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Home » Home Baking » Simnel Cake Cookies For Mothers Day/Easter

Simnel Cake Cookies For Mothers Day/Easter

Author: Karon Grieve Published : March 2020

Recipe
simnel cake cookies pin image
simnel cake cookies
simnel cake cookies pin image

All the fabulous flavour of a traditional British Simnel cake in cookie form! These super easy Simnel cake cookies are just perfect for Mother’s Day or Easter. These cookies are an easy reinvention of the classic British Easter cake, all the flavour and less fuss!

simnel cake cookies with daffodils and tea cup

What is simnel cake?

The Simnel cake (sometimes called the Easter Cake) was originally the cake of Mothering Sunday.

This rich fruit cake is made in two layers and sandwiched together with a layer of marzipan. On top, it has another layer of marzipan and eleven little marzipan balls around the edge. These balls signify the disciples of Christ. Notice there are only eleven, Judas is not included!

cup of tea with cookie on saucer

The history of simnel cake

Although Mothering Sunday is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent it did not actually originate as a Christian celebration.

In fact there were special days in Spring going right back to ancient times when the Greeks would celebrate the birth of Rhea, mother of all their Gods. The Romans too had a similar ceremony.

It was in the 16th century in Britain that Mothering Sunday came about as a way to celebrate Mother Mary and the Mother Church.

Finally, it came to mean all mothers and was the day that domestic servants (mostly girls) would be given the day off (this was very rare for servants back then) to go home and visit their mother and attend worship at their local (mother) church.

The gift of cake

It was tradition that mothers would be given a small gift, usually a posy of spring flowers picked from the roadside and hedgerows.

Gifts of baked goods were also popular and a special cake has become synonymous with Mothering Sunday, the Simnel cake.

simnel cake by larderlove

Ingredients for simnel cake cookies

  • For the sugar aspect, I have used light muscovado sugar. It has a slightly richer, more caramel flavour than standard white sugar.
  • Spices are important in a simnel cake so I have used ground mixed spice and ginger to give that hint of heat and depth of flavour.
  • The fruity bit – Simnel cake is traditionally a fruit cake so I’ve used finely diced glace cherries, sultanas and dried apricots in my cookie recipe.
  • Marzipan – no self-respecting simnel cake can ever be presented without marzipan. I’ve used this to simply top my simnel cookies which keeps things nice and easy.
  • Other ingredients are almonds, butter, flour and a pinch of salt.
simnel cookies on drying rack

How to make simnel cookies

Like all cookie making this is simplicity itself and perfect for children to do.

Beat together the butter and sugar till nice and fluffy then sieve in the flour and spices and stir.

Then add the almonds and fruit to form a dough. Wrap this in clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge for half an hour.

Make walnut sized balls out of the dough and flatten these slightly making a little dent in the centre of each with your finger. This is where you will be putting the marzipan later.

Bake the simnel cookies for 10 minutes then add the marzipan balls for the final 5 minutes of baking time.

cookies in cup and on saucer

Simnel cake cookies

I love the fact that these simple little cookies look almost flower like with their marzipan centres.

Unlike traditional simnel cake you don’t have to toast or blow torch the marzipan balls, they toast nicely on the cookies in the oven while baking.

These cookies are perfect for children to bake (with supervision, of course) for Mother’s Day or Easter Sunday.

simnel cookies on saucer with cooling rack behind

How long will these simnel cookies keep?

These cookies should stay crisp in a sealed tin for up to 4 days. Though I very much doubt they will last that long

Can you freeze them?

Yes, just pop them in a freezer proof box and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost completely.

You can also freeze the cookie dough prior ro baking. Again, just wrap well and pop it in the freezer ready to make your simnel cookies whenever you are ready.

larder links

Here are some other easy ideas for Mother’s Day treats that you might like;

Simnel cake

Spiced tea lemons

Strawberry shortcakes

Lemon and ginger drizzle cake

Or check out my Simply Scottish Cakes & Bakes cookbook for lots of great baking ideas.

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

Photos And Tips AboveMost of my recipes have step by step photos and useful tips plus videos too, see above.
simnel cake cookies with daffodils and tea cup

Simnel cake cookies

Karon Grieve
Traditional Simnel cake transformed into a super easy cookie recipe for Mothering Sunday or Easter
4.34 from 3 votes
Print Recipe Comment Bookmark Saved! Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
Course baking
Cuisine British
Servings 12 people
Calories 175 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 100 g unsalted butter softened
  • 50 g light Muscovado sugar
  • 150 g self raising flour sieved
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 50 g flaked almonds chopped
  • 50 g mix of glace cherries, sultanas and dried apricots chopped up small
  • 50 g marzipan
Metric – US Customary

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 180C and line a large baking sheet with parchment
  • Beat the butter and sugar till fluffy
  • Sieve in the flour, salt and sices and mix well
  • Add the almonds and fruit and mix to form a dough
  • Wrap in cling film and set aside in fridge for 30 minutes to firm up
  • Pull off walnut sized balls and slightly flatten on baking sheet and use index finger to lightly press a small circle in the centre of each
  • Roll the marzipan into 12 marble sized balls
  • Bake cookies for 10 minutes then gentley pop the balls into the dents and bake for further 5-7 minutes
  • cook cookies on a wire rack

Notes

Use any mixture of dried fruit you have to hand for these simnel cookies.
The cookies will keep for up to 4 days in a sealed box and they freeze well too.

Nutrition

Calories: 175kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 3gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 82mgPotassium: 112mgFiber: 1gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 449IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 24mgIron: 1mg
My Top Tips*Always read the full recipe first. *Assemble all your ingredients and everything you need before you start. *For baking check the size of tins I’m using as this makes a big difference to your cakes. * I use medium sized eggs unless otherwise stated. * I use extra virgin olive oil unless otherwise stated. * I use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. * Check out My Preserving Kit!
Tried this recipe?Mention @LarderLove or tag #LarderLove

Filed Under: ALL RECIPES, Home Baking, Spring

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Comments

  1. Amber D Snyder says

    July 27, 2020 at 8:49 pm

    I love ideas like this one of making one dessert inspired by another. If I got really motivated, I would even glaze each cookie with apricot jam and top each one with a crimped marzipan layer to resemble the cake.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      July 28, 2020 at 9:54 am

      Hi Amber
      Glad you like the recipe and are getting inspired!
      K

      Reply
  2. Susan says

    March 22, 2021 at 1:44 pm

    3 stars
    I love the idea of a Simnel cake cookie, but this just didn’t do it for me. I absolutely love ginger, but found it overpowering in this recipe. Also far too much butter for my taste, normally use 175g for an seven inch cake and this requires 100g for 12 cookies!
    Don’t know whether to tweak a lot to make the cookies, or just stick to my decades old muffin variation.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      March 22, 2021 at 3:28 pm

      Hi Susan
      This is the recipe and measurements I use and the cookies turned out perfectly as you can see. Everything is a matter of personal taste and if you don’t like the measurements just don’t make the cookies.
      K

      Reply
  3. Suzanne says

    April 4, 2024 at 12:29 am

    This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      April 11, 2024 at 9:23 am

      Hi Suzanne
      Glad you like the sound of the recipe so much.
      K

      Reply
4.34 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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