Home Made Ring Biscuit with Easy Steps

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These ring biscuits are the perfect tea-time snack – crispy, buttery, and not too sweet. They’re the kind of biscuit your nani probably made, shaped in cute little rings that look way more impressive than the effort required to make them. I’ve simplified the recipe so you don’t need any fancy equipment. If you can mix dough and use a bottle cap, you can make these.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (maida), 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter (room temperature – this is important), 1/4 cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, and a pinch of salt.

Optional: 1 tablespoon milk powder (adds richness and a slightly creamy flavor that makes these taste more like Parle biscuits).

Step-by-Step Method

Make the Dough

In a large bowl, cream the butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy. This takes about 3-4 minutes with a spoon or 1-2 minutes with an electric beater. The mixture should look pale and smooth. If the butter is too cold, it won’t cream properly. If it’s too warm, the dough will be sticky. Room temperature means it dents when you press it but isn’t melty.

Add vanilla extract and mix. Then add the flour, baking powder, salt, and milk powder (if using) in two batches. After each addition, mix gently. Don’t overwork the dough – overmixing develops gluten, which makes biscuits tough instead of crispy. Mix just until the dough comes together.

Add milk one tablespoon at a time until the dough is smooth and holdable. You might not need all the milk. The dough should be firm enough to roll without sticking but soft enough to shape without cracking. Think Play-Doh consistency.

Shape the Ring Biscuits

Dust your surface lightly with flour. Roll the dough to about 1/2 cm thickness (roughly the thickness of a 5-rupee coin, maybe slightly thicker). Use a round cookie cutter or the mouth of a glass (about 6-7 cm diameter) to cut circles. Then use a smaller cutter or a bottle cap (about 2-3 cm) to cut the center out of each circle, creating the ring shape.

Collect the center cutouts and remaining scraps, gently press together, re-roll, and cut more rings. You’ll get 2-3 rounds of cutting from one batch. The rings from the later rounds might be slightly less tender since the dough has been worked more, but they’ll still taste good.

Place the rings on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 cm apart. These don’t spread much, so you can place them closer together than regular cookies.

Bake Them

Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius (340F). Bake for 12-15 minutes. Watch them carefully after 10 minutes – the window between “perfect” and “burnt” is small with thin biscuits. You want them light golden on the bottom and barely starting to color on top. They’ll firm up significantly as they cool.

Let them cool completely on the tray before handling. They’re extremely fragile when warm and will break if you try to move them too soon. Once cooled, they’ll be crispy and firm.

No Oven? No Problem

You can make these on a stovetop using a thick-bottomed pan or pressure cooker:

Pan method: Place a wire rack or crumpled aluminum foil in the bottom of a large heavy pan. Put the biscuit tray on top (elevated from direct heat). Cover the pan. Cook on the lowest flame for 20-25 minutes. Check at 15 minutes – if the bottoms are browning too fast, your heat is too high.

Pressure cooker method: Put a 1-inch layer of salt in the bottom of the cooker (without the gasket or whistle). Place a stand, then the tray. Preheat for 10 minutes, then add the tray and cook for 20 minutes on low heat. The salt distributes heat evenly and mimics an oven.

Variations

Chocolate ring biscuits: Replace 2 tablespoons of flour with cocoa powder. Reduce sugar slightly since cocoa is bitter. These look beautiful and taste like shortbread cookies crossed with chocolate biscuits.

Cardamom ring biscuits: Add 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder to the dough. This gives them a desi twist that pairs perfectly with masala chai.

Jam-filled rings: Before baking, spread a tiny bit of jam in the center of half the rings, then top with another ring to make sandwich biscuits. Strawberry and mixed fruit jam work best. Add the jam after baking if you prefer cleaner presentation.

Decorated rings: Mix powdered sugar with a few drops of milk to make a simple glaze. Drizzle over cooled biscuits. Add sprinkles before the glaze sets. These make great gifts for festivals and housewarming visits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my biscuits too hard?

Two likely causes: overbaking or overmixing the dough. Biscuits continue to harden as they cool, so take them out when they’re barely golden, not when they look “done.” For the dough, mix only until everything comes together. Kneading biscuit dough like roti dough is a recipe for rock-hard biscuits.

Can I use ghee instead of butter?

Yes, and it’s actually a traditional choice for Indian biscuits. Ghee gives a richer, more aromatic flavor. The dough will be slightly more crumbly since ghee has less moisture than butter. Add an extra tablespoon of milk to compensate. Biscuits made with ghee tend to be more crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth, while butter ones are sturdier and snappier.

How long do these biscuits stay fresh?

In an airtight container at room temperature, they’ll stay crispy for 2-3 weeks. If they start to soften (usually from humidity), pop them in the oven at 150C for 5 minutes to re-crisp. Don’t refrigerate biscuits – the moisture in the fridge makes them soggy faster than room temperature storage.

Can I freeze the dough?

Yes. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before rolling and cutting. You can also cut the shapes, freeze them on a tray, then store the frozen shapes in a bag. Bake from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the bake time. Having pre-cut frozen biscuit dough ready means fresh biscuits in 20 minutes whenever guests arrive.