← Nouns Cooking · Bakery

Ingredients

• 225 g Self-raising flour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 1 tsp Mixed spice
• 110 g Butter, cold, cubed
• 80 g light brown or caster sugar
• 150 g mixed dried fruit or sultanas
• 1 Eggs
• 2 tbsp Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract (optional)
• 1 tbsp demerara sugar, to sprinkle

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, 400°F) and line a large baking tray.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder and mixed spice in a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar and dried fruit.
3. Beat the egg with the milk and vanilla, pour it in and mix with a fork into a stiff, lumpy dough. Add another splash of milk only if it will not come together.
4. Drop 12 rough heaps onto the tray with two forks, leaving space between them. Keep them craggy, do not smooth them, and sprinkle with demerara.
5. Bake for 15–18 min, until golden and firm. Cool on a rack; they are best eaten the same day.

Tips

• A stiff dough is the secret: too wet and they spread into flat cookies instead of rocky peaks.
• Swap half the fruit for chopped glacé cherries or chocolate chips.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food BBC Food