Baking and reading are two of my favourite hobbies so you can imagine how happy I am when perusing the cookbook section of my local library. I love meandering through, taking my time to flick through the baking books to find the right ones to borrow. Continue reading
I love an easy, no churn ice cream recipe! Even if you are living in a part of the world currently covered in snow and frost, I promise you that your guests would be thrilled to be served a bowl of home made chocolate, rum and raising ice cream. Continue reading
This was the first Christmas I have ever tried eggnog and let me state for the record – I am in love!
In Sydney Christmas is a hot’n’humid affair, with temperatures usually in the mid 30C so our drink of choice on the big day is beer or champagne. I don’t know anyone who has tried eggnog – many people I mention it to haven’t even heard of it.
But big supermarkets start stocking it in December and this year curiousity got the better of me. I bought it, tried it, loved it. I created eggnog cupcakes, which you can see here https://thehungrymum.com/2015/12/07/one-bowl-eggnog-cupcakes-for-christmas/
I wanted to play around a bit more so I found this recipe for eggnog cookies at http://www.cookingclassy.com/2013/11/melt-mouth-eggnog-cookies/
I tweaked it somewhat, including reducing the sugar by half. And replacing the rum extract with real rum. And doubling the amount of cinnamon 🙂
I also didn’t bother making the butter topping, as lovely as it looked, cause it was just too hot to spend another minute in the kitchen.
These eggnog cookies were packaged up in pretty tins and given to neighbours for Christmas.
GATHER:
2 1/4 cups plain flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
170 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, diced
1/4 cup caster sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 teaspoons dark rum
1/2 cup eggnog
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 180 C degrees.
In a large bowl use a fork to whisk together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and cinnamon – set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer beat butter and both sugars until pale and creamy.
Beat in egg yolks one at a time, then stir in vanilla, rum and eggnog.
Turn to low speed and add flour mix, one tablespoon at a time, until just combined. Roll dough balls the size of a ping pong ball and place on tray, then gently flatten paper lined baking sheets. Allow space for them to spread.
Bake for 13 – 15 minutes.
When cold sprinkle with icing sugar.
If, like me, you associate Christmas with baking, stars and cinnamon, you are going to love his recipe. Continue reading
To me Christmas is all about the baking. Well, that’s not entirely true. There’s also the spirit of the season, the wonderment of the day as seen through children’s eyes etc etc but what really gets me excited, and flicking through cookbooks in anticipation, is the bounty of baking that awaits.
Like lots of people have a plethora of Chrissy events to attend, which means finding new recipes to road test.
I had looked at this recipe for a few years after it appeared in issue 42 [Jan 2009] and decided this was going to be the year I made Donna Hay’s chocolate candy cane cookies. Candy canes, in my books, are ghastly – sticky and fragile and far too sweet. Even my kids’ school has banned them yet here I was, buying and bringing these sugar-packed morsels into my home.
Getting to smash them into smithereens was quite satisfying…
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Ho ho ho – it is getting very close to all that is festive… the ‘where has the year gone?’ conversations, the ‘what am I going to buy Aunty Carol?’ questions, the musings on when to bake to avoid the heat of the day…
Here in Sydney December is always a bazillion degrees. Often humid, too. And very often followed by a thunderstorm late in the day. As I type we are experiencing a house-shaking, sky-piercing, ear-throbbing thunder and lightening spectacular.
I used a snowflake cutter to make these cookies / biscuits as it is the newest member of my constantly expanding cookie cutter collection. We don’t get snow, so I don’t understand the fascination with all things frozen. Having said that, I’m not sure what a Southern Hemisphere festive-season cutter would be shaped like – a sun? A huge fly? A sunburnt tourist on Bondi Beach?
Maybe we’ll stick…
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So I was trawling Twitter one day in lieu of doing some chores and found a cookie swap hosted by the creative types at Real Housemoms, {I love} My Disorganised Life, and White Lights on Wednesdays. This had my name all over it so I jumped on board!
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This gingerbread chocolate brownie recipe is perfect for people who love their chocolate but still want a festive dessert.
This is a short post as I am about to run out the door but I really wanted to share this recipe with you, as it is easy to throw together but so lush and moist.
I tweaked a recipe from delicious by reducing the amount of eggs and halving (!) the sugar.
GATHER:
250g unsalted butter, chopped
300g dark chocolate, chopped
3 eggs, whisked lightly
¾ cup cups brown sugar
1 1/3 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup cocoa, sifted
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease and line a 20cm square cake pan.
Place butter and 200g of the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water – stir until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, to the melted chocolate, and use a silver spoon to beat well.
Stir in the sugar, flour, baking powder, spices and cocoa.
Scrape into pan and bake for 21-25 minutes or until just set – you want them moist in the middle. Cool in the pan, then turn out and cut into squares.
While they are cooling melt the remaining 100g chocolate and allow to cool slightly, then drizzle over the brownies to serve.
Can you believe I only tried eggnog this week? As it is high summer in Australia at Christmas we are likely to quaff chilled champagne than a warm custard-like drink, but I have to say I quite liked it. Continue reading
These are the cookies Santa is waiting for each Christmas Eve as he frantically makes his journey across the planet on his sleigh.
Rich, chunky, chocolatey and with a hint of rum they will give Mr Claus a much needed energy fix to help him keep on keeping on. The oats will help his cholesterol levels after all those other treats he has snacked on during his journey and the rum will soothe his weary bones.
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the hungry mum 