Recipe

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Step 2: To make the cookies, cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl, then whisk in the eggs.

Step 3: Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda/baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.

Step 4: Stir the vanilla and lemon zest into the buttermilk in a glass measuring cup/jug. Alternately whisk in 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then 1/3 of the buttermilk mixture into the butter mixture. Repeat until all the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Step 5: Drop 1 rounded tablespoon of batter in a mound on to one of the prepared baking sheets, before flattening it into a neat circle with a palette knife. Repeat, leaving a 2″ gap between each cookie. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cookies have slightly coloured. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Step 6: For the icing, whisk the egg white, icing/confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract together until you have a thick, glossy icing. You may need to make the icing thinner with a few drops of water, but add only a little at a time.

Step 7: Use a palette knife to spread half of each cookie with the icing on one side and leave to set. Once the icing is set, spread the other half of each cookie with the melted chocolate. Leave the cookies to set before serving.

Reprinted with permission from Victoria Glass’s Deliciously Vintage (2014 Ryland Peters & Small).