Easter Biscuits Recipe

Easter biscuits are a West Country speciality at this time of year and are really simple to bake- perfect to make on a rainy afternoon when you just need something quick and sweet! There are lots of different varieties of Easter biscuit on the internet, but we think that this one holds up best with a cup of tea (we'd recommend Cornish Afternoon or our favourite Merchant of Truro.) A quick heads up: traditionally, this recipe calls for currants. However, we were unable to get these, so substituted sultanas instead, which gave a lovely sweet chewiness. You can of course use traditional currants or even raisins if that's what you have in the cupboard!

Ingredients

100g butter
75g caster sugar (and more for sprinkling)
1 egg separated (you will need both parts)
200g plain flour, plus more for dusting
50g currants/sultanas/raisins
Zest of one small lemon (you can always cut the rest of the fruit into slices and freeze it for use in drinks!)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
2 tablespoons milk

 

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 200/180 fan/Gas Mark 4 and line a tray with greaseproof paper

2) Beat the sugar and butter together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and mix

3) Sift in the flour and mix the fruit, zest and spices in, slowly adding milk until you get a smooth dough

4) Dust a flat, clean surface with flour and, using a rolling pin, roll the dough out flat, to about 5mm. Cut using a cookie cutter (we used a 6cm one)

5) Bake the biscuits for about eight minutes- they should be lightly golden. 

6) Beat the egg whites and use this as a wash on the top of the cookies. Sprinkle caster sugar on top and put the biscuits back in the oven for another five minutes, or until they are golden brown. 

7) Leave to cool on a wire rack, pop the kettle on. 

8) Enjoy!