Inspired by the Great British Bake Off, these dairy free garibaldi biscuits are filled with orange infused currants and cranberries. The perfect treat to enjoy with afternoon tea. Easy gluten free and vegan options available.
Why I Made This Recipe
When garibaldi biscuits were announced as the second technical challenge for Season 13 of the Great British Bake Off (also known as the Great British Baking Show), it piqued my curiosity as I remember seeing these biscuits in supermarkets in the UK but had never actually tried them previously. This is a typical British treat and I adapted the bake off recipe to improve the consistency of the biscuits and to make them dairy free as well. You can find the original recipe used in the show here.
Why You Should Make This
If you love dried fruit in baked goods and are a fan of cookies, you will adore this sweet biscuit sandwich. A bit of work to make but well worth it to enjoy something a little different. Basic ingredients and easily adaptable to suit different dietary requirements. Check out my FAQ section for more tips and questions.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This is a dairy free biscuit recipe with easy substitutions to adapt for gluten free and vegan diets.
Dried Fruit: this recipe is jazzing up the traditional garibaldi recipe by using cranberries in addition to currants. Use both or one or the other if you prefer. You could also sub with golden raisins for a slightly sweeter filling.
Orange Juice: I am using orange juice to soak the dried fruit and add another layer of flavour. You could use cranberry juice or even water if you prefer.
Flour: Self raising flour helps the biscuits to rise slightly. To make your own, use 150 grams of all purpose flour and add 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Check out my more detailed self raising flour post which includes a gluten free option here.
Salt: to enhance flavour.
Butter: to bind the dough together and add richness, I am using plant based butter (unsalted). Sub with dairy butter if you prefer.
Sugar: white sugar adds sweetness. Sub with golden or even brown sugar for a more robust flavour.
Egg (separated): the egg yolk is used for richness and as a binding agent. The egg white glazes the top of the biscuits and also helps the fruit stick to the bottom layer. To veganise this recipe, I recommend using 0.5 flax egg (0.5 tbsp flax seed to 1.5 tbsp water) as a yolk replacement and either water or plant based milk in place of the egg white.
Water: to help bind the dough.
How to Make Garibaldi Biscuits
Start by gathering all of your ingredients and supplies. Separate the egg yolk and egg white and allow them plus the butter to come to room temperature before starting the recipe.
Add 75g currants, 50g dried cranberries and 150ml orange juice to a small saucepan. The orange juice is going to soften the dried fruit and also increase the flavour.
Bring to the boil then simmer for 5 minutes. This will make your house smell like a warm Fall day!
Strain the fruit through a small sieve. You can keep the remaining juice to use in a fruit cake if you wish.
Finally, allow the soaked fruit to cool on paper towels on a tray. The paper will soak up any remaining liquid, which will avoid a soggy bottom in the biscuits.
Making the Garibaldi
Sift 150g self raising flour and a pinch of salt together then rub in 75g butter and 25g white sugar until it forms breadcrumbs.
Mix in 1 egg yolk and 1 tbsp water with a small knife until it forms a workable dough.
You can also use your hands if you prefer although I found that using a table knife worked very well to bring everything together quickly.
Knead the biscuit dough into a ball, flatten it then wrap it in plastic wrap.
Chill for 20 minutes to allow the dough to relax. Don’t worry that the dough seems pretty small at this stage. It will roll out well once it has chilled.
Time to Roll!
Remove the dough from the fridge and cut in half. Note – preheat your oven at this stage to 350°F / 160°C Fan. On a floured surface, roll out half of the dough into a 20 by 15cm rectangle. Repeat with the second half. This will form the top and bottom of the garibaldi biscuits.
Brush one half of the dough with egg white then evenly spread on the drained fruit. Place the second half of the dough on top. Dust with more flour if the dough feels sticky. If the dough starts to break up when you are lifting it, use your fingertips to push it back together. This is a rustic biscuit that is very forgiving!
Roll out the filled garibaldi dough into a 20 by 25cm rectangle. Look at the cute little tape measure that I found! It’s perfect for measuring dough.
Cut into evenly sized biscuits. I started by cutting the rectangle in half lengthways.
And then cut each half into 6 pieces. You can re-roll any offcuts of dough. I usually get around 16 biscuits from this recipe by using the offcuts as well.
Let’s Bake!
Carefully transfer the cut biscuits onto parchment-lined baking trays, ensuring that they are evenly spaced. Don’t worry if some end up slightly misshapen – they are still going to taste great. Prick a few holes in each biscuit with a fork then brush with egg white.
A closer look at the spacing and the holes in the raw biscuits. I can usually fit 10 on a standard cookie sheet pan.
Bake at 350°F / 160°C Fan for approx 15 minutes. The biscuits are ready when the edges are turning golden brown.
Once removed from the oven, allow the biscuits to cool on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring onto a cooling rack. They will firm up as they cool.
FAQs and Tips
Depending on the shape and size that you cut, I usually get 16 rectangular cookies from this recipe.
I recommend using 0.5 flax egg (0.5 tbsp flax seed to 1.5 tbsp water) as a yolk replacement and either water or plant based milk in place of the egg white.
You can sub with any dried fruit. Just make sure you cut it up into currant-sized small pieces. If you want to stay traditional, use 125 grams of currants and omit the cranberries. Golden raisins also work well in this recipe.
Dairy Free Garibaldi Biscuits
Let’s take one last look at these cute sandwich biscuits. Enjoy with afternoon tea or even spread a little jam on them. So good!
Craving more cookies?
Check out these family favourites:
- Everyone will love these adorable Smile Cookies (vegan)
- Summer in cookie form with my Strawberry Lemonade No Spread Roll out Cookies (Dairy Free)
- Add a pop of colour to any party plate with my Funfetti Cookies (Vegan)
- And make sure to check out my Top 15 Cookie Decorating Tips!
Dairy Free Garibaldi Biscuits – Currant Cranberry Cookies
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Small bowl
- Sieve
- Knife
- Cling Film / Plastic Wrap
Ingredients
- 50 grams Dried Cranberries
- 75 grams Currants
- 150 ml Orange Juice
- 150 grams Self Raising Flour
- Pinch Salt
- 75 grams Plant Based Butter (unsalted)
- 25 grams White Sugar
- 1 Egg (separated)
- 1 tbsp Water
Instructions
Prep
- Gather all of your ingredients and supplies. Separate the egg yolk and egg white and allow them plus the butter to come to room temperature before starting the recipe.
- Add 75g currants, 50g dried cranberries and 150ml orange juice to a small saucepan. Bring to the boil then simmer for 5 minutes. Strain the fruit. (You can keep the remaining juice to use in a fruit cake if you wish) then allow to cool on paper towels on a tray.
Making the Garibaldi
- Sift 150g self raising flour and a pinch of salt together. Rub in 75g butter and 25g white sugar until it forms breadcrumbs.
- Mix in 1 egg yolk and 1 tbsp water with a small knife until it forms a workable dough. You can also use your hands if you prefer.
- Knead the biscuit dough in to a ball, flatten it then wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 20 minutes to allow the dough to relax.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and cut in half. Note – preheat your oven at this stage to 350°F / 160°C Fan. On a floured surface, roll out half of the dough to 20 by 15cm rectangle. Repeat with the second half. This will form the top and bottom of the biscuit.
- Brush one half of the dough with egg white then evenly spread on the drained. Place the second half of the dough on top. Dust with more flour if the dough feels sticky.
- Roll out the filled garibaldi dough to 20 by 25cm rectangle. Cut into evenly sized biscuits. You can reroll any offcuts of dough. I usually get around 16 biscuits from this recipe.
- Carefully transfer the cut biscuits onto parchment lined baking trays, ensuring that they are evenly spaced. Prick a few holes in each biscuit with a fork then brush with egg white.
- Bake at 350°F / 160°C Fan for approx 15 minutes. The biscuits are ready when the edges are turning golden brown.
- Once removed from the oven, allow the biscuits to cool on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring onto a cooling rack. They will firm up as they cool.
Video
Notes
- This recipe is inspired by the technical challenge in Episode 2 of the Great British Baking Show 2022 with a few tweaks to make it dairy free and to improve the consistency of the biscuits.
- Depending on the size of biscuits that you cut, this recipe yields approx 16 rectangular biscuits. You could also make shaped garibaldi biscuits using cookie cutters.
- Check out the full recipe post for gluten free and vegan options.
- Nutrition information is based on 1 biscuit per serving with approximately 16 servings per recipe. Please note that nutrition information is calculated based on the ingredients in this recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons
I’ll try to make this recipe soon, delicious and easy, best with coffee. thanks for sharing.
You’re so welcome Charah.
These biscuits are simply stunning! I just love how easy it is to make them, too!
So happy to hear that Mahy!
I made these biscuits and they were delicious! Such a fun snack!
Thanks Tayler – glad you liked them.
These cranberry and currant biscuits look and sound delicious. The hardest part is going to be not eating all of them in one sitting. Yum!
It’s so true – they don’t tend to last long when I make them!
I am definitely giving these biscuits a go this weekend! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe 🙂
My pleasure – I hope you enjoy them.