Thursday 4 September 2008

Lemon & Sultana Cookies


******UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE******


As I wrote my post late last night, ditsy old me forgot to mention I am submitting these to Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy as part of her 1st Blogoversary Bash! Go there now to submit your favourite party food, and Happy 1st Blogoversary!!


******UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE******

Sorry for the lack of posts – I was busy trying to celebrate my last week of freedom before school started! But today the inevitable happened and I went back to school to Y9 (I still feel like a Y7!), to a new form, new timetable and new teachers. It is a shock to the system after 6 weeks of getting up at 9am, staying in my pyjamas until 10am then either meeting up with someone or most days just reading etc so my most active thing was a spot of baking! I will try to keep posting regularly as school calms down as I really enjoy writing this blog, receiving your comments and cooking in the brand new kitchen (more another time). Meanwhile I have still been reading all your blogs and your recipes which made me feel slightly guilty!

Today after I got home and explained to my Mum everything about school she told me she had found a recipe for me to make! The other day I did make a chocolate cake and although it was tasty it wasn’t very photogenic or interesting to post. Also, I know I mentioned I would be making something savoury but the idea was Cheese Scones because they are one of his favourite things but he is in Canada for work at the moment so I will make them when he is back! For now though, its cookie time!

At my house we get loads of food magazines – Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Olive and BBC Good Food all come through our door and are read cover to cover by me and my Mum. Sometimes, well every Olive issue, a small book comes free with the main magazine such as “30 Menus for 4” or “The Little Book of Soups” etc! Or a really good one comes through like this...

Who could resist a book called 52 Cakes, Bakes and Chocolate! It came with BBC Good Food a couple of years ago, I think around 2006 and I am surprised we haven’t baked from it more. My sister has made the chocolate and orange cookies a couple of times which were delicious but other than that I don’t think anything else has been produced. From now on (after two great cookie successes) there shall be more things coming from this book (I have my eye on some almond surprise cookies) and it is a real shame it isn’t available in the shops – although there is one called 101 Cakes and Bakes which may share some recipes but I haven’t got.



Easy to make and an absolute winner for me as I adore lemon curd – its delicious over decent vanilla ice cream, crushed meringue and sliced strawberries, a real taste of summer! – and anything lemon! The sultana’s make the cookies nice and chewy. Here’s the recipe which I shall be using again:


Lemon and Sultana Cookies, from BBC Good Food 52 Cakes, Bakes and Chocolate
Makes 30
350g/12oz plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
140g/5oz butter, cut into small squares
175g/6oz caster sugar
85g/3oz sultanas
100g/4oz lemon curd
2 eggs, beaten
ICING: 100g/4oz sifted icing sugar (or serious elbow work if not sifting!)
2tbsp fresh lemon juice ( I just used the juice of a whole lemon!)


1. Heat oven to 200’C/fan 180C/gas6.
2. Line 3 baking sheets (I used 2 trays several times). Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (I blitzed mine in the magimix then put in a bowl).
3. Stir in the sugar and sultanas, add the lemon curd and eggs, then mix into a soft dough.
4. Shape the dough into 30 small balls about 2.5cm wide then put on the baking sheets allowing plenty of space between them so that they can spread. Using your fingers flatten the tops slightly.

5. Bake for 11-15 minutes until risen and light golden. Leave to cool for 1 min on the baking sheets then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
6. Blend the icing sugar and lemon juice then drizzle over each cookie.
Try them! They are yummy and make lots!









4 comments:

Steph said...

Lemon and raisins sound like a wonderful combination.. sour and sweet! School starts for me on Monday and I'm so looking forward to it.. not! I hope I can fit my baking between all those classes and homework. By the way.. we usually have 5 kg, 10 kg (and some 2.5 kg) bags of flour, but if you really want, you can also get 20 kg bags (what I have)

Marie Rayner said...

Those cookies look really good Lucy! I, too, subscribe to every cooker mag going and can't wait for them to fall through my letter box every month so that I can devour them!

The Blonde Duck said...

Looks great!

Sally said...

Hi Lucy - I Googled 'orange sultana cookies' yesterday and your site came up in the results. I just made them (your recipe, not with orange) this evening and they are great! It's a good job the recipe makes 30 because my fiance has already eaten about 8 of them... :)