makes
26
prep
25 minutes
cook
1 hour
difficulty
Easy
makes
26
serves
preparation
25
minutes
cooking
1
hour
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 300 g (2 cups) plain flour
- 1 ½ tsp good quality cocoa powder
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp mixed spice powder
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp salt
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 115g (½ cup) caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp freshly grated lemon rind
- 1 tsp freshly grated orange rind
- 1 egg
- 125 g good quality dark chocolate, coarsely grated
- 125 g (¾ cup) currants
Lemon icing
- 230 g (1 ½ cups) pure icing sugar
- 1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Chilling time 1 hour
Instructions
Line 3 baking trays with baking paper.
Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, mixed spice, ginger and salt into a medium bowl. Place butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon and orange rinds into a medium mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat until light and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add egg and mix to combine. Stir in grated chocolate and currants then use a clean hand to bring mixture together. Roll heaped tablespoonfuls of cookie mixture into 26 balls then place onto prepared trays, allowing room for spreading. Refrigerate trays of cookies for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 190°C.
Bake cookies in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until the top of cookies are just firm to touch and the centre is still slightly soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on trays then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the lemon icing, sift icing sugar into a medium mixing bowl; gradually stir in lemon juice, mixing until a stiff paste forms. Spoon icing into a small plastic snap lock sandwich bag. Use scissors to cut a corner off the bag then pipe crosses onto cookies.
Allow icing to set, about 20 minutes. Store in an air tight container. Eat with 2 days.
Photography, styling and food preparation by . This recipe is from , our cookie project column.
For more Easter ideas, from festive baking to slow-cooked lamb, visit our Easter recipe collection .
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
