Tag: #cookies

Almond Bread

Almond Bread

This is a recipe taken from The Australian Women’s Weekly cookbooks, and I do believe it’s the recipe my mother would use every Christmas. I have added pistachio nuts to it too. Almond Bread 3 egg whites 120g caster sugar 135g all-purpose flour, sifted 150g 

Decorated Christmas Cookies

Decorated Christmas Cookies

Christmas isn’t just fun for all the traditional baking, it’s also fun for decorating cookies and especially so if you want to involve your children. If you do get your children to help, prepare yourself for a bit of mess and you can’t be obsessed 

Valentine’s Day Cookies

Valentine’s Day Cookies

Valentine’s Day isn’t really a day I take much notice of, but it is a nice excuse to decorate some chocolate cookies. I was actually asked to do these for a little public interest story for the morning news, and once I started – well, you might say I got a little carried away. Love Heart cookies galore! 

The ‘cookie dough’ is actually the recipe I use for all my chocolate pastry tarts. If you follow the instructions of refrigerating the rolled out dough well before cutting out and baking the shapes, your cookies should maintain their shape well.  The fact that I even managed to bake the letters L.O.V.E. is testament to that. 

Chocolate Cookies decorated for Valentine’s Day

  • 250g plain flour
  • 30g cocoa
  • 125g sugar
  • 150g butter, chilled and cut into cubes
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • pinch salt
  • 1 – 2 tablespoons milk

Utensils

  • fondant: red, pink, etc….
  • cookie cutters
  • small rolling pin
  • mini blossom plunger cutters
  • various embossing mats
  • sugar dragees etc…
  • sugar glue

While I could tell you to rub the butter into the flour with the tips of your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs etc etc blah blah blah…..  I make this using a food processor and it works brilliantly every time. SO…. in a food processor….

  1. Add the flour, sugar, pinch of salt and cocoa and mix well.   Add the butter and pulse.. mix.. and pulse until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
  2. Add egg and milk. Process until dough comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead quickly until smooth.
  3. Divide cookie dough into 4 and roll each piece between two pieces of baking paper until about 3mm high. Place in refrigerator or freezer and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.
  4. Preheat  oven to 180°C.
  5. Remove one of the cookie dough sheets from the fridge and quickly cut out shapes. Place the cookie shapes on a clean piece of baking paper, and bake for 10 minutes.
  6. **Keep a close eye on cookies – baking time may vary depending on the size of the cookies and they will go from pale to golden to burnt quite quickly.  I cooked all these love hearts for 10 minutes.
  7. Gather up left over cookie dough and roll out again between two sheets of baking paper and refrigerate again.
  8. Continue cutting out and baking until you have finished cookie dough.
  9. Decorate as desired and store in an airtight container.

Cookies Decorate per San Valentino

San Valentino non è davvero un giorno di cui prendo molta attenzione, ma è una buona scusa per decorare alcuni biscotti al cioccolato. In realtà mi è stato chiesto di fare queste cose per un piccolo servizio per TG 2, e una volta che ho iniziato – beh, si potrebbe dire che mi sono un pò ‘trascinato. Cuoricini a bizzeffe!

La “pasta per biscotti” è in realtà la ricetta per la frolla al cacao che uso per tutte le mie crostate al cioccolato. Se segui le istruzioni di refrigerare l’impasto steso bene prima di tagliare e cuocere le forme, i tuoi biscotti dovrebbero mantenere la loro forma bene, senza allargarsi.  Il fatto che sono persino riuscito a infornare le lettere L.O.V.E. è la testimonianza di questo.

Ingredienti 

  • 250g di farina ’00’
  • 30g di cacao
  • 125g di zucchero
  • 150g di burro, freddo da frigo tagliato a cubetti
  • 1 uovo, leggermente sbattuto
  • pizzico di sale
  • 1 – 2 cucchiai di latte

Utensili

  • pasta di zucchero (pdz) : colori varie
  • formine per biscotti
  • piccolo mattarello
  • cutter per fiori piccoli ad espulsione
  • tappetti varie per imprimere sulla pdz
  • colla di zucchero alimentare
  • confetti di zucchero ecc …

Mentre potrei dirti di strofinare il burro nella farina con la punta delle dita fino a che non assomigli al pangrattato ecc. Ecc. Blah blah blah ….. Lo faccio usando un robot da cucina e funziona sempre brillantemente. COSÌ …. in un robot da cucina ….

  1. Aggiungere la farina, lo zucchero, il pizzico di sale e il cacao e mescolare bene.  Aggiungere il burro e mescolare .. e pulsare finché non assomiglia pangrattato fine.
  2. Aggiungi uova e latte. Lavorare finché l’impasto non si unisce.  Rovesciare su una superficie leggermente infarinata. Impastare velocemente.
  3. Dividere l’impasto in 4 e stendere ciascun pezzo tra due pezzi di carta da forno fino a circa 3 mm di altezza.
  4. Mettere in frigorifero o congelatore e lasciare riposare per almeno 30 minuti.
  5. Preriscaldare il forno a 180 ° C.
  6. Rimuovere uno dei fogli del’ impasto dal frigorifero e ritagliare rapidamente le forme. Metti le forme dei biscotti su un pezzo di carta da forno pulito e infornare per 10 minuti.
  7. ** Tieni d’occhio i biscotti – il tempo di cottura può variare a seconda delle dimensioni dei biscotti e andranno dal pallido all’oro a bruciare abbastanza rapidamente. Ho cucinato tutti questi cuori  per 10 minuti.
  8. Raccogliere la pasta in avanzo e stendere di nuovo tra due fogli di carta da forno e riporre nuovamente in frigorifero.
  9. Continua a tagliare e cuocere fino a quando non hai finito la pasta per biscotti.
  10. Decorare come desiderato e conservare in un contenitore ermetico.

Christmas Custard Cookies

Christmas Custard Cookies

These cookies are so delicious, it’s difficult to stop at just a couple and impossible to eat just one.  It is a variation of a shortbread recipe.  I had every intention to bake the recipe my mother and Aunts would use every Christmas (they made 

Buccellatini

Buccellatini

This recipe ties to the last recipe I posted, Buccellato Siciliano .  You may not want to make a large wreath and maybe prefer to make some biscuits instead.  These are called Buccellatini and they are made using the exact same ingredients.  I’m adding a separate 

Shortbread

Shortbread

My English grandmother would make shortbread and she comes to mind whenever I eat it.   I think it was one of the first things she taught my sister and I to bake.  Last week I spotted a beautiful Nordic Ware snowflake baking pan, and so I justified buying it by telling myself I could make Shortbread for Christmas!   I actually tried 3 different recipes, but the best one was the first and as it comes from Scotland, I’m assuming it’s the most authentic.  It also reminded me the most of the recipe I enjoyed as a child.

There are actually different styles of shortbread.  A circle, which is divided into ‘slices’ are called ‘shortbread petticoat tails’ because the design is similar to the pattern used to make a full petticoat once upon a time.   A rectangle which has been cut into strips or bars are called ‘shortbread fingers’, and individual small biscuits or cookies are ‘shortbread rounds’.  Obviously, thanks to my new baking pan, I made shortbread petticoat tails, but you can press the shortbread mixture into any shaped baking pan.

Shortbread

  • 450g butter
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 450g plain flour
  • 225g rice flour
  • pinch of salt
  1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C.
  2. Sift flours together twice and add salt.
  3. Cream butter and sugar together (best done by hand although I used a mixer).
  4. Add the sifted ingredients and mix together by hand until the butter and sugar are incorporated.  Don’t overmix.
  5. Prepare the shortbread mold or baking pan by lightly coating it with butter and icing sugar. Tap to remove excess.
  6. Press the shortbread dough gently into the shortbread baking mold.  I used a ‘cake smoother’ to press mixture into the baking pan and to ensure it was flat and level.
  7. Bake for 25 -30 minutes, or remove from oven when shortbread is a pale and golden.  Allow shortbread to cool in the pan, then turn it out to a wire cooling rack.

 

Shortbread

  • 450g burro
  • 225g zucchero semolato fino
  • 450g farina
  • 225g farina di riso
  • pizzico di sale
  1. Forno  180 °C
  2. Setacciate le farine insieme due volte e aggiungete il sale.
  3. Mescolare il burro e lo zucchero insieme (meglio fatto a mano anche se io ho usato la planetaria).
  4. Aggiungere gli ingredienti setacciati, mescolando insieme a mano fino a quando il burro e lo zucchero sono incorporati.  Non lavorare troppo con l’impasto.
  5. Preparare lo stampo o la teglia da forno con un leggero strato di burro e zucchero a velo e rimuovere l’eccesso.
  6. Mettere l’impasto nello stampo e premere delicatamente per ottenere la superficie piatta.
  7. Cuocere per 25 -30 minuti, o quando il shortbread è leggermente dorato.

Gingersnaps

Gingersnaps

  These Gingersnaps are just as they should be, thin, buttery and crunchy all the way through.  The flavour of ginger is perfectly balanced with the brown sugar and spices and I have had to give most of them away to friends to avoid eating 

Decorated Sugar Cookies

Decorated Sugar Cookies

I recently made some decorated cookies for Peppino Capuano Jewellery in occasion of ‘La Vendemmia 2017’.  “The excellence of the best international wines encounters the exclusivity of the luxury boutiques in the fascinating setting of Via Condotti and Piazza di Spagna”.  La Vendemmia is an exclusive