Biscuits with mastic flavour

Mastic is a divine ingredient and nowadays more and more often you find it included in various sweet and savoury dishes. This is a classic version of home made biscuits

Recipe of Stelios Parliaros,

a prominent Head Pastry Chef

"Gastronomos" magazine of "KATHIMERINI" newspaper

Ingredients (for about 800gr-1kg of biscuits):
200gr. unsalted butter, at room temperature
250gr. light brown sugar
130gr. of light brown sugar
1 medium egg
1/2 tsp of baking powder
40 ml of milk, full fat
400gr. of whole wheat flour + a bit extra for dusting
5-6 drops of mastic oil (or a few mastic crystal drops, well pounded in a mortar with a little sugar)
dark brown sugar to sprinkle

Method:
Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a shallow oven tray with baking paper.

In a large bowl mix all the ingredients, except the extra sugar, and knead well with your hands until you have a homogeneous dough.

Leave the dough to rest, covered in a plastic bowl, for quite some time. *** It is recommended, though, to prepare the dough the day before.

Dust a clean surface with some flour. Using a rolling pin roll the dough out to a sheet of about 1/2 cm thick. With a 5cm cookie cutter cut biscuits out of the dough. Knead the remains of the dough and cut more biscuits until all is used.
 
Transfer the biscuits on the oven tray (leaving some space between them), brush on top with a bit of water and sprinkle with the extra sugar.

Put in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes until they are golden.
 
Take out of the oven and leave the biscuits to cool down before serving. Store in a metal box or a glass jar in cool and dry place.