This recipe comes from Northumberland, England. The word hinnie comes from the way the endearment honey was pronounced in Northern England. They are not sweet and make a nice hand-held breakfast, especially if sliced crosswise and slathered with butter and jam.
The "singing" part of the name comes from the way these little cakes sizzle as they are cooking. The original recipe included lard (animal fat). Our version uses vegetable shortening, which is a healthier substitute.
Cook the hinnies on a griddle or in a big frying pan. This recipe makes about 18 singing hinnies. If you sing while you are making them, then there will be 19!
Ingredients
- •2 1/2 cups flour
- •2 tsp baking powder
- •1/4 tsp salt
- •4 Tbsp butter
- •4 Tbsp vegetable shortening
- •3/4 cup dried currants
- •about 1/3 cup milk
- •oil
- •butter
Preparation
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Rub the butter and shortening between your fingers in the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the currants and just enough milk to make a firm dough.
Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface* to about 1/4 inch thick. Use a round cookie cutter to cut into circles about 2-1/2 inches in diameter.
Oil the griddle or pan, heat it, and cook the hinnies until they are brown on both sides, about 6 minutes a side. Slice them in half and put a little butter in them. Cover them with a clean kitchen towel to keep them warm until all the hinnies are cooked.
