
  • vegan butter, room temperature
  • sugar
  • currants
  • mixed peel (or use fresh grated zest if you prefer)
  • nutmeg

This is ONLY a list of ingredients for the recipe; please see recipe card below for complete printable recipe.

Instructions

Creaming butter and sugar

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy

Adding yogurt to creamed butter and sugar

Beat in the yogurt until smooth.

Adding flour to cookie dough

Fold in the flour using a metal spoon until your mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Cookie dough rolled into a ball

Add a little milk at a time and mix until you have a cohesive ball of dough. Chill the dough for half an hour or so if the weather is particularly warm.

Rolling out dough to cut into cookies

Roll out dough and cut into 2″ rounds before baking at 170c for 20 minutes.

Substitutions

  • Currants – if you really hate currants, you could use raisins or sultanas but you would need to cut them up a little to make them a bit smaller for these biscuits. Alternatively, omit altogether or use small vegan chocolate chips
  • Flour– use gluten free flour instead of normal white flour to make these gluten free
  • Nutmeg – you could use a little mixed spice or cinnamon instead

Storage

You can chill the dough, wrapped in clingfilm for up to 4 days before using. After that, you can freeze it for up to 3 months.

The biscuits last at least a week in an airtight container.

Vegan Easter Biscuits

Vegan Easter Biscuits
These are a classic, fruited shortbread biscuit, simple to prepare
Freya
5 from 2 votes
Prep 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Equipment

  • 1 Large Baking tray lightly oiled
  • Rolling Pin
  • 1 2" round fluted cutter

Ingredients

  • 125 g Butter - vegan, softened
  • 125 g Sugar - Caster or superfine
  • cup Yogurt - vegan, plain or vanilla
  • 225 g Plain Flour
  • 50 g Currants
  • 25 g Peel - chopped
  • ¼ tsp Nutmeg - grated (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 170c.
  • In a large mixing bowl, blend together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
  • Now mix in the yogurt until you have a cohesive mixture.
  • Using a metal spoon, fold in the flour, fruit, peel and nutmeg. You will get a mixture that looks quite sandy, a bit like when you make pastry.
  • Now add some milk, a teaspoon at a time, until you have a firm but not sticky dough.
  • Roll out the dough to about ¼" and cut into 2" rounds
  • Place carefully on your oiled baking sheet.
  • Brush with a little plant-based milk and sprinkle with some more caster sugar.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes or until very pale golden.
  • Leave to cool on the tray for a couple of minutes before placing on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Please note that where the recipe asks for milk, butter or yogurt, this refers to any plant-based version that you prefer.

Nutrition Facts
Vegan Easter Biscuits
Amount per Serving
Calories
119
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
5
g
8
%
Saturated Fat
 
3
g
19
%
Trans Fat
 
0.2
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
0.2
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
1
g
Cholesterol
 
14
mg
5
%
Sodium
 
42
mg
2
%
Potassium
 
37
mg
1
%
Carbohydrates
 
17
g
6
%
Fiber
 
0.5
g
2
%
Sugar
 
8
g
9
%
Protein
 
1
g
2
%
Vitamin A
 
160
IU
3
%
Vitamin C
 
0.5
mg
1
%
Calcium
 
8
mg
1
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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