Spiced bikkies recipe

This recipe will probably be available soon on the taste.com.au website. But I'll put it here now because it's GOOD! It's from the Dec/Jan issue of Delicious magazine.

Spiced Bikkies (AKA edible decorations)

2 1/4cups plain flour
1tsp baking powder
1tsp mixed ground baking spices (I used a combination of mostly ginger, then nutmeg and cinnamon)
1tsp pepper
pinch of salt
120g unsalted butter
120g dark muscovado or molasses sugar or dark brown sugar
2 eggs
3tbs honey

1cup flour (or more) extra for cutting.

It's probably easiest to process this in a food processor.
Combine flour, baking powder, spices, S&P.
Add butter and sugar and mix until smooth.
Combine the eggs and honey separately. With the processor going, add the egg mixture slowly - just enough to bind the mix and not necessarily all of it. Divide the mixture into 2 or 3 balls and wrap them in plastic then refridgerate. Chill them for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 160 celcius. Line your trays with baking paper.

On a floured surface roll out one of the dough balls. Sprinkle extra flour over the surface as required to stop it from sticking. Roll it out to about 5mm thick and use your prettiest cookie cutters to make shapes. Keep re-rolling the dough as needed to cut more shapes. I had to keep using more extra flour to stop it from sticking. If there's a small amount left at the end, nobody will think badly of you if you eat it raw. Personally, I made a disc and cooked it because my will power is amazing. Also, I got my fix from the beaters and bowl...

If you want to make hanging decorations, use a plastic drinking straw to cut a small hole in the top of your shape. When they bake, the bikkies expand and some of the holes may close over. Also, make sure you leave a bit of space in between in biscuit on the tray.

Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes. They'll have risen and should be a little browned around the edge. Take them off the tray to cool. They'll be a bit soft at first. Eat one before it goes hard. Then eat another one after it's cooled down a bit. Eat the ones that were a bit wonky or the hole filled over on. Noone will know.

You can also ice these with royal icing and pretty sparkles. I didn't. It makes about 40 - but this depends on the size of your cutter shape!

ho ho jingle jangle

Thanks for your comments and thoughts about my hair-dorama's. I decided to delete those 2 posts, because I really don't want negative posts here, and I really really didn't want to see myself each time I looked at my blog! (I don't post very often, so I forget what I've done...)

I am finished with swapping this year! YAY! This is what I sent to Silvia for the Christmas Kaleido-swap. Silvia has 4 cats and is a huge cat fan!



Yesterday I received the mini christmas card swap from Anne. Anne made me a sweet little stationery set. The swing tags are great! So are the envelopes!! I have never been so successful making my own, but Anne has the technique down pat. Can you tell from this photo?


My lovely friend Annette surprised me the other day with these 2 little embroidered ornaments. Aren't they fantastic! I love the colours and the beading.


I've been spending the last couple of days cooking and getting ready for Christmas. Here's this years rocky road - I put silver balls on top to make it look more festive. This is wrapped and ready to take to my sister's tonight. I posted the recipe last year.


I've also made my normal Christmas cake too. Not photos this time - they look remarkably similar to last year!

I've tried a new recipe today. It's spiced biscuits or gingerbread, I suppose. The recipe is from this months (i.e. Dec 07/Jan 08) Delicious magazine. I may be inspired to share the recipe soon - but not today.

I can vouch that they're very tasty indeed.

Jamie and Fran's chocolate biscotti

This recipe comes from a book I bought in a second hand book store in Berkeley CA many years ago. It's called Cooking with Friends, as in the TV show friends (published 1995). Here it is on Amazon.

There's loads of yummy looking recipes, but mostly I love the fancy photos of the cast and quotes from the tv show. This recipe is described as follows:

When the women from Mad About You walk into Central Perk, they mistake Phoebe for Ursula and think she's working a second job. They tell Phoebe they want two lattes and some biscotti. Phoebe says "good choice" and sits down. Eventually Jamie and Fran find a waiter and get some of the biscotti with macadamia nuts.

2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbs (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup macadamia nuts (I used pistachio)

Preheat oven to 350 (180 celcius). Grease and flour a large baking sheet and set aside.

Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together. set aside. cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the dry ingredients until well combined. The dough will be stiff and fairly dry. Stir through the nuts.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Divide into 2 and roll each half into a log that measures about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide. Transfer the logs to the prepared baking sheet, leaving room for them to expand.

Bake until firm to touch. About 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven. Where an oven mitt to hold the logs in place. Use a serrated knife to cut them on the diagonal into 3/4inch thick pieces.
lay them on their side on the baking sheet and return to the oven for abut 5 - 10 minutes or until crisp.

Cool on racks and store in airtight containers for weeks. If they last that long.

Makes about 28 biscotti.

Other favourite quotes from the book...
Ross: I just thought we'd go out to dinner. And then I'd bring her back to my place and I'd introduce her to my monkey.
Chandler: And he's not speaking metaphorically.

Rachel: I'm not just waitressing. I... I... also write the specials on the specials board and... and I take the dead flowers out of the vase... and sometimes Auturo lets me put the chocolate blobbies on the cookies.

Monica: Hey, great skirt. Birthday present?
Rachel: yeah.
Monica: from who?
Rachel: From you. I exchanged the blouse you got me.

It's ANZAC Day here

I've tried to give my Pa a call, but it's nice that he didn't answer the phone, because he's probably down at the club with his mates and Gram enjoying their company and telling old war stories.
ANZAC for the non Aussie/Kiwi's out there is Australia New Zealand Army Corp. It is a public holiday to remember our fathers who went to war and died for our country. It began with WW1 and the 25th April was the day they first landed. History buffs can read more on this anzac site.
It has been raining pretty constantly here today, so the dawn service looked funny on TV - just a huge sea of umbrella tops.
We made anzac biscuits. As I do every year.

My chief baker is our exchange student Hashi.


They don't look cooked in this picture, but they were. And they were yum!


Of course, we enjoyed them with some delicious organic chai.



Here's the recipe I use. There's lots out there, but these are lovely and chewy.
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain flour
3/4 cup coconut
2/3 cup brown sugar (white is OK)

Mix all the dry ingredients together.

Dissolve 1tsp bicarb soda into 2tbsp of hot water.

Melt 125g (4oz) butter, stir through 2tbsp golden syrup (like molasses), then stir through the bicarb mixture.

Mix the butter mixture through the dry ingredients (it might look a little crumbly, but that's OK). Place teaspoonfuls on a greased tray. Bake in moderate slow oven (325F or 160C) for about 10 minutes. They're soft when you first take them out, but they harden up when they cool down. Eat whilst warm with a lovely hot cup of your favourite drink. And think of all the old blokes who were once young boys sent off to a war they had no idea would be so horrific.