About a month ago I made these spice cookies. I had heard they were really good and they turned out to be very tasty. Although there are a lot of ingredients, the cookies are quite easy to make.

The recipe is taken from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

 

Ingredients for cake

125 g currants

2 tbsp brandy

240 g plain flour, sifted

½ tsp good quality cocoa powder

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp bicarb soda

½ tsp each, ground cinnamon, allspice, ginger and nutmeg

¼ tsp salt

150 g good quality dark cooking chocolate, coarsely grated

125 g unsalted butter at room temperature

125 g castor sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp lemon zest

½ tsp orange zest

½ medium egg at room temperature

 

Ingredients for glaze

160 g icing sugar

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp diced candied citrus peel

 

1. Soak currants in brandy for 10 minutes.
2. Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarb soda, spices, salt and dark chocolate.
3. Put the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and lemon and orange zest in a medium sized bowl and beat to combine for about one minute.
4. Add the egg slowly and beat for another minute.
5. Add the dry ingredients, followed by the currants and brandy and mix until everything comes together.
6. Use your hands to gently knead until you have a uniform dough.
7. Divide the dough into 50 g lots and roll them into balls. Place the balls about 2 cm apart on trays lined with baking paper and rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
8. Preheat oven to 190°C (less for a fan forced oven). Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes, or until the top firms, but the centre is still slightly soft.
9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
10. To make the glaze, whisk the icing sugar and lemon juice together until a thin and smooth icing forms.
11. Pour 1-2 tbsp glaze over each cookie while they are still warm. Decorate with a few pieces of candied citrus peel.