Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Hertzoggies cookies

An “old” cookie that will always be fashionable. Named after General J.B.M. Hertzog, the prime minister of the Union of South Africa, from 1924 to 1939. It was apparently his favorite cookie.

This recipe comes from Huisgenoot wenresepte 2 by Annette Human, which is perfect as is, gives perfect results every time, year after year. It is probably the only time I’ve exchanged one of my mother’s recipes for a “better” one!

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Hertzoggies

Crust:

  • 250g flour
  • 25g castor sugar
  • 10ml baking powder
  • 1 ml salt
  • 125g butter, at room temperature
  • 3 extra large egg yolks
  • 15 ml cold water

Filling:

  • 75ml apricot jam
  • 3 extra large egg whites
  • 250g sugar
  • 160 g coconut
  1. Sift the flour, castor sugar, baking powder and salt together.
  2. Crumble in the butter and mix with finger tips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
  3. Mix the egg yolks and cold water and add to the butter mixture. Mix to a dough. add a little extra water if it is too dry.
  4. Work the dough into a ball, cover and leave aside to rest.
  5. Heat the oven to 180 deg. C(350 F)
  6. Grease the inside of muffin pans.
  7. Roll out the dough, about 1 mm thick. Cut round circles with a cookie cutter, big enough to cover the inside of the muffin pan. Press into muffin pans.
  8. Put a teaspoon of jam into each dough crust.
  9. Whisk the egg-whites until stiff and gradually add the sugar to whisk to a meringue.
  10. Stir in the coconut.
  11. Put a tablespoonful of coconut meringue onto each jam-filled dough crust.
  12. Bake for 20-25 minutes in the middle of the oven.
  13. Leave to cool before removing. store in a cool place.

An entry for “Christmas cookies from around the world” for which Susan at Foodblogga is the host.

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Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Trudie’s lemon squares

Whenever I make these lemon squares, I think of my sister, who is quite a few years older than me. The day she got married and took off with her husband, leaving me as the last one behind at home, felt like the end of the world to me at 15 years old. Then I got to visit them and it all changed when she served up a plate filled with these delicacies. From then on, I couldn’t wait to go visit. She always had something new and interesting and exciting going on in her house and life and her tins were filled with lemon squares and cookies of all sorts and the most delicious dried peaches straight from the farm….sounds like perhaps the main attraction for visiting! At some stage I inherited her recipe and it has become a favourite in our family too and of everybody else that “inherits ” it along the way.

It is a non – baking cookie/biscuit and can be kept in the fridge for a long time, if you’re so lucky to have any left to last that long.

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Trudie’s lemon squares

  • 2 packets of  butter biscuits (Petit beurre)
  • 250 g butter
  • 1 can of sweet condensed milk
  • 250 ml desiccated coconut
  • lemon juice and zest

Lemon icing:

  • About 20g butter
  • 450ml icing sugar
  • lemon zest and juice to taste
  1. Melt the butter over low heat and add the condensed milk.
  2. Stir in some lemon zest and juice to taste and mix well.
  3. Add the coconut.
  4. Break in the biscuits and mix well until the biscuits are finely broken up en well coated.
  5. Press into a greased lamington tin, 24 x 34 x 2cm.
  6. Leave to cool down completely or place in fridge.
  7. Combine the ingredients for the lemon icing and mix to a smooth icing.
  8. Cut in squares and decorate with some candied lemon and lime zest.

Serves about 48 squares

This is an entry for Christmas cookies from around the world 2007, here at Susan from Foodblogga.

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