cross & cookies

Hot-cross cookies

125g butter, softened
1 cup (175g) brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
2 1/2 cups (375g) self-raising flour, sifted
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1/3 cup (80 ml) milk
1/2 cup (80g) sultanas


icing
1 cup (160g) icing sugar, sifted
1 tbs boiling water


1. Preheat oven to 160C
2. Place the butter and sugar in an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until pale and creamy.
3. Gradually add the eggs and vanilla, beating well after each addition.
4. Add lemon rind, flour, cinnamon, mixed spice, milk and sultanas and beat until a smooth dough forms
5. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place on lightly greased baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake for 14-15 minutes or until light golden. Allow to cool on trays.
6. To make the icing, place the icing sugar and water in a bowl and mix until a paste forms.
7. Place the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a 3mm plain nozzle and draw a cross on each cookie. Allow the icing to dry on a wire rack.



I thought I'd share this yummy Donna Hay recipe for hot-cross cookies, it was in the weekend's newspaper.
My house smells like cinnamon, and spice, and the cold snap in the autumn air is nostalgic. 
My thoughts keep turning to Jesus.
Answering the kids probing questions, "why are you putting a cross on them mum?"
Why the cross?

the cross = LOVE

^"God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." 1 John 4:9

Happy Good Friday

xx