I have a friend with the wonderful habit of bringing around cookies at just the right moment.

On one occasion the house was filled with ravenous skiers on the constant prowl for something to nibble.

On another I was down with a terrible cold and needed a treat.

They are very plain, unassuming even. But unexpectedly, delightfully, more-ish.

Recipe for Susi’s Omi’s Butter Cookies

Ingredients

• 112g/4 oz butter
• 115g//4 oz/½ cup of golden caster sugar
• 270g/10 oz/2½ cups sifted flour
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• Apricot and raspberry jam; and/or sugar sprinkles

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Mix all the ingredients, except the jam and one egg, in a mixing bowl until you have a non-sticky, elastic ball of dough (you can halve and refrigerate the rest for later).
3. Roll out half the dough on lightly floured parchment paper on a baking tray.
4. Beat the remaining egg, and brush the cookies with it. Decorate with dabs of jam (in the middle of the cookie) or sugar sprinkles.
5. Bake for 6-10 minutes, until the edges are beginning to brown….watch the first batch carefully…every oven is different!

^{This post is dedicated to Susi Carrington.}