At this time of year there really is a sense of emerging as the blossoms and bulbs begin to flower. Saturday 20th March was the vernal/spring equinox which marks the final transition out of winter as the days and nights are of equal length. We spent the day outside on our allotment in the fresh air (things are really getting underway now and I really feel like the energy is coming back into the plot ready for the summer) and I picked some of our beautiful primroses to take home and crystallise.
Primroses have a beautiful but incredibly subtle flavour that is easily lost or overpowered. Crystallising in sugar preserves them, but also helps to bring out the flavour which is floral with the tiniest suggestion of citrus. I think they look beautiful when used to decorate biscuits and cakes, so I’ve been thoroughly enjoying using them this spring.
Primroses have traditionally represented new beginnings, purity and protection, and the birth of new wisdom and creativity. With the spring equinox behind us, and Easter not too far away, these biscuits flavoured with honey were the perfect way to use my primroses and celebrate the emergence into a new season.
Primrose and Honey Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients
- 100g butter, room temperature
- 50g honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 175g plain flour
- 4 tbsp icing sugar
- 1 tbsp water
- Crystallised primroses (see tip above)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 150°C / Gas Mark 2 and line a baking tray or cookie sheet with baking paper.
- Mix the butter and honey together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla before sifting in the flour. Mix well.
- Roll the dough out to about 5mm and cut into shapes. Place them on to your lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack before icing.
- Mix the icing sugar with 1 tbsp water – it should coat the back of a spoon. Dip each biscuit into the icing and place back on the cooling rack in case any icing drips off. Decorate with the crystallised primroses. Leave overnight for the icing to set.
Tip
To crystallise primroses (or any other edible flower) gently brush a thin layer of egg white over the whole flower and coat in caster sugar. Place on a piece of baking paper and leave to harden overnight.
I hope you’ve had a wonderful spring equinox, and that you are looking forward to an equally lovely Easter, however you might be spending it!
As always let me know if you give this a try in the comments or tag me in your creations on Instagram @plotandlane – I always love seeing your posts.
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Nice!!
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Thanks! They were tasty xx
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Happy spring – the biscuits look so elegant and pretty!
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And happy spring to you too! Thank you so much for the comment – I can’t resist decorating everything with primroses at the moment 😂
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This looks lovely. Is it only the wild primrose, primula vulgaris, that is edible, or can the garden varieties, often hybrids in a multitude of colours, also be used in this way? I have lots of them, they self-seed everywhere, so am tempted to try this at the weekend.
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I tend to stick to primula vulgaris as it’s widely used and known to definitely be edible. I don’t know of other primulas to be toxic though.
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Great. I’ll do a bit of research and see if the other primulas are ok to eat too. I think I did once use them on a cake without ill effects 😉
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So pretty!
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Thank you so much! I can’t get enough of spring’s edible flowers xx
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Darling and delicious
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Thank you! Such a kind comment xx
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