Craving a sweet treat that captures the charm and sophistication of The Great British Bake Off? These GBBO-inspired marzipan biscuits are a perfect blend of nutty almond richness and buttery crispness, elevating your baking game to star baker status. With a nod to classic British flavours and a hint of modern flair, these biscuits are not only delicious but also a visual delight.
Why I Made This Recipe
As a huge fan of the Great British Bake Off (also known as the Great British Baking Show in North America), I have recreated many of their recipes for my YouTube channel, adapting them to make them allergy-friendly. We loved this one so much that I wanted to write a full post so that you can enjoy this recipe too!
For German week, one of the contestants decided to create some boozy marzipan biscuits. And I just knew I wanted to put my own spin on them. Check out the recipe card for my step-by-step video and comments on this episode of the show. You can find the George’s original Bake Off recipe on their website.
Why You Should Make These
These are so fun to make and eat! Possibly somewhat addictive if you ask me and if you love marzipan as much as I do, you’ll probably find yourself making this recipe quite often.
Ingredients and Substitutions
These GBBO-inspired marzipan biscuits contain several elements that are easy to make and adapt to suit different allergy requirements. Read on for my substitution guide and my FAQ for some common questions about this bake.
For the Marzipan
This marzipan recipe is dairy-free and gluten-free.
Almond Flour: the main ingredient is almond flour (also known as ground almonds). This gives the marzipan its true flavour and colour.
Icing Sugar: for sweetness and consistency.
Egg: to bind the ingredients. I have not experimented with an egg alternative but I recommend using a flax egg if you need egg-free marzipan.
White Sugar: for sweetness.
Vanilla Bean Paste: to enhance the flavour. Sub with vanilla extract if you prefer.
For the Biscuit Dough
The biscuit dough is dairy-free with an easy gluten-free option.
All Purpose Flour: sub with gluten-free 1-to-1 blend if required.
Eggs: Ensure the eggs are at room temperature. I have not tried an egg-free version of this recipe. However, I recommend using 3 flax eggs, if required.
Cornflour: this lightens the consistency.
Icing Sugar: for sweetness and consistency.
Vanilla Bean Paste: sub with vanilla extract if preferred.
Plant-Based Butter: I am using room-temperature unsalted butter. Sub with dairy butter if preferred.
Salt: (not pictured) to balance the flavours.
How to Make Marzipan Biscuits
Before making the biscuits, preheat your oven to 340F / 170C and line some baking trays with parchment paper. Make sure your eggs and butter are at room temperature as well.
To start, we need to make marzipan. In a mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, white sugar, icing sugar, vanilla bean paste and one egg. Mix until it forms a sticky paste.
Don’t worry that it will not look like traditional marzipan that you find in the store. It’s going to be added into the dough so it does not need to be as firm.
Once the marzipan comes together, add some icing sugar to your work surface and knead it into the marzipan. This will help reduce the stickiness.
Don’t be afraid to add more icing sugar if you need to, especially if you feel that it is still a little bit too sticky.
Once it becomes smoother and you can form it into a log shape, wrap it in plastic wrap (cling film) and pop it in the fridge.
Making the Biscuits
Moving on to making the biscuits, add the butter and icing sugar to the mixing bowl. Mix on a medium speed for three to five minutes until it’s pale and creamy.
Whilst the butter and icing sugar is creaming, in a separate bowl beat together the eggs and extra egg yolk. Set aside.
Take your marzipan out of the fridge. We are going to start adding it to our biscuit dough in small pieces. This will give a really nice almond flavour to the biscuits. Once the marzipan is combined, start adding the beaten eggs a little bit at a time because you don’t want your mix to get too sloppy too quickly.
Add a pinch of salt and the vanilla bean paste to the mixture. It will be very loose at this stage. Then add in the flour and cornflour and mix on low speed until everything is fully incorporated.
Piping the Biscuits
Don’t worry that the mixture isn’t firm at this point. We are going to be piping the dough, rather than rolling and cutting it.
Add a standard round piping tip (I use Wilton Piping Tip 12) to a piping bag then pop in some of the biscuit dough. Hold the bag still at a 90-degree angle above the surface and pipe a small dollop of dough. TOP TIP: I prefer not to overfill my bag because that puts a little bit too much pressure on your wrist when you’re piping.
These will spread ever so slightly so make sure you leave a gap between them. And if you’ve got any peaks on them, you can tap them down if you want to but they will flatten off as the mixture bakes. Keep piping until all of the mixture is used up.
Let’s Bake
Bake the trays of biscuits for 15 to 20 minutes.
You can see they’ve got a nice golden brown edge to them and are slightly domed as well. Set the trays aside to let the biscuits cool fully.
Filling Options
So full disclosure here: in the show, the contestant made their own jam to fill their marzipan biscuits. I actually cheated and decided to use store-bought raspberry jam instead. You could use whatever flavour of jam you like. You could even put buttercream in them or jam AND buttercream – now that sounds tempting!! Check out the links for my easy recipes to make your own.
Add a dollop of jam in the middle of one biscuit and then pop another one of the same size on top.
Finishing Touches
One last finishing touch to jazz up the biscuits. I melted some chocolate in the microwave, added it to a piping bag and drizzled chocolate on top. Such a cute and easy design and I think it really finishes them off nicely.
Storage and Freezing
Storage: store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Freezing: freeze any leftover biscuits in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Common Questions
Absolutely. The marzipan part of the recipe is already gluten-free. To adapt the biscuit dough, swap out the all-purpose flour for your preferred 1-to-1 Gluten Free alternative.
Yes! I recommend swapping the eggs for flax eggs. For more information about egg substitutions, check out my full Eggs and their Substitutes in Baking guide.
Cookies (as known in North America) are called biscuits in the UK. And as this recipe is inspired by the Great British Bake Off, I decided to follow tradition and call them biscuits. Plus I’m originally from the UK so it just made sense to me.
I recommend using vanilla buttercream or whipped cream icing as an alternative filling. Or you could make my easy 2 ingredient strawberry jam. So yum!
One last close-up of our marzipan biscuits. So soft, easy to make and full of flavour. I do hope this post has inspired you to try them.
More Tasty Treats
If you love indulgent recipes, check out these favourites:
- Create your own showstopper with my GBBO Inspired Red Velvet Layer Cake (Dairy-Free, Nut Free, Soy Free)
- The perfect grab-and-go snack – 3 Ingredient Coconut Bliss Balls (Vegan, GF, Nut Free)
- The easiest way to make churros – Air Fryer Churro Bites (Vegan, Nut Free, Soy Free)
GBBO Inspired Marzipan Biscuits
Equipment
- Cling Film / Plastic Wrap
Ingredients
For the Marzipan:
- 45 grams White Sugar
- 70 grams Icing Sugar
- 115 grams Almond Flour
- 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
- 1 Egg
For the Biscuits
- 150 grams Plant Based Butter (unsalted)
- 125 grams Icing Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Egg Yolk
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
- 150 grams All Purpose Flour
- 75 grams Cornflour
Extras:
- Icing Sugar (for kneading the marzipan)
- Raspberry Jam (for the filling)
- Vegan Chocolate Chips (melted for the decoration)
Instructions
Prep:
- Preheat your oven to 340F / 170C and line some baking trays with parchment paper. Make sure your eggs and butter are at room temperature as well.
To Make the Marzipan:
- In a mixing bowl, combine the 115 grams Almond Flour, 45 grams White Sugar, 70 grams Icing Sugar, 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste and 1 Egg. Mix until it forms a sticky paste.
- Once the marzipan comes together, add some Icing Sugar to your work surface and knead it into the marzipan. This will help reduce the stickiness.
- Once it becomes smoother and you can form it into a log shape, wrap it in plastic wrap (cling film) and pop it in the fridge.
To Make the Biscuits:
- Add 150 grams Plant Based Butter (unsalted) and 125 grams Icing Sugar to the mixing bowl. Mix on a medium speed for three to five minutes until it's pale and creamy.
- Whilst the butter and icing sugar is creaming, in a separate bowl beat together 2 Eggs and 1 Egg Yolk. Set aside.
- Take your marzipan out of the fridge. We are going to start adding it to our biscuit dough in small pieces. This will give a really nice almond flavour to the biscuits.
- Once the marzipan is combined, start adding the beaten eggs a little bit at a time because you don't want your mix to get too sloppy too quickly.
- Add a Pinch of Salt and 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste to the mixture. It will be very loose at this stage. Then add in 150 grams All Purpose Flour and 75 grams Cornflour and mix on low speed until everything is fully incorporated.
- Add a standard round piping tip (I use Wilton Piping Tip 12) to a piping bag then pop in some of the biscuit dough. Hold the bag still at a 90-degree angle above the surface and pipe a small dollop of dough.
- Bake the trays of biscuits for 15 to 20 minutes until they have a nice golden brown edge and are slightly domed. Set the trays aside to let the biscuits cool fully.
Finishing Touches:
- Add a dollop of Raspberry Jam in the middle of one biscuit and then pop another one of the same size on top.
- Melt some Vegan Chocolate Chips in the microwave, add to a piping bag and drizzle on top. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Ingredients: As a precision baker, I recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients. This will give a more accurate bake each time and also makes it easier to scale up the recipe.
- Yield: This recipe makes at least 12 marzipan biscuits. If you have extra dough, keep piping until you use up all of the mixture.
- Storage: store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- Freezing: freeze any leftover biscuits in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- Filling: I used store-bought jam for the filing. Prefer to make your own? Check out my easy 2 ingredient strawberry jam. You could also add some vanilla buttercream as an alternative filling.
- GBBO Recipes: for more Bake Off inspired recipes, check out my Red Velvet Layer Cake and my GBBO Playlist on YouTube.
I’ve never seen the Great British Bake Off, but these marzipan biscuits are amazing! The vanilla bean paste really makes a difference!
Happy to hear that DK!
Delicious recipe, thanks for sharing
You’re so welcome.
I love this! This recipe is so easy to follow plus it came out delicious. Bookmarking this recipe!
That’s awesome. Thanks Gianne!
A delightful and delicious treat inspired by GBBO! The taste and texture are wonderful. Cooking with marzipan is such fun and not done often enough. Thank you!
I completely agree Heather. Marzipan is definitely underused. So pleased you enjoyed the biscuits.
These marzipan biscuits reminded me of something we made in pastry class so I just had to try them. They tasted amazing and were spot on to the flavor I was expecting – thank you!
I’m so glad that they tasted as expected. Thanks for sharing!
Found this after reading your Stollen recipe. As a marzipan fan, I simply can’t wait to try these as well! It sounds easy. Thank you for sharing.
If you love marzipan, you will love these biscuits. Enjoy!
hello Angela
you are using Cornflour. is that another name for cornstarch or is it corn flours.
I have both in my cupboard.
fran
Hi Fran! Great question! 😊
Yes — cornflour and cornstarch are the same thing. I’m originally from the UK so still call it cornflour. If you’re baking in North America, use the packet labelled cornstarch.
If you have corn flour (with the space between the words), that is different (it’s a finely ground corn meal) and won’t work the same way in this recipe. Thanks for checking, and happy baking! 🥰