Easter. A time of redemption, regeneration and new hope. And food. I’m kicking off with some Easter biscuits, recipe courtesy of Hobbs House Bakery via the Toast newsletter (aspirational lifestyle bits and bobs for people with oodles of cash – so not quite sure why I’m reading it, but nevermind…).
Quick and easy to make, these taste homely, comforting and nicely old-fashioned.
Easter Biscuits
100g golden caster sugar (I’m sure regular caster sugar would be fine too)
100g soft butter
1 egg
150g plain flour
0.5 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon milk (the original recipe said up to 2 tablespoons, but this would be WAY too much)
1 teaspoon or more of mixed spice (or a tiny drop of oil of cassia – I hadn’t come across this before, apparently it is Chinese cinnamon)
80g currants or raisins
Preheat oven to 200ºC and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Beat sugar and butter together until they are light and fluffy, then add the egg and beat in until fully incorporated. Fold in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice. Gently mix everything together whilst adding the milk, half a teaspoon at a time – be cautious here, if you add too much liquid everything will get annoyingly sticky and you’ll have to do the balancing act of adding more flour. The dough should be lovely and soft and easy to handle. When you’re satisfied with the consistency, knead in the currants.
On a floured board, roll out your dough to about 5mm thick. It will look like it is dappled with squashed flies. Yummy. Stamp out biscuit shapes using a cutter and lay them on the prepared tray (allow a little space between them, although they won’t spread much when cooking). Bake until the edges are just starting to turn golden and they have the tiniest hint of colour on top, about 12-16 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with caster sugar whilst still hot, and allow to cool.
Make the most of a non-chocolatey treat before you embark on the cocoafest of the next few days… And let’s all start praying for some long-awaited sunshine to prove those weathermen wrong.
Photograph courtesy of M.Bright
