THE ORIGINAL ‘RECEIPT’

LEMON JUMBLES.

1 egg.

1 teacupful sugar.

½ teacupful butter.

3 teaspoonfuls milk.

1 teaspoonfuls cream-tartar.

½ teaspoonfuls soda.

2 small lemons, juice of two and grated rind of one.

Mix rather stiff.  Roll and cut out with a cake-cutter.

~Harland, Marion. Common Sense In The Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery.  Toronto: G. M. Rose & Sons, 1884.

THE UPDATED RECIPE

• 1 c. granulated sugar
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ½ c. butter
• 1 egg
• 3 tsp. milk
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 2 small lemons
• 3 c. sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• granulated sugar to sprinkle on the tops of the cookies.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease baking sheets with butter.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, salt and butter with a wooden spoon, until smooth.

Beat the egg lightly with a fork, and then add it to the creamed mixture;  beat in thoroughly, until light and fluffy.

Then, add the milk, and blend in.

Grate the zest from one lemon, and blend it into the creamed mixture.

Squeeze and strain the juice from the two lemons, and add it to the mixture;  beat in thoroughly.

Sift the flour and measure it;  then add the cream of tartar and baking soda to the flour, and sift again.

Gradually, add the dry ingredients to the dough mixture;  stir until perfectly smooth.

On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the cookie dough to about ¼-inch in thickness.

Using a fluted 2-inch diameter biscuit cutter, cut circles from the dough.

Place the cookies on the greased baking sheets, allowing room between then for expansion.

Sprinkle the top of each jumble with a little granulated sugar.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350F. for approximately 9 minutes, or until faintly golden on the bottoms.  (Be careful not to over-bake them.)

Remove from the oven, and place the cookies on a plate to cool (or eat warm!).

Store in an air-tight container when cooled.

Yield: approximately 5 dozen.

These Jumbles are delicate and have a pronounced lemony flavour.

A bit of “Jumble” history: They’re a kind of cookie that appears to have been popular in medieval England, but the recipe for Jumbles actually originated in the Middle East and then travelled to Europe via the Moors. Eventually, the recipe travelled all the way to America and the cookies became a staple sweet in the 19th and 20th centuries. They had a bit of a dry texture which allowed them to be stored for long periods of time without going bad, and they were typically flavoured rosewater, aniseed, caraway, and cinnamon. Interestingly, the original shape was similar to that of a pretzel, but since then, Jumbles can be cut-out cookies, or can be dropped from a spoon onto the cookie sheet. In basic terms, Jumbles are cookies made of a combo of butter, flour, sugar and eggs, with additional flavourings. Source: Bertelsen, Cynthia. “Jumbles: Cookies That Travelled Across An Ocean And Through Time.” Modern Salt. 26/01/2016. http://www.modernsalt.co.uk/stories/jumbles-cookies-that-travelled-across-an-ocean-and-through-time

A note from Patricia: I love lemon cookies, so on a cold and rainy morning I whipped up a half-batch of these to try as I had all the ingredients on hand and had a hankering for something sweet. I used 1:1 gluten-free baking flour with good success, used oat milk (it’s all I had in the fridge), and I marvelled at how easy these were to make. I did end up baking them for 10 to 11 minutes (my oven?), but kept a close eye on them after the 8 minute mark. Flavourwise? These were really good. I ate QUITE a few straight out of the oven with a cup of tea, and loved how light these were. They weren’t overly sweet, the lemony goodness wasn’t overpowering either, and the texture was similar to a shortbread. They were just right, and were the perfect snacking size.