Bake and Take: Cookies

For Christmas Beth and I both had the same thought, that we should bake some cookies and take them round to our neighbours as a gift and at the same time invite them to a Christmas party at our house. This was following on from the summer street party that was organized for the Queen’s Jubilee this year. That was part of 'The Big Lunch' to help bring communities together, and it went really well. So this was an opportunity for us to continue building community.

We followed Martha Stewart’s basic sugar cookie recipe. Here's a brief version but you can find the whole thing at www.marthastewart.com

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt. 

In a separate bowl cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla.

Gradually add the flour mixture. Beat until combined.

Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic and freeze until firm, at least 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees/170/gas mark 3

Remove dough from the freezer and let stand for 5-10 minutes.

Roll out 1/8 inch thick, and cut shaes with cookie cutters. 

Bake for 10-18 minutes. 

Decorate.

I was definitely a little bit  nervous about the response we would have, knocking on someone’s door and not being sure who will answer, but the response was great. Everyone we were able to speak to accepted them and we were able to have a quick chat in the cold too. Now we’re going to gear up for the party next week.

The High Life

 Dave’s fiance Nicole arrived in Leeds and so we welcomed her with a High Tea. 

I have to admit I cheated with the baking for this event. Perhaps it isn’t cheating but I used a cake mix from the store that you add an egg and milk to. I just didn’t have the time on the day to get everything done, that’s my excuse. It’s got to be the first time I’ve ever not made from scratch, but really, it made the whole thing a lot less stressful and pressured in the short time I had. And they still tasted fab. Lessons from using ready made cake mix though...

1. Read the package carefully! I bought extra icing sugar without realising it was included.

2. Be aware that the size/number of cakes it makes may not be what you’re used to. I’m used to making big cupcakes, but splitting the mix into the given number of cases meant they were, (in my eyes) very small, which was slightly disappointing. So I made fewer cakes of a larger size.

We did have some fully home-made goodies though. Doug made scones, the Canadian way. Well, I don't actually know if it’s typical Canadian, but the recipe is different to my usual one.

Beth set up the room with bunting and our various vintage tea cups. I really like the eclectic feel. And we made a variety of sandwiches...egg salad, smoked salmon, cucumber and ham cut into triangles to make them really fancy. 

If only we dined like this every day.

Super simple snowflake gift tags

Last year I was very excited about the gifts I found for my family and friends because I put a lot of thought into what to get for people. Part of the fun was also wrapping the gifts and making them look personal even before they were opened. This year I want to do the same, so I started by making these very simple gift tags.

I used card labels that were super cheap; pages from an old book I didn’t mind cutting up; scissors and glue.

Most of us can remember making paper snowflakes at school to stick on the windows, but here’s a refresher.

Cut two circles the size you want the snowflake to be. Fold the circle into 4 (or more if you can), and snip shapes out while folded. This is kind of fiddly since the circles are very small to begin with, using a smaller pair of scissors helped. Make sure you don’t cut away all the fold edge, or the snowflake will fall apart when opened.

Unfold the snowflake and glue to the gift tag. (It’s easier to put the glue onto the tag, then lay the snowflake on top) Then try out some variations...

I also replaced the string on some with ribbon to make them a little more Christmassy. Now I just need to buy the gifts to put them on.

 Happy Holidays!

Sewing room make-over

Since I started sewing more for a project we’re starting we decided that the small spare room could become our ‘Boutique’. A room for keeping the clothes donations we receive and for working on garments. So I tried to make it a bit more cosy since the days are dark outside.

Having a dedicated room for sewing is one of those things I list when I’m imagining my dream house. Along with a library like the one in ‘Beauty and the Beast’, and an infinity pool. 1 out of 3 isn’t bad...for now. I'll keep working on the pool.

I have to say thanks to everyone who donated clothes. It's been super helpful.

Birthday Treats

American cupcakes for starters...

My birthday was a few days after Thanksgiving. We had Funfetti cupcakes! I’d never had this brand of cake mix before, they’re super fun because the sprinkles are in the mix so the sponge is multi-coloured too! Thanks to Beth's parents for sending it over. 

And kebabs for birthday tea. The take-out is just down the road and does properly delicious kebabs. Just what we needed after a long day socialising.

Christmas is coming...

This year I'm living with Beth who shares my over-excitement about Christmas. So we put our decorations up the day after Thanksgiving, 23rd November. That’s the earliest ever! Perhaps it’s a little extreme, but this month goes so quickly, and I love the anticipation of the festive season. We celebrated the start of the season by watching Die Hard. Gotta love Bruce Willis saving the day at Christmas.  

Seasons Greetings!

Happy Thanksgiving #3

After getting the turkey in and the sweet potato casserole made we started on the house. Beth decorated the lounge and we switched up the rooms to make space for everyone.

 Re-using our pumpkin tins for table centre pieces.

And she found the dessert bowls  in a charity shop last year for Thanksgiving. 

I wish I had pictures here of us all, but once the food was ready and people had arrived I forgot about the camera. Oh well, there’s always next year. Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving #2

Lots of people brought different dishes for our Thanksgiving meal, which helped out a lot in our little kitchen. My dish was Sweet Potato Casserole. This was the first time I’ve made it and it was very out of my tradition when it came to adding the marshmallows on top of mashed potato, but I’m a convert. So here’s the recipe...

This was to feed about 20 people.

5kg Sweet Potatoes

1/2 cup milk

2 cups sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 eggs

Peel, chop and boil the potatoes, then mash. Add the sugar, milk and spice, and mix together. Add the eggs and mix. Pour the mixture into a dish.

For the topping we did one casserole with marshmallows and one with a crumble top.  The crumble topping was

1 cup light brown soft sugar

1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 cup melted butter

Mix these together then sprinkle on top of the casserole, or lay marshmallows on top instead.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at gas mark 4/350 F/180C.

* one handy hint, in the UK we tend to sell marshmallows in packets that have a mix of white and pink. So I found I needed 2 packets to have enough white ones for the topping.  Now I’m left with lots of pink marshmallows. But that’s no problem, they’ll be fine for the hot chocolate in the coming months.

The result. 2 sweet potato casseroles. Sweet and delicious. Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving

Since Beth is American, we celebrated Thanksgiving here in Leeds. But this wasn’t just make a turkey and we’ll have some pie. Thanksgiving is a really big deal in the States, so I learned, and most people have the Wednesday before and Friday following off work too. We didn’t go that far, but we started the night before and took all day Thursday to prepare for the meal in the evening, watch American football, decorate the house, and get in the holiday mood before friends came over to share it with us. There will probably be a few posts about this day!

Beth made 4 Pumpkin pies and Doug baked crackers for the appetizers and tear and share rolls.

The recipe for Pumpkin pie was the Libby's recipe. Here it is...

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 large eggs

1 can (15 oz) Libby's pure pumpkin

1 can (12 fl oz) evaporated milk

(This recipe uses a bought pastry base, or you can make your own shortcrust pastry using 125g/4oz plain flour, pinch of salt, 55g/2oz butter, 2-3 tablespoons cold water. Rub the butter into the flour and salt. Stir in just enough water to bind the dough. Chill the dough for 10 mins. Roll out.) 

Mix the sugar and spices together. Beat the eggs. Mix together the eggs, spices and pumpkin. Gradually stir in the evaporated milk. Pour into the pie base. Bake at 425F/Gas mark 7/ 220C for 15 mins, then reduce the temperature to 350F/Gas mark 4/  180C and bake for another 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. 

Beth’s baking book, I love how the lady in the pictures is wearing bright red nail polish. She’s old school.

Waking up to fresh made rolls and crackers is awesome! But having to wait until 6.30pm to eat them is a serious test of will power. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gingerbread-tastic!

Nothing says Christmas to me like making gingerbread. Making the dough, smelling the nutmeg, cutting the shapes, icing the cookies. At the end of summer I decided I would start preparing for Christmas and try out a gingerbread recipe. I've made gingerbread a few times before, but have used various recipes with varying results. As it’s always a year between bakes I forget which were the good ones. I wanted to find one I could rely on to always make good tasting biscuits. For this bake I used the recipe from my “Primrose Bakery” book. And it does taste good!

It was also a chance for me to try out making my own piping bags from greaseproof paper, as suggested in the book when using small quantities of icing in lots of colours! I was super happy with the results.

...And, I tried out my dinosaur cookie cutter! I also iced some up like Dr Who, the 11th, he’s wearing a bow-tie and a fez. I might have to make these again, just so I can make some more gingerbread Dr’s.