These traditional Afrikaans cookies are a wonderful contribution to the modern kitchen because they can be turned into a variety of desserts that can be served with coffee or tea and are healthy enough for young children to enjoy. Make a few tins of these cookies for Christmas gifts, put them in the Advents-basket and be sure to keep your own pantry well stocked for the busy days ahead. They are truly versatile and paired with fresh ripe strawberries and whipped cream, mascarpone and preserved figs or brandy ice-cream and bitter chocolate sauce, they prove to be an excellent back-up dessert.

Ingredients

• 825 g cake flour
• 500 g sugar
• 250 g butter at room temperature
• 5 extra large organic eggs – the bigger the better
• 30 ml baking powder
• 10 ml freshly ground nutmeg
• 5 ml ground cinnamon
• 2 ml salt

Method

• Cream the butter, sugar and all five of the eggs together until they the mixture is very light and fluffy.
• Sift the cake flour, the baking powder, the nutmeg and the salt together twice and add to the egg mixture to form a reasonably soft dough.
• Cover this and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat the oven to 200 C.
• Grease the baking trays with butter (or use baking parchment).
• Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is quite thin and then press with a cookie cutter that ensures a diameter of about 4 – 5 centimetres.
• Place the circles on the baking tray with a little space between each biscuit (cookie) because they tend to widen.
• Sprinkle with a little caster sugar or paint lightly with an egg and milk mixture – as you prefer.
• Bake the biscuits (cookies) until they are golden in colour.
• Remove from the oven, allow to cool down and place on a wire tray to dry completely.
• Store in a airtight container in a cool place.