Friday, December 23, 2011

Twas the Week Before Christmas...

when Amie was baking,
scroll down the page
to see what she's been making.
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I am exhausted. As if the run up to Christmas day isn't hectic enough, this year, I decided to bake, bake, bake. I have baked, moulded and decorated for a few hours each night after work and I'm still not ready for Christmas! So far, I've made Pistachio and Orange Chocolates, Rum & Raisin Chocolate Puddings and Clementine Cakes but the final Christmas treat, Gingerbread Men, are still waiting in the wings.

So, seeing as all my energy has gone into the baking this week, I have none left for a blog post, so all I have to say is this:
  1. royal icing is much trickier to deal with than I ever imagined - do not use it when your in a bad mood because it's guaranteed to make your mood worse... not that I experienced this...
  2. the chocolate puddings were surprisingly easy to make and some light relief from dealing with the royal icing
  3. they taste great & I should bloody hope so after all the work I've put into them!
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Merry Christmas to all & to all a Good Night.
May Santa bring you all you wished for.

Monday, December 19, 2011

The perfect stocking filler

I've got a whole list of Christmas baking & sweet goodies I want to do before the big day (6 days & counting!) so I thought I'd start off with something easy.
Christmas Chocolates!
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These are a picture of my first attempts - not so bad! Though I did have a mishap with the angel mould...
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I made dark and milk chocolate both plain & some with chopped pistachios in them. I'm planning to make white chocolate (maybe with cranberry?) milk chocolate, dark with pistachio and some orange chocolate ones for Christmas day as some little extra stocking fillers. Hopefully they'll turn out just as good!

Literally, just buy whatever chocolate you prefer, melt it down in a glass bowl until glossy & smooth over boiling water & place in the mould with a teaspoon. Add whatever extras you like & place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. So quick & easy, everyone's happy.

You could also wrap them in pretty cellophane & hang them off the tree! The options are endless...
Merry Christmas!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Let It Snow...

Christmas is only 2 weeks away - let the festivities begin!

Today, I made 40 lemon biscuits with a Christmas twist - meet my Lemon Snowflake Biscuits.

The weather outside might be frightful but these scrummy, tangy morsels are simply delightful. They were dead easy (though beware, your hand might start to ache by snowflake 20-something...) and could be made 2-5 days in advance if needs be.

Enjoy - and Merry Christmas!! Keep your fingers crossed for a white one...


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