How to make Easter cookies

Easter cookies: We call these ‘Easter biscuits’ in the UK and I remember as a kid, seeing them in all the bakers shops around the Easter holiday. You would never see them at any other time of the year.

They are thought to have originated around my home town of Bristol in Somerset and traditionally were served after church on Easter Sunday in a packet of 3 to represent the holy trinity.

Easter cookies brings together an aromatic mix of spice which is the key to these biscuits and in more original recipes, cassia oil was used instead of mixed spice. Bristol was a major port years ago, so spice and dried fruits were readily available. There are many recipes that call for all sorts of mixed dried fruits. However, the traditional recipe uses currants.

Easter cookies are traditionally very large, about the size of your palm and we have even seen them a little bigger than that! We hope you enjoy this rather unique British biscuit.

Ingredients for 10 – 20 Easter cookies, depending on the size you make them

10 oz plain flour
7 oz butter
5 oz castor sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
2 oz currants
1 or 2 egg yolks
6 – 8 drops oil of Cassia or 1 teaspoon of mixed spice and 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven 160C/325F/Gas 3. Line a baking tray with grease proof paper.
Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk until well combined.
Fold the flour into the mixture, then stir in the cassia oil (or mixed spice if you are using that) and the currants. Stir in enough milk to form a stiff dough
Roll the dough out onto a floured surface and cut out the biscuits with a fluted cutter.
Place onto the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove the biscuits from the oven, brush with the reserved egg white, sprinkle with sugar and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes, or until pale golden-brown.
Remove the biscuits from the tray and set aside to cool on a wire rack.