Garibaldi Biscuits Recipe (2024)

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4.84 from 6 ratings

A layer of currants squashed between two layers of dough, then baked, Garibaldi biscuits are buttery, fruity and easy to make. Also known as flies graveyard or squashed fly biscuits, these cookies have a crispy exterior and soft centre and are perfect with a cuppa.

by Marie RoffeyPublished May 11, 2021

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Garibaldi Biscuits Recipe (1)

With their crispy pastry outside and soft inside, Garibaldi biscuits are a much-loved tea time treat. Buttery dough encases soft currants (or raisins or sultanas), it’s pressed together and baked until golden.

I love a good fruity biscuit recipe like these homemade florentines or these ever-popular buttery sultana cookies.

Garibaldi Biscuits Recipe (2)

Why are they called Garibaldi Biscuits?

Named after an Italian general named Giuseppe Garibaldi (srce: Wikipedia), there isn’t a lot of information on the history of these biscuits. They were first created in the UK over 150 years ago and have since made their way around the world in different forms.

In Australia they’re sold as “Full O’fruit” and in New Zealand “Fruitli”, while the US had a version called “Golden Fruit”.

Loved the world over, you may have heard of Garibaldi biscuits referred to as squashed fly biscuits or flies graveyard. Had I known those names before I knew them as Garibaldi’s I probably wouldn’t have tried them though. Not the most appealing of names.

Never fear! There are no flies in these buttery, fruity cookies. The fruit middle is traditionally made with currants but are often made with raisins or sultanas too.

Ingredients

These cookies don’t have too many ingredients and most are pretty common.

Garibaldi Biscuits Recipe (3)
  • Flour: Just regular plain or all purpose is perfect for these.
  • Sugar: I like caster sugar for this one as it beats in easily and provides a nice coating for the top that gets all crispy but regular white granulated will work.
  • Currants: These are like miniature raisins. If you can’t get currants, raisins or sultanas will work too.
  • Liqueur: Traditionally you would use brandy to soak the dried fruit before making garibaldi biscuits, but any liqueur will really do the job. I like Frangelico because of it’s flavour and it’s one I always have on hand.
  • Salt: All sweet treats benefit by a little dash of salt to intensify the flavours and balance the sweetness.
  • Butter: This makes these cookies nice and buttery.
  • Cinnamon: Added to the sugar and dusted over the fruit and then over the top of the dough before baking.
  • Milk: Just enough to bring the dough together into a rollable dough.
  • Egg yolk: Mixed with a dash of water, this is brushed over the top of the dough to give it a golden look.

How to make garibaldi biscuits / squashed fly biscuits

These biscuits are so easy to make and fun since they’re quite different to your regular dough scooping style cookies.

Garibaldi Biscuits Recipe (4)
  1. Start by soaking the fruit in liqueur for half an hour to help plump it up and soften it slightly (photo 1).
  2. Now combine the dry ingredients before adding grated (shredded) butter (photo 2). Blend that in with a pastry cutter until it’s a bit like lumpy sand.
  3. Now add the milk (photo 3), to bring it into a clumping dough you can roll out (photo 4).
  4. Chill the dough for 30 minutes before proceeding.
  5. Cut the dough into two pieces and roll out the first one. Drain the currants, discarding the liquid and scatter them evenly over the rolled dough.
Garibaldi Biscuits Recipe (5)
  1. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the currants (photo 5).
  2. Top with the second layer of rolled out dough and press it down with your hands all over (photo 6).
  3. Brush the top with egg wash, then sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar (photo 7). Bake.
  4. When they come out of the oven, immediately slice them into rectangles – without moving them around (photo 8). Let them cool completely to crisp up.

Tips and tricks for perfect garibaldi biscuits

  • Only gently blend the flour and butter until the butter is in tiny but still visible pieces. These pieces release steam while baking and make the dough layers lighter and flakier.
  • Adding milk: Only add as much as you need. Different brands of flour will absorb different amounts of liquid so start with the 1 ½ tablespoons of milk listed in the recipe and add another ½ tablespoon only if you need it.
  • Always weigh your ingredients for best results. A cup measure can be filled many different ways and as a result can have varying quantities of flour. Too much flour equals a dry cookie.
Garibaldi Biscuits Recipe (6)

Substitions / variations

One of the things I love about this garibaldi biscuits recipe is the option to change the fruit you use inside. Most dried fruits will work and you can chop large ones into smaller pieces.

Try dried cranberries, dried blueberries and the combo I’m looking forward to trying – Apricot and coconut.

Also, try adding in chopped nuts or chocolate too.

  • Pastry cutter
  • Cookie sheet

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Garibaldi Biscuits Recipe (7)

If you try this garibaldi biscuits recipe, please take a moment to leave a rating and comment below. I love hearing from you and it helps other readers too! You can also take a photo and tag @sugarsaltmagic on Instagram.

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Garibaldi Biscuits Recipe (8)

Garibaldi Biscuits Recipe

Yield: 12 biscuits

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Chilling time: 0 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

4.8 from 6 ratings

A layer of currants squashed between two layers of dough, then baked, Garibaldi biscuits are buttery, fruity and easy to make. Also known as flies graveyard or squashed fly biscuits, these cookies have a crispy exterior and soft centre and are perfect with a cuppa.

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Ingredients

  • cup currants (105g / 3.7oz)
  • cup Frangelico liqueur (80ml) (or notes 3)
  • 130 g plain (all-purp) flour (1 cup / 4.6oz)
  • 65 g caster (superfine) sugar, split in half (⅓ cup / 2.3oz)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 85 g unsalted butter, grated and cold (¾ stick / 3oz)
  • 1 ½ tablespoons milk, cold (30ml) (notes 1)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 egg yolk, beaten with a dash of water

For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided

Equipment

  • Cookie sheet

  • Pastry cutter

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, combine the currants and liqueur. Set aside.

  • Combine the flour, half the sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together.

  • Add the cold grated butter, and cut it into the flour using a pastry cutter, knife or your fingertips (if using your fingers, be careful not to melt all the butter).

  • Use a fork to mix through the milk, then pull the dough together with your hands.

  • Flatten out into a rectangle. Wrap in baking paper or plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

  • Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / 160C fan forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

  • Drain the currants, discarding the liquid. Set aside in a strainer over a dish to drain further.

  • In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

  • Cut the dough in half and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out one half to about 20cm square (8×8 inches) – use the base of an 8 inch tin as a guide. Carefully transfer it to the baking tray.

  • Scatter the drained currants over the rolled dough, followed by half the cinnamon sugar.

  • Roll out the second piece of dough and lay it over the top. Press down gently all over with your hands and trim off the rough edges of dough.

  • Brush the top with the egg wash, then sprinkle over the remaining cinnamon sugar.

  • Bake 25-30 minutes or until the top is nice and golden.

  • Carefully, use the ends of the baking paper to move the biscuit from the tray to a cutting board. Cut into rectangles, then allow to cool completely.

Notes

  1. I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (= 4 teaspoons worldwide)
  2. The currants must soak for at least half an hour so make sure to do this step first.
  3. Traditionally you would use brandy to soak the currants but I like Frangelico and always have it on hand. A sherry, muscat or even port will do the trick too or a liqueur like Amaretto.

MORE COOKIE RECIPES!

Calories: 156kcal

Author: Marie Roffey

Course: Afternoon Tea, Dessert, Sweets

Cuisine: United Kingdom

Have you tried this recipe?Don’t forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.

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    12 Comments on “Garibaldi Biscuits Recipe”

  1. JackieReply

    Some recipes call for self rising flour. Do you need leavening in these?

    • Marie RoffeyReply

      Hello Jackie. No. These don’t require leavening.

  2. Barbara PellReply

    Can these be frozen?

    • Marie RoffeyReply

      Yes, they can be, Barbara.

  3. Chris MurrayReply

    Loved them, better than store bought

    • Marie RoffeyReply

      Excellent! So happy you love them, Chris.

  4. Beverly GreenReply

    They were delicious but the top came away from the bottom layer…any ideas as to why this might be. I did roll the dough once the two pieces were sandwiched together.

    • Marie RoffeyReply

      So happy you liked them Beverly. It’s possible the currants were still a little too wet, so the two layers of dough weren’t able to stick to each other. Could that be it?

  5. Ben | HavocinthekitchenReply

    Garibaldi Biscuits Recipe (9)
    I’ve never heard of/ tried these biscuits – how interesting and quite unique! While the alternative name might not be extremely appealing, the cookies look scrumptious! I absolutely love you used some delightful currants and left out the flies! 🙂 And this combo of apricot and coconut sounds so good, too!

    • Marie RoffeyReply

      They are absolutely delicious. I also love that you can customise the sweetness since half the sugar quantity is sprinkled over in the assembly. Thanks so much.

  6. BluReply

    Hi Marie, love your recipes. I’m in the UK so I am used to grams or ounces. I’ve heard that cup sizes can vary so wondered what type you use or if you could add the gram/ounce equivalent to your recipes please?

    • Marie RoffeyReply

      So happy you love my recipes, Blu. Sorry to miss that, I normally try to add different measuring methods. Cups mostly matter when it comes to flour or sugar but not really for other ingredients. I’ve added more measurement options into the recipe card now. Happy Baking!

Garibaldi Biscuits Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to biscuits? ›

Use Cold Butter for Biscuits

For flaky layers, use cold butter. When you cut in the butter, you have coarse crumbs of butter coated with flour. When the biscuit bakes, the butter will melt, releasing steam and creating pockets of air. This makes the biscuits airy and flaky on the inside.

What biscuits are similar to Garibaldi? ›

The biscuits are similar to Eccles cake as well as the Golden Fruit Raisin Biscuits once made by Sunshine Biscuits. Popular with British consumers as a snack for over 150 years, the Garibaldi biscuit is conventionally consumed with tea or coffee.

What is the oldest biscuit? ›

The Aberffraw biscuit (sometimes Aberffraw cake or Teisen Berffro) is said to originate from 13th century Anglesey. ​”Legend has it that a Welsh king was holding court in Aberffraw – his wife was walking on the beach there and, spotting a pretty scallop shell, asked for a cake to be baked in the same form.

What makes biscuits rise better? ›

Conclusion: More baking powder makes the biscuit rise more (imagine that!). About 1 tablespoon of baking powder per 2 cups of flour seems to be about the right amount, but even halving or doubling this amount should not ruin your biscuits.

What kind of flour makes the best biscuits? ›

White wheat in general is around 9-12% protein, while the hard reds are 11-15%. As far as brands of flour, White Lily “all-purpose” flour has been my go-to for biscuit making. It's a soft red winter wheat, and the low protein and low gluten content keep biscuits from becoming too dense.

What is the secret to high rising biscuits? ›

Cut off uneven edges and put these scraps to the side; clean cuts on all sides will encourage rise. Pat scraps together to make 1 odd-shaped ninth biscuit. Place biscuits close together in a 9-inch square pan and brush with melted salted butter. Place pan on top of the warm stove for 10 to 15 minutes to rise.

Why are they called Garibaldi? ›

What is the origin of the rather idiosyncratic names of some types of biscuits, such as Garibaldi? GARIBALDI biscuits were invented by Huntley & Palmer in 1864 and put on the market in that year when Giuseppe Garibaldi visited this country.

What are the tastiest biscuits? ›

  • Chocolate Viennese Biscuits. Fox's.
  • Bourbons Creams. Bourbons.
  • Hobnobs. Hobnobs.
  • Milk Chocolate Chip cookies. McVitie's.
  • Time Out. Cadbury.
  • Cream Crackers. Jacob's.
  • Choco Leibniz Milk Chocolate. Bahlsen.
  • Caramel Chocolate Digestives. McVitie's.

What do they call biscuits in England? ›

In Britain, what Americans refer to as “biscuits” are known as “scones.” British biscuits are actually what Americans call “cookies.” The term “biscuits” in the United Kingdom typically refers to sweet, crumbly, and sometimes buttery bakes treats, distinct from the soft, bread-like biscuits found in the United States.

What is Britain's favorite biscuit? ›

It's official: shortbread is the nation's favourite biscuit. Want to make some for you and your family? Find the full recipe here. Yes, you could go with the shop-bought approach, but we reckon mastering your own Jaffa Cakes is a true show of your culinary skills.

What is a fun fact about biscuits? ›

Britain's favourite snack began life in the ancient world when slices of bread were dried to store them. The Romans called these rusks panis bicoctus (bread twice-baked), and so the original method for making biscuits is embedded in their name.

Is butter or crisco better in biscuits? ›

The butter version rises the highest — look at those flaky layers! The shortening biscuit is slightly shorter and a bit drier, too. Butter contains a bit of water, which helps create steam and gives baked goods a boost.

What kind of flour do southerners use for biscuits? ›

SouthernKitchen.com says, "Ask any Southern chef or sagacious biscuit grandma and you'll hear a pattern emerge: they all swear by White Lily flour."

What not to do when making biscuits? ›

5 Mistakes You're Making With Your Biscuits
  1. Mistake #1: Your butter is too warm.
  2. Mistake #2: You're using an inferior flour.
  3. Mistake #3: You use an appliance to mix your batter.
  4. Mistake #4: You don't fold the dough enough.
  5. Mistake #5: You twist your biscuit cutter.
Feb 1, 2019

What are the secrets to fluffy biscuits? ›

For soft and fluffy biscuits, blend the liquid and dry ingredients just until the dough "resembles cottage cheese," Sonoskus says. This stops you from activating too much gluten in the flour and ending up with a tougher biscuit that doesn't rise as high. But even if you mix too much, don't worry.

What are the two most important steps in biscuit making? ›

The two keys to success in making the best biscuits are handling the dough as little as possible as well as using very cold solid fat (butter, shortening, or lard) and cold liquid. When the biscuits hit the oven, the cold liquid will start to evaporate creating steam which will help our biscuits get very tall.

What makes biscuits taste better? ›

Use good butter and dairy

Because biscuit recipes call for so few ingredients, it's important that every one is high quality—you'll really taste the difference. Catherine recommends splurging a bit on a grass-fed butter or European-style butter (now's the time to reach for Kerrygold!).

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