Inspiration: I’ve always wanted to try making Checkerboard Cookies, but they’ve always intimidated me as the pattern seemed complicated. However, I’ve another slice-and-bake refrigerator cookie in my arsenal of recipes — so I was at least familiar with that portion of the bake. Shored up by this knowledge, I screwed up the courage on a day when I possessed both the energy and mental space to try making something new.

Despite being intimidated by this cookie (which I am aware sounds silly) I decided to switch up the recipe slightly from the one found here. Knowing food coloring can change the consistency of a dough, I decided against using it. No biggie.

My second deviation from the original recipe was slightly more drastic.

Since real almond extract is off-limits due to stupid, stupid allergies and less than excited at the prospect of using wholly artificial flavoring — I looked around my kitchen for an alternative and came up with this:

A. Sticking with the two teaspoons of vanilla extract, I made the base dough and then divided it in half.

B. Taking the first half of the mixture, I zested two medium-sized lemons into the dough, mixed it in, and then set it aside.

C. Whilst the other half of the dough waited patiently in a bowl, I blitzed an ounce of freeze-dried raspberries in a food processor down into a fine powder. Next, I strained the powder through a fine mesh strainer (to remove the seeds) not once but twice — before mixing it into the other half of the plain dough.

Then, I followed the rest of the baking instructions! And they turned out beautifully! Tasting akin to raspberry lemonade, these cookies are packed full of flavor and would make a wonderful springtime treat.

Christie: I can see Tuppence making these cookies for a school bake sale or for a village fete! They are both tasty and a little fancier than your typical cookie (or at least, in my mind, they are)!