For the many cups of tea to come | Recipe {Baking}

Mr MiH is leaving... It is his turn to go travelling on business - for FOUR days, i.e. THREE nights. On the one hand this means no world cup matches on TV, whoohoo! On the other, the logistics of looking after Baby MiH on my own needs precise organisation, and nothing can go wrong (ie no train delays, meetings over-running). Luckily, my Mum is coming to help out - and I baked some biscuits for when Baby MiH has (finally) gone to bed to keep our energy levels up. The recipe is again from My Granny's Baking Book by Catherine Best. I adapted the recipe - Shrewsbury cake - slightly (all changes in bold in the recipe). 

The biscuits - not sure there are cakes - are so simple, but with a hint of lemon and vanilla, they are really different from your usual shortbread biscuits and delicious with a cup of tea (just the right texture to be dunked). Also, they happen to require little ingredients, and these are quite basic so probably already in your cupboard. 

I made 25 cakes with the recipe - that number depends on the thickness of the biscuits. 

You will need:
- 115g soft butter
- 140 g caster (superfine) sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 225 g of plain flour
- finely grated ring of 1 lemon
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

How to make these:

1.  Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line baking sheets with baking parchment.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter with the sugar until pale, light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg yolks to the butter and sugar mixture, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
4. Sift the flour over the top and add the lemon rind. Stir in. 
5. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract. 
6. Gather up the mixture to make a stiff dough (you may need to add a bit flour to take into account the addition of lemon juice and vanilla extract). 
7. Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface then roll it our to about a 5mm thick.
8. Using a cookie cutter, cut out circles.
9. Arrange the cookies on the baking sheets - and flatten each with your fingers. 
10. Gather up the offcuts and roll out again to make more biscuits.
11. Put into the hot oven and cook for about 15 minutes, until firm to the touch and lightly browned. 
12. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to crisp up and cool completely. 
13. Enjoy!

Nothing fancy, but just some comfort eating biscuits. Sometimes it is the best thing to have in the house witha cup of tea, and hopefully get on with some of my projects!