Welsh Cake Cookies

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Made from lightly sweetened, vanilla cookie dough, studded with raisins or currants, with a hint of spice, a touch of salt and dipped in sugar, these Welsh Cake Cookies mimic their namesake wonderfully. They are moist and melt in your mouth for days after they are baked.

The classic Welsh Cakes are, undeniably, one of my favourite teatime treats. Using a short list of humble ingredients, they are internationally renowned and available to buy the length and breadth of Wales and, indeed, throughout the UK. Without doubt, the best Welsh Cakes are served warm, directly from the bakestone.

However, when I want moist, melt in the mouth Welsh Cakes, which will last for a few days, this is what I bake. With all the flavours of their name sake, they are quick and easy to make, they are simply baked in the oven, and there is only a little bit of faff shaping them as soon as they come out of the oven. Smear with some salted butter and you will be in Welsh Cake Cookie heaven day after day!

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How to make Welsh Cake Cookies

The recipe is based on my Chocolate Chip Cookies – Core Recipe. The changes I made were:

• reduce the sugar in the cookie. Classic Welsh Cakes have much less sugar than cookies.
• shape the cookies so they resemble the shape of Welsh Cakes
• adding some mixed spice or nutmeg.
• sprinkle the cooked cookie with caster sugar, like a classic Welsh Cake.

Collect all your ingredients together:

• unsalted butter, at room temperature
• caster sugar
• fine salt 
• egg
• vanilla extract or paste
• plain/all-purpose flour
• mixed spice or nutmeg
• baking powder
• currants/raisins/sultanas
• extra caster sugar to coat the cookies

How to make these delectable cookies:

1. Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
2. Preheat oven to Fan Oven 160°C/180°C/350°F/Gas 4 and line baking trays with baking parchment, if necessary.
3. Make sure the butter is at room temperature. If you need information on softening butter, see here. Put the butter, salt and sugar into a large bowl and, using an electric whisk, beat until fluffy. This should take 3-4 minutes. 
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract/paste and whisk again until thoroughly mixed.
5. Add the flour, spice and baking powder to the butter mixture and beat, on a slow speed, until almost entirely incorporated.  Alternatively, fold in the flour by hand.
6. Finally, fold through the raisins or currants.
7. Next, divide the dough into 30 – 35 x 20g balls. I am quite specific how I do this. I line a baking tray with parchment, sit it on top of the kitchen scales and zero the scales. I can then check that each cookie weighs 20g each. I use a tablespoon measure or a small ice cream scoop. The more accurate you are, the more consistent your cookies will be when cooked.
8. Once you have divided the dough into balls, roll gently into a neater shape (the dough will be very soft at this stage).
9. To bake straight away: when you are ready to bake your cookies, place them spread out on a baking sheet – I get 6 per sheet, depending on the size of the baking sheet. Do not bake more than 6 at a time, or shaping them after cooking will be difficult. (See below.)
10. Baking one tray at a time: bake in a pre-heated oven for 9 minutes Baking two trays at a time: bake one tray for 4½ minutes on the upper shelf. After 4½ minutes, place this tray on the lower shelf and place another baking tray of cookies on the top shelf. Cook for a further 4½ minutes. Remove the tray from the lower shelf and keep rotating and baking the cookies at 4½ minute intervals until they are all cooked. Each tray of cookies should bake for a total of 9 minutes. Staggering the baking, will help when you to shape the cookies as they come out of the oven.
11. The cookies are cooked when: they have spread out a little, are starting to brown slightly on the edges and look ever so slightly underdone. They should still be very soft.
12. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven and are still very hot and soft, place a 6 cms cutter over a cookie, (you may need to slightly squeeze the cookie into the cutter). Using your fingers or a small, flat surface (I use the end of my rolling pin), press the cookie to both flatten it and so it takes the shape of the cutter. Very quickly repeat with all the cookies on the baking tray.
13. Sprinkle the cookies with caster sugar and then let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.
14. After 10 minutes, sit the underside of the cookie in a small bowl of caster sugar and transfer to a cooling rack, top side down. The base of the cookie will be the top side of the finished sugared Welsh Cake Cookie.
15. To bake later: cover the uncooked dough balls with cling film and refrigerate until you are ready to cook them. Follow the same instructions as above.
16. If you want to freeze any, before cooking, now is the time: cover with cling film and place in the freezer. As soon as the dough balls are solid, they can be transferred into labelled freezer bags or containers.

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Can I bake these cookies directly from the fridge?

Unlike many recipes, these cookies do not have to be chilled prior to baking. They can be cooked as soon as they are made. However, if you want to prepare the dough ahead of time, simply store them covered in the fridge for up to 3 days and then bake them, directly from the fridge, when you are ready.

What is the best way to store these cookies?

When you store cookies, it is important to cover them and store in an airtight container. They keep well for 3 – 4 days at room temperature or 5 – 6 days in the fridge. However, if you are storing them in the fridge, remember to take them out to warm up to room temperature before you serve them.

Can I freeze these cookies?

Yes you can! You can freeze the cookies prior to cooking and after cooking.

Freeze prior to cooking:

One of the wonderful things about this recipe (and most cookies in general to be fair) is that you can make a big batch and freeze them uncooked, but oven ready. To freeze, place them on a baking parchment lined board or baking tray, cover with cling film and place in the freezer until solid. As soon as the dough balls are frozen, they can be transferred into labelled freezer bags or containers. They can be cooked directly from frozen. Freshly baked warm cookies on demand – what is not to like?

Cook directly from the freezer:

Bake directly from frozen, as described in the recipe. Simply allow 1 – 2 extra minutes bake time.

Freeze after cooking:

These cookies can also be frozen after you have cooked them. Freeze in labelled or sealed containers/bags for up to 3 months.

Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.