April's soft oatmeal cookies

Makes 16

This is a recipe from April Bloomfield's new book A Girl and Her Pig. April runs The Spotted Pig in New York, and she came over recently to launch the book here; great fun was had by us all.

45g golden raisins
45g sultanas
45g dried currants
150g unsalted butter, softened
200g light brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
150g plain flour, sifted
½tsp bicarbonate of soda
½tsp ground cinnamon
A large pinch of salt
2tsp vanilla extract
150g rolled oats

Mix the raisins, sultanas and currants in a bowl, cover with warm water and soak them for at least 5 hours or overnight.

Line a baking tray with some baking parchment or use a non-stick tray. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon for a few minutes until it is light and fluffy; you can use an electric hand whisk or a mixing machine if you prefer.

Mix in half of the eggs for about 30 seconds until well combined, then add the rest of the egg. Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl then fold into the egg mixture with the vanilla until well combined. Stir in the oats, raisins, sultanas and currants, then cover the bowl with cling film and pop it in the fridge for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 175C/gas mark 4.

Use your hands to divide the dough into 16 equal balls then place them on your baking tray, leaving about 5 cm between them (you may need two trays).

Bake for about 20 minutes or until they are golden brown and firm at the edges and no longer feel sticky or gooey to the touch. Leave the cookies to cool a little then transfer to a cooling rack.

Eat the cookies preferably slightly warm, when they are cakey, or when they have cooled completely.