Charlotte Pike

Baking

Lemon Butter Biscuits

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Being the busy bunny that I am, I frequently receive visitors at home or pop to see friends and family. A home baked treat is always well received, and for me, it always must be homemade.

You see, it’s not about projecting images of being a domestic goddess – that I do not claim (or have any desire) to be. Cooking, for me is something I do for pleasure, especially baking. But I also fundamentally believe in using the very best ingredients I can find, which I believe taste better and are better for our planet, environment and health. It’s worth remembering just how much better these are for you than shop-biscuits, which are packed full of synthetic ingredients. Biscuits are hardly health food, but at least you know exactly what’s in them, and it’s all natural.

That’s why I’m such a fan of these simple lemon butter biscuits. They’re so easy to make and keep very well in an airtight container. I’ll make a batch and keep them stashed for any visits, and they’ll always disappear quickly. I think there’s something especially enticing about home baked biscuit, as they can be bought two-a-penny, so many people don’t think to make them.

But these, made from good quality butter, British flour, Organic lemons, local free-range eggs and fair trade sugar represent everything I think baking should be about: making delicious treats from superb quality ingredients. Then, it’s nothing but a pleasure for everyone involved.

N.B. The ratio of ingredients in these biscuits is the simple foundation for any butter biscuit recipe. Lemon is a lovely flavour to use here, but feel free to play.

Lemon Butter Biscuits 

Makes around 12-16, depending on size

Ingredients 

100g caster sugar

130g butter

Pinch salt

Finely grated zest of two unwaxed lemons

1 large egg, beaten

200g plain flour

Method 

Place the sugar, butter, salt and lemon zest together into a bowl. Beat together well until light and fluffy. Add the beaten egg and mix well. Sift in the flour and mix to form a stiff dough.

Bring the dough together to form a flat-ish disc. Wrap in cling film and chill for 20-20 minutes until firm. Forming a disc, rather than a ball, will help your dough to chill evenly throughout.

When the dough is firm and chilled, preheat the oven to 180C Fan. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper and set aside.

Pinch of pieces of dough and roll into balls, about 1” in circumference. Flatten and place well spread out on the baking trays. Bake for around 12 minutes until crisp and lightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool fully on a wire rack before eating.

Cinnamon, sultana and oat cookies

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I’ve been having a play around with cookies recently. After working on a chocolate cookie recipe, I wanted to experiment with an oat cookie.

The classic combination is oat and raisin and this is something I’ve worked with. In fact, I have a recipe in my book for oat and sultana cookies.

Personally, I only cook with sultanas as I’m not keen on the flavour or texture of raisins. However, I’m absolutely not a fan of either when they are baked as they tend to go a bit crusty for my liking. I thought about how best to overcome this and went for soaking them in tea for half an hour before using them. This turned out to be a good call, as the flavour of the tea was subtle, enhancing the flavour of the sultanas, which stayed lovely and juicy.

The salt and two sugars give a lovely flapjack-like texture and depth of flavour and are a combination I shall certainly use again.

I’ll warn you – these are moreish – a cross between a cookie and a flapjack. Although they don’t look particularly spectacular, they really are delicious and I guarantee they won’t hang around for long. They are brilliant for picnics, packed lunches and for a mid-morning or afternoon nibble, and I’m sure children would adore them, too.

Cinnamon, sultana and oat cookies

Makes 12

Ingredients

175g sultanas

1 cup Earl Grey tea

150g butter

150g light brown soft sugar

70g Demerara sugar

1 large egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g plain flour

1 pinch sea salt

2 heaped tsp ground Organic cinnamon

150g rolled oats

Method

Put the sultanas and tea in a bowl for about 30 minutes to soften. Drain and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Add the beaten egg, vanilla and beat again. Now add the flour, salt and cinnamon. Mix well and finally, add the sultanas and oats and stir in. Bring together into a ball, flatten and wrap in baking paper. Refrigerate until firm.

Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas Mark 3.

Pinch off evenly-sized pieces of dough and roll them into ball. Place well spread out in the prepared baking sheets and flatten slightly.

Bake for 15 minutes. They should be a medium brown colour around the edges and a little soft still in the centre. Remove from the oven. Cool on a tray for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.

Dark chocolate cookies

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Over the last few weeks, I’ve been experimenting with cookies, and what makes the perfect cookie. Cookies are quite a personal thing – not everyone likes the same thing, but generally, people can agree on a crispy edge and a softer centre as desired qualities for a jolly good cookie.

For me, a soft cookie is a very good thing. Soft centred, and a little chewy, but not in the way of synthetic, over-sugared supermarket fare. I am also not a fan of the fat, crumby cookies – they are large, but insubstantial and unsatisfying.

Soft cookies get their texture from a mix of sugars and raising agents. Brown sugar gives a chewier texture and caster sugar makes them crispier and crunchier. Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda give them a more open texture – something  I don’t rate in a cookie. 

These cookies are soft and I am careful not to overcook them, so they stay as soft as possible, too. Cooling them briefly on the baking tray will cook them a little further before allowing them to cool on a wire rack, which will prevent them from becoming soggy.

These are deep and dark in flavour. They are incredibly satisfying without being too sweet and sugary. The rest is up to you – I used dark chocolate chunks and toasted hazelnuts, but feel free to add whichever bits you like for texture.

Dark chocolate cookies

Makes around 16-20, depending on size

Ingredients

125g salted butter
125g dark brown soft sugar
125g caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g cocoa powder
220g self-raising flour
200g chocolate pieces, or a mixture of 150g chocolate and 50g fruit or nuts

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4. Line two large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Place the butter and sugars into a bowl or stand mixer and beat together well, until smooth and mid-brown in colour. 

Next, add the beaten egg, salt and vanilla and mix well. And now, sift in the cocoa powder and self raising flour. Beat to form a stiff dough.

Finally, stir in the pieces you are using. Pinch off pieces of mixture and roll into round balls and place well-spread out on to the baking sheets. Once all the mixture is rolled into balls, take a flat-bottomed drinking glass and press the cookies down to flatten them. They still want to be about 10-15mm thick, but it does make them look better once cooked.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes (my oven takes around 12 minutes) until slightly firm around the edges, but retaining a soft centre. Allow to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes after removing from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully (or enjoy whilst warm!)