Lemon and polenta biscuits

In my experience, baking your own biscuits to serve with dessert or coffee is one of the easiest way to impress your guests - and make them happy. It's a small touch that makes a dinner just that little bit more special, plus, it's the cook's prerogative to try the first biscuit (just to make sure they turned out fine, of course), warm from the oven, with a cup of coffee or tea, while taking a break from the cooking. I made these lemon and polenta biscuits to accompany the chocolate brûlé (recipe to follow) I served for dessert last saturday. They are actually Jamie Oliver's orange and polenta biscuits from The Return of the Naked Chef except that I used lemon zest instead of orange - either way, they go very well with rich chocolate desserts.

Lemon and polenta biscuits
Adapted from Jamie Oliver's The Return of the Naked Chef

• 85g butter
• 85g sugar
• 125g polenta
• 50g plain flour
• zest of one lemon, finely grated
• 1 large egg

Rub the butter, sugar, polenta and flour together before mixing in the lemon zest and the egg. Cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge for an hour until slightly firm. Place a large square of greaseproof paper on a baking tray and spoon small teaspoons of the mixture in lines 5cm apart. Bake in a preheated oven at 190° for around 5-6 minutes until the outside edges of your biscuits are lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before eating.

The wonderful crunch the polenta gives these biscuits will sadly go away very quickly. Nevertheless, they'll still taste great - with a glass of iced coffee for instance - just beware the wandering hands of those around you.