Rusks

This simple recipe is for a biscuit traditional to my home country, South Africa. Rusks are hard biscuits that can be dipped into tea or coffee and are generally just fantastic. And to prove how simple it is to make, my assistant chef (my nine-year old daughter) did the baking. Let's get started ...
In a bowl, prepare the wet part of the mixture: 4 eggs, two cups of ricotta cheese and vanilla essence to taste. Beat this mixture with a fork.
On the work surface, combine the dry ingredients: 10 cups of flour, teaspoon of salt, two cups of sugar. Optional: nuts or raisins or coconut or aniseed). Mix well by hand. Now add 500g of butter and, using your fingertips, mix into the flour until you have a yellow crumby mixture. Make a well in the centre, add the wet mixture and work into a ball. Divide the ball into two or three parts (depending on how thick you want your rusks to be) and press into an oven-proof baking tray. Bake for about 10 to fifteen minutes until the top and bottom are dry. Remove from the oven and immediately cut into finger length strips. Allow to cool while the next batch bakes. Once everything is done, loosely rearrange the rusks in the oven (at minimum heat and with the door slightly open) and allow to dry out and harden for a few hours. To be fair, my kids never resist more than about and hour and a half of this process so my rusks are 60% hard but with a soft centre. You'll find your own texture!
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