Currant & Cinnamon Sugar Biscuits (NF)

When I was little, in fact, from the ages of about 6 to 16 my Mum ran a successful wholesale bakery in the Western Suburbs of my hometown of Perth. Ever since I was little I remember Mum being in the kitchen, there were fruitcakes all over the house and the months before Christmas meant that the loungeroom was coated in dust from my assistant duty - tearing the calico for the Christmas Puddings whilst watching old Shirley Temple movies, or talking to Mum as she listened to Roy Orbison or Creedence Clearwater . Come clean up time, John Farnham was whacked into the tape player and finally cd player to clean up - Sadie the Cleaning Lady our song of choice, a song I still clean along to, to this day!

Yep, our house was always filled with cakes and then, when Mum got too big for just cooking from home she moved into a commercial premises and then the house had leftover slices on the kitchen counter too - apricot bars, peanut muesli bars, caramel slice, peppermint slice, the list continues..... but the cookies, or biscuits as we call them here in Australia (I just like the word 'cookie' - it sounds like such mischief!) were rarely around. I remember Mum saying it was a blessing that she ended up baking cakes and slices, for she said that if she'd been a commercial cookie company she would have been in dire need of a hardcore gym membership. I always used to laugh at that, it seemed to be silly that she was surrounded by cakes and slices all day and not tempted, yet a lonely cookie crosses her path - normally an Arnotts Shortbread Cream - and she's a goner! Even now my gorgeous Mum has a hard time turning down a cookie, but she can pass up cakes and slices with an elegant flick of her delicate wrist.

I don't laugh at her fears anymore as I fear that

I have inherited her love of cookies

. Even though I remember her only making a few select cookies in my childhood - ANZAC biscuits and Gingernuts that were always laced with too much ginger for my liking. I managed to fall in love with a bunch of different biscuits, I used to go through phases, most of them invlovled a super hot mug of milo and a half packet of Malt-O-Milks or Butternut Snaps. Away from the hot drinks I was a sucker for the light crunch and spice of the Granitas with fruit, the chewy little currants were a favourite and the cookie always crumbled everywhere.

Do you have a favourite?

Do you prefer cakes over cookies?

Or Cookies over cake? Heck do you prefer brownies over cake?!

I must admit I prefer a good brownie over a slice of cake, but back to cookies.... I was thinking of those lightly spiced Granitas the other day when I went searching for a recipe and found this one torn from a copy of Delicious that didn't make the interstate recipe magazine stash cut. I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as I have. Oh, also, this recipe make a fair few cookies, so if you're like me and are easily addicted to a good cookie then make sure you have some friends ready with their cookie jars!

Music for baking these cookies to - Roy Orbison: (All I Can Do Is) Dream You

Cinnamon Sugar & Currant Biscuits, or 'Cookies' if you prefer! 

Makes approximately 40-50

140g brown rice flour

140g sorghum flour

100g gluten free cornflour

70g quinoa flour

(or substitute all of the above flours for 450g of your favourite gluten free flour mix)

3/4tsp cinnamon

1/4tsp nutmeg

225g butter, room temperature

220g castor sugar

2 eggs

Zest one lemon

3/4cup currants

To sprinkle

1-2tblspn castor sugar + 1/4tsp cinnamon

Sift or whisk together the flours, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Fold in the sifted flours and currants and beat to combine.

Divide the dough in two balls and wrap in glad wrap, refrigerate for 2-3hours (also keeps well for 3days, if you want to get ahead of your weekend baking!).

Preheat oven to 175degrees celcius. Line a few trays with baking paper. Remove a ball of dough from the refrigerator and roll out to 6mm thick, cut with a 6cm round cutter. Re-roll any leftover dough and cut. Transfer to baking trays and sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Refrigerate the prepared cookies for 10minutes before transferring to the oven and baking for 10minutes until golden brown.

Allow to cool on trays. Will keep for up to one week if you can manage to keep your hands outta the cookie jar!