Gin soaked cherry biscuits

Old recipes are in vogue at the moment, but sometimes they don't just make me smile but also cringe.  I love Julia Child and Fanny Cradock, but together, they introduced a level of fat and sugar to both sides of the Atlantic that would make today's health and safety professionals exhale a collective sigh that would probably cause hurricanes all over the globe.

I'm no stranger to to butter (in fact I think I'm a little bit in love with that particular ingredient) or lard and their uses do play a note of attraction in many of my recipes.

One of my old books, by Zena Skinner (dated 1982) and given to me by my very good friend Judith for my birthday this year, has a great recipe for "Melting Moments" a biscuit with a difference, of the four ozs of fat, two and a half were lard.  I think I may have laughed out loud, partly out of joy but also, equally, out of guilt, because this simple recipe made me think of simpler, less complicated times.

A recipe that I have used however, and probably the only biscuit recipe I have used more than twenty times, is a simple cherry biscuit/cookie.  No lard I'm afraid but it does have softened unsalted butter and no flour.

• 100 grams of unsalted butter
• 75 grams of fine white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 125 grams of ground almonds
• 50 grams of of soured cherries, soaked in gin

Pre-heat the oven to 200c

Combine the butter and sugar until it is creamy in texture.  Beat in the egg and the ground almonds.  And then combine with the cherries.

Cook's note:  Depending upon the size of the egg, the mixture should form a pretty stiff dough, if the dough is more cake mix than dough add more ground almonds as the soaked cherries will add a little more liquid.

On a buttered baking tray and using one teaspoon portions of the mixture distribute evenly, allowing for spread.  I like the "rustic" look myself, but if you want tidy, neater biscuits, wet your hands and roll the measures into balls.  Flatten slightly on the tray.

Cook for 15 minutes and allow to cool.