Best 5 Lacemakers Cattern Cakes English Spiced Sugar Cookies Recipes

facebook share image   twitter share image   pinterest share image   E-Mail share image

Lacemakers' Cattern Cakes: A Culinary Journey Through English Heritage

Indulge in a delectable voyage through time with Lacemakers' Cattern Cakes, a cherished English tradition that has captivated taste buds for centuries. These exquisite spiced sugar cookies, also known as Lace Cookies or Aniseed Cookies, are a true testament to the enduring legacy of English baking. Originating in the county of Sussex, these cookies were traditionally prepared by lacemakers as a sweet treat to accompany their intricate craft. Today, their fame has spread far beyond the lace-making community, becoming a beloved delicacy enjoyed by people from all walks of life. Join us on a culinary adventure as we delve into the secrets behind these delectable cookies, exploring variations such as Iced Lace Cookies, adorned with a sweet and tangy lemon glaze, and Gluten-Free Lace Cookies, a modern twist that caters to dietary restrictions without compromising on flavor. Let your taste buds embark on a journey through history and heritage with these delectable Lacemakers' Cattern Cakes, a timeless tribute to the art of baking.

Here are our top 5 tried and tested recipes!

SPICED HOLIDAY SUGAR COOKIES



Spiced Holiday Sugar Cookies image

A twist on traditional sugar cookies, this recipe offers a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg for holiday inspired flavor that kids and adults alike will enjoy!

Provided by Food Network

Categories     dessert

Time 28m

Yield Makes 6 dozen or 24 (3 cookie) servings

Number Of Ingredients 15

Cookies:
2 1/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon McCormick® Cinnamon, Ground
1/4 teaspoon McCormick® Nutmeg, Ground
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 egg
2 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
Colorful Cookie Icing:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 to 4 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
3 to 4 drops McCormick® Assorted Food Colors & Egg Dye

Steps:

  • 1. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Set aside. Beat granulated sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Refrigerate dough 2 hours or overnight until firm.
  • 2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface* to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into shapes with favorite cookie cutters. Place on greased baking sheets.
  • 3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
  • 4. For the Icing, mix all ingredients except food colors. (Stir in additional milk to thin icing or more confectioners' sugar to thicken, if needed). Place small amount of icing into small shallow bowls, using one bowl for each color desired. Stir drops of food color into icing until desired shade is reached.
  • 5. To ice cookies, hold cookie by its edge and dip top of cookie into icing. (Or spoon the icing onto cookie using a teaspoon.) Place iced cookies on wire rack set over foil-covered baking sheet to dry. (The foil-covered baking sheet will catch drips.) To add decorative details to cookies, spoon tinted icing into resealable plastic bag. Snip off a tiny piece of the corner. Squeeze icing through hole in plastic bag to decorate cookies. If desired, Colored Sugar may be sprinkled onto freshly iced cookies.
  • For the variations below, omit the cinnamon and the nutmeg. Use the following extract in place of the vanilla extract in the cookies:
  • Almond Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Almond Extract.
  • Orange Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Orange Extract.
  • Lemon Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Lemon Extract.

SPICED THANKSGIVING SUGAR COOKIES



Spiced Thanksgiving Sugar Cookies image

The dough for these spiced autumn cookies is easily made in a food processor, much like pie dough, but with softened butter. We pulse the sugar first to finely grind it, which gives the cookies their tender and crunchy texture. Have fun with decorating-make fall leaves or turkeys using halved candy corns or pecans for the tail feathers.

Provided by Food Network Kitchen

Categories     dessert

Time 2h30m

Yield About 2 1/2 dozen cookies and 2 cups icing

Number Of Ingredients 12

1 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Fine salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons meringue powder
One 1-pound box confectioners' sugar (3 3/4 to 4 cups)
Food coloring, as desired
Candy corns, pecans and sanding sugar

Steps:

  • For the cookies: Put the sugar in a food processor and pulse a few times to finely grind. Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pulse just to combine.
  • Add the butter and pulse until all of the butter is incorporated into the flour and the mixture is sandy. Add the egg and vanilla and pulse until the mixture comes together in big clumps.
  • Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead a few times to form a ball. Divide the dough in half, pat into 2 discs about 1/4-inch thick, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
  • Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Let the dough sit at room temperature for a few minutes to make rolling easier. Put 1 disc of dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper and roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thick. Cut out with desired cookie cutters and arrange on one of the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake until the bottom of the cookies are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet until firm enough to transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough. Gently gather any scraps into a ball and press into another disc. Chill the disc until firm enough to roll and cut out as many cookies as possible.
  • For the icing: Sift the meringue powder and confectioners' sugar together in a large bowl and add 6 tablespoons water. Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high until the mixture is glossy and soft peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes. Add food coloring if using or divide into several batches and color with different shades of food coloring. Decorate cookies as desired. The cookies can be store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

LACEMAKER'S CATTERN CAKES - ENGLISH SPICED SUGAR COOKIES



Lacemaker's Cattern Cakes - English Spiced Sugar Cookies image

"Cattern cakes" are spiced with cinnamon, lightly fruited and flavoured with caraway seeds; they are traditionally made by the English Nottingham lacemakers for the festivities on their special feast day. The recipe goes back to Tudor times, and has changed little over the centuries, although they are sometimes made with yeast dough. Also known as Catherine Cakes (after Catherine of Aragon, whom whilst imprisoned locally at Ampthill, heard of the lacemaker's financial plight, and destroyed all of her lace only to commission some more and give work to the local industry). They are specially prepared for St. Catherine's Day - the patroness of spinners, lace-makers, rope-makers and spinsters - on the 25th November, which is the lacemaker's special day. They are traditionally washed down with Hot Pot - a hot mixture of rum, beer and eggs. I find that I prefer mine with a cup of tea! These delicious little cakes are more like a soft and slightly chewy biscuit or cookie.

Provided by French Tart

Categories     Dessert

Time 20m

Yield 12 Cattern Cakes

Number Of Ingredients 10

9 ounces self raising flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 ounces currants
2 ounces ground almonds
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
6 ounces caster sugar
4 ounces melted butter
1 medium egg, beaten
extra sugar, for sprinkling
extra cinnamon, for sprinkling

Steps:

  • Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl: flour, cinnamon, currants, ground almonds, caraway seeds and sugar.
  • Add the melted butter and the beaten egg and mix well to give a soft dough.
  • Roll the dough out on a floured board, into a rectangle about 12" x 10" - 30cm x 25cm.
  • Brush the dough with water and sprinkle with the extra sugar and cinnamon to taste.
  • Gently roll the dough up like a Swiss roll, not too tightly, and then cut the rolled up dough into 3/4" - 2cm slices.
  • Place these slices on to a well greased and lined baking tray or biscuit/cookie sheet, making sure that they are spaced well apart.
  • Bake in a pre-heated oven 200C/400F/Gas 6 for about 10 minutes, or until golden and crispy to the top.
  • Allow the cattern cakes to cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with extra caraway seeds, sugar and cinnamon if you like.
  • Store in an airtight tin for up to 7 days.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 252.1, Fat 10.7, SaturatedFat 5.2, Cholesterol 35.8, Sodium 60.5, Carbohydrate 36, Fiber 1.6, Sugar 17.7, Protein 4.1

GRANDMA'S LACE COOKIES



Grandma's Lace Cookies image

This is one of my favorite cookie recipes that has been passed down to me from my Grandmother. Friends and family love them-- they are so addictive!

Provided by Dustin Poh

Categories     Desserts     Cookies     Oatmeal Cookie Recipes

Time 18m

Yield 10

Number Of Ingredients 8

½ cup butter
¾ cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup quick cooking oats (such as Quaker™)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder

Steps:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
  • Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl in a microwave. Add sugar and stir to combine. Add beaten egg and mix well. Stir in oats, flour, vanilla extract, salt, and baking powder.
  • Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
  • Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden brown, about 8 minutes. Let cool completely before removing cookies from foil.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 187.1 calories, Carbohydrate 22.4 g, Cholesterol 43 mg, Fat 10.3 g, Fiber 0.9 g, Protein 2 g, SaturatedFat 6.1 g, Sodium 143.3 mg, Sugar 15.2 g

CATTERN (CATHERINE) CAKES



Cattern (Catherine) Cakes image

Made to celebrate St. Catherine's feast day on November 25th. St. Catherine was (or is) the patron saint of lacemakers. ST CATHERINES DAY NOVEMBER 25TH. (CATTERNS)[The two great holidays of the lace-makers was Tanders (St. Andrew's Day, Nov. 30th), and Catterns Day (St. Catherine's Day, Nov. 25th) reference: http://bobbins.lacefairy.com/BobbinMuseum/calender.htm

Provided by Queen Dragon Mom

Categories     European

Time 25m

Yield 10-15 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 9

9 ounces self-rising flour
1/4 teaspoon mixed spice, ground
1 pinch cinnamon
2 ounces currants
2 ounces almonds, ground
7 ounces sugar
4 ounces butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
sugar, and cinnamon to sprinkle

Steps:

  • Set oven to 400 or Mark 6.
  • Grease a baking tray.
  • Sift flour and spices into a mixing bowl, stir in the currants, ground almonds and sugar.
  • Add melted butter and egg, stirring to make a soft dough.
  • Roll on a floured surface to a rectabgle approximately 10" x 20".
  • Brush the dough with water, sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon.
  • roll up like a swiss roll, cut into slices 3/4 inch thick.
  • Place on baking sheet, well apart, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Cool on wire rack.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 308.2, Fat 13.1, SaturatedFat 6.3, Cholesterol 43, Sodium 435.7, Carbohydrate 44.5, Fiber 1.7, Sugar 24, Protein 4.8

Tips:

  • Chilling the dough before baking helps prevent spreading and ensures a crispier cookie.
  • Rolling out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper prevents sticking and makes it easier to achieve a uniform thickness.
  • Using a sharp knife or cookie cutter ensures clean edges and prevents the cookies from losing their shape while baking.
  • Baking the cookies on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet prevents sticking and makes it easier to remove them from the pan.
  • Cooling the cookies completely before storing them helps prevent them from becoming soft and crumbly.

Conclusion:

Lacemakers' Cattern Cakes are a delicious and versatile treat that can be enjoyed on any occasion. With their unique texture and spicy flavor, these cookies are sure to be a hit with family and friends. Whether you're looking for a sweet snack or a festive addition to your holiday table, these cookies are sure to please. So gather your ingredients, preheat your oven, and get ready to bake up a batch of these delightful treats!

Related Topics