Hot cross cookies

Name: Hot cross cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Yield: Makes 18-20
Ingredients: 120g butter, softened; 230g light muscovado sugar; 1 medium free-range egg, beaten; Finely grated zest ½ orange, plus 2 tbsp juice; 250g self-raising flour; ½ tsp fine salt; 2 tsp mixed spice; 120g mixed dried fruit; 75g dark chocolate, melted in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water (the water not touching the bowl) or in short blasts in a microwave; You’ll also need; 2 baking sheets lined with compostable baking paper; Piping bag fitted with a 3mm plain nozzle

Portion size: Makes 18-20
Hands-on time 15 min, oven time 10-12 min, plus chilling and cooling
Difficulty: easy

Freezable

Vegetarian

Sophie Austen-Smith

Former deputy food editor, delicious.

Save

Add these hot cross cookies to your Easter baking repertoire: scented with mixed spice and studded with dark chocolate, they’re another excuse to eat chocolate at Easter.

Cooking with kids over the Easter holidays? Check out our spring lamb cupcakes, or Martha Collison’s coconut macaroon nests.

Join Extradelicious to unlock Cook Mode

Ingredients

120g butter, softened
230g light muscovado sugar
1 medium free-range egg, beaten
Finely grated zest ½ orange, plus 2 tbsp juice
250g self-raising flour
½ tsp fine salt
2 tsp mixed spice
120g mixed dried fruit
75g dark chocolate, melted in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water (the water not touching the bowl) or in short blasts in a microwave

You’ll also need

2 baking sheets lined with compostable baking paper
Piping bag fitted with a 3mm plain nozzle

Join Extradelicious to unlock Cook Mode

Method

Put the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat using a wooden spoon or electric mixer until pale and well combined (about 3 minutes). Whisk in the egg, orange zest and juice until smooth.
Sift together the flour, salt and mixed spice onto the butter mixture, then fold in using a spatula until smooth. Fold in the mixed dried fruit. Using a dessert spoon, scoop out 18-20 balls and space well apart on the prepared baking sheets. Chill the balls for 30 minutes (see Make Ahead).
Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are golden and puffed, then allow to cool in the tin on a wire rack.
Recipe continues after advertising adslot-recipe-4
Once the cookies have cooled, scrape the melted dark chocolate into the piping bag and pipe a cross over each, then allow to set before eating.

Nutrition

177kcals Calories
6.5g (3.9g saturated) Fat
2g Protein
27.3g (17.9g sugars) Carbs
0.8g Fibre
0.4g Salt

Make Ahead

Once they’re shaped and chilled, open-freeze the cookies for an hour or so, then transfer to a food bag and freeze for up to 1 month. To cook from frozen add an extra 2-3 minutes to the baking time.