Recipe: A trio of small treats

This selection of small treats is easy to prepare and should provide something for everyone. The ginger cookies are delicious with or without the orange buttercream; the lemon brownies provide a good zing, and the little lemon muffins for something a little sweeter.

Ginger Cookies with Orange cream

Ingredients

85gr cream flour

¼ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. bread soda

pinch salt

43gr butter

59gr sugar

15 gr beaten egg

22gr treacle

1tsp of finely grated ginger

25gr caster sugar, to roll the cookies in.

Method:

• Sift together the flour, baking powder, bread soda and salt.
• Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, next beat in the egg, treacle and ginger.
• Reduce the speed to low and add the flour, mix until just combined.
• Chill a little if very soft.
• Line 2 baking trays with parchment.
• Roll the mix into small balls, using about ½ tsp. of mix for each, and rolling each ball in the extra sugar.
• Place on the tray about 2 cm apart and freeze for 15 to 20 minutes until firm.
• Meanwhile pre-heat the oven - once firm bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden and slightly puffed up, allow to cool for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.

Orange Buttercream

Ingredients

39gr Butter

62gr Icing Sugar

½ tsp. Finely grated orange zest

Tiny amount of orange juice if needed to soften icing.

Method:

• Beat the butter and sugar with the zest to a soft consistency adding a little orange juice if necessary.
• Pipe a little icing on every second cookie then sandwich together.
• Store in an airtight conta

iner if not eaten the day they are made.

Lemon Brownies

113gr butter melted,

95gr cream flour

2 free range eggs

2 tbsp. lemon zest

2 tbsp. lemon juice

150gr golden caster sugar

1/4 tsp. sea salt

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 175 C degrees.
• Grease an 8 inch baking dish with butter and line with a strip of parchment covering 2 sides and the base.
• Zest and juice two lemons and set aside.
• Whisk together the eggs, juice and zest until smooth and a little light.
• Next add the sugar, melted butter and salt, whisk together.
• Finally sift the flour and fold into the mix.
• Scrape the mix into the tin leveling carefully.
• Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until just cooked and a little golden at the edges. Allow to cool fully before coating in the citrus glaze.

Tart Lemon Glaze:

4 tbsp. lemon juice

4 tsp. lemon zest

4 tsp. orange zest

125gr icing sugar

Method:

• Sift the icing sugar before whisking in the juice and zest.
• Spread onto the cool brownies and allow to set before cutting.
• These simple lemon muffins are zingy, and light, perfect bite size pieces for a picnic lunch. This makes 12 good-sized muffins or you could make mini muffins instead.

Lemon Muffins

Ingredients

300 gr self-raising flour

150 gr sugar

75 gr butter

230 gr milk

1 egg

Zest of 1 lemon

Topping

1/3 cup lemon juice

65gr sugar

Method:

• Preheat oven to 200 C.
• Line a muffin tin with 12 papers.
• Sift the flour into a medium sized bowl add the sugar and whisk to mix.
• Melt the butter and mix with the milk, egg and lemon zest.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry combining quickly - don’t over mix.
• Spoon the mixture into muffin cases.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
• As soon as you take the muffins out of the oven, brush the tops with lemon juice, and sprinkle with sugar.