Bored with chocolate eggs? Deliver these baked treats on Easter morning instead, and you’ll be more popular than you-know-who.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (450g) plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 225g salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (220g) caster sugar, plus 2 tablespoons extra to sprinkle
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup (110g) currants
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Method
- Step 1Sift the flour and spices into a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric beaters until thick and pale, then add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the flour mixture in 2 batches, then stir in currants and zest. Shape into a disc, enclose in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Step 2Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
- Step 3Divide dough into 4 portions. Roll out 1 portion to 4-5mm thick (keep remaining dough covered and chilled), then cut with a fluted 6cm round biscuit cutter and place on the trays. Repeat with remaining dough, re-rolling the trimmings to make about 40 biscuits. Chill for a further 15 minutes.
- Step 4Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Step 5Sprinkle biscuits with extra sugar. Bake for 10 minutes until firm to touch but still pale. (Rotate trays halfway through baking, if necessary, to ensure even cooking.) Cool on trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. The biscuits will keep in an airtight container for 3 days.
- Vegetarian
Notes
Among the most treasured of my cookbook collection are a few old English baking books. Most include recipes for “Easter cakes”, which, despite the name, are all variations on a round, currant-studded biscuit. My version uses a softer, more buttery dough, with lemon zest instead of mixed peel. The results make a lovely gift.
- Author: Kylie Walker
- Image credit: Ben Dearnley
- Publication: Taste.com.au
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