I’ve needed to take a little break recently, from social media for the most part but also from working so hard on the blog. I haven’t been well and I need to allow myself time to recover so if you don’t see me so much online for a few days then that’s the reason. I’ll be lurking occasionally and back to normal very soon so feel free to comment and message as usual.

Luckily for me the blogging community is an incredibly supportive one so you will still have some new recipes to read…coming up over the next fortnight you will see guest posts from some great bloggers.

Starting off with Emma Walton from Supper in the Suburbs and this delightful recipe for Easter Lemon Thumb Print Cookies.

Emma is a 20-something foodie with the privilege of working and playing in London. Emma loves sharing home cooked recipes along with her favourite restaurants, bars and markets. Her mantra is “we eat to survive – so why not make a hobby out of it”, Supper in the Suburbs is dedicated to classic recipes with a fun twist. Click here to see what’s cooking in the London suburbs this week. Alternatively, you can keep up to date on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Over to Emma:

Whether you’re religious or not, Easter is without a doubt a fantastic excuse to spend time with family and to eat some seriously good food. When I think of Easter I think of roast lamb with all the trimmings, hot cross buns, simnel cake and lemon-y bakes. It’s no surprise that around this time of year my blog becomes jam-packed with Easter themed treats.

There’s something about the changing seasons this month that get me really excited. The sun is shining more, the days are getting longer and I’m instantly drawn to lighter and brighter things. These lemon thumb print cookies put a real spring in your step after the cold winter months.

The lemon cookie mix itself tastes awesome and you could easily eat them on their own, BUT the added lemon curd makes them something seriously special. If you want to switch things up a bit, you could swap the lemon for lime curd, passion fruit curd or your favourite jam. The possibilities are endless.

When I heard that Becky needed to take a break this month, I happily offered to share this cookie recipe with you.

Lemon Thumb Print Cookies are the perfect Easter cookies to make with your little ones. This is a really easy cookie recipe that is great for little hands to get stuck into. As a grown child, I love getting my hands dirty when baking: bringing the ball of dough together and rolling out the little cookie dough balls. Children can also help spoon the lemon curd in the centre of the cookie ( with adult help to take them out of the oven first). They will especially love being able to put their thumb print on each and every cookie – the perfect way for them to leave their stamp on their bake!

Lemon Thumb Print Cookies

Difficulty: easy Time: 45mins Yield: 30+ cookies

Summary: These cookies are a simple recipe that is perfect for Easter baking and making sessions. The bright yellow lemon curd centre makes the cookies look like a fried egg!

Ingredients:

225g butter
225g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
½ tsp salt
325g plain flour
1 jar of lemon curd
Icing sugar to dust

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to 180C (gas mark 4) and line two baking sheets with grease proof paper.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and the sugar with an electric whisk until the mix is smooth and creamy. Next add in the yolks, one at a time, and whisk until fully combined. Finally add in the lemon zest, lemon juice and salt.
Fold the flour into the creamed butter and sugar mix until a ball of dough begins to form. Bring together with your hands as necessary.
Taking a small amount of dough in your hands, form a ball roughly the size of a 10 pence piece. Place each ball on to the baking sheet leaving roughly an inch between each. Did your thumb in flour then press into the centre of each ball creating a dent in the middle.
Bake the cookies for 18mins in the centre of the oven or until they are firm and golden.
Remove the cookies from the oven briefly to fill the indentations with a tablespoon of curd. Place them back in the oven for a further two minutes.
Finally, take them out of the oven and leave to cool. Dust each cookie with a light sprinkling of icing sugar before serving.

With half term holiday just around the corner, save this recipe now for some Easter fun in the kitchen. There are plenty more recipes like this over at Supper in the Suburbs once you’ve mastered these!

Enjoy.