This is our third annual 12 Days of Cookies — it’s so much fun to make a variety of cookies for the holidays and a nice family tradition.
You can catch up on our 1st Annual 12 Days of Cookies here and 2nd Annual 12 Days of Cookies here.
Ok, back to our soda bread cookies! Soda Bread Cookies are an Irish-inspired treat that is a modern spin on traditional Irish Soda Bread.
These cookies go great with a cup of tea, while I share a bit of history.
Soda bread was an affordable bread to make in the 19th century, using simple ingredients. Originally potash was used by Indigenous peoples as the leavening agent to make soda bread and pearlash was common with European settlers before saleratus became more popular in the 1840s. However, with the introduction of baking soda in the 1830s, the Irish adapted earlier versions of soda bread to use baking soda instead of yeast or other leavening agents, which was helpful during lean times. Soda bread became a common made bread by the mid-1800s. Though saleratus was common, by the 1850s baking soda was widely used. These cookies are an adaptation of soda bread, adding sugar and raisins to make it a sweet treat.
These soda bread cookies are cake-like, soft and light and oh so good! They are reminiscent of soda bread mixed with a cookie. My daughter said it reminded her of a drop biscuit. They are not sweet so the raisins are a nice addition. They’re delicious!
Let’s get started!
Cream butter and sugar together.
Add egg and beat well.
Add buttermilk and vanilla. Stir. If you do not have buttermilk, make sour milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar mixed in the 1/2 cup of milk.
Add dry ingredients. We added one cup with the baking soda and salt and stirred it in then added the remaining flour. Fold in raisins in or currants.
We made some plain. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350F for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden.
And then we added raisins to the last half of the dough.
Let cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.
Here are the cookies with raisins.
These are so good!
Irish Soda Bread Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup raisins or 2/3 cup currants
Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and beat well. Add buttermilk and vanilla. Stir. Add dry ingredients. Fold in raisins. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350F for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.
