Pumpkin oatmeal cookies {vegan + wheat free}

It is pumpkin season. I don't usually make many pumpkin recipes, because I am terribly lazy when it comes to buying (and carrying home), cutting up and cooking pumpkin. Tinned pumpkin is available in the UK, but it is generally imported from the US and thus quite expensive. All in all, pumpkin and I do not spend much time together in the kitchen.

This week, though, Tesco had tinned pumpkin on special. I picked up a tin and was pleased to use some of it for these biscuits - or cookies as I have termed them, building on the American tinned pumpkin theme.

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Honeycomb and chocolate chip biscuits {Happy Christmas}

Honeycomb has been on my 'to make' list for a long time. On the weekend, I ventured into making it and then went one step further with these honeycomb and chocolate chip biscuits (cookies). They are easy to make, easy to eat, and a fun twist on standard chocolate chip combinations.

A word of warning, though, on baking with honeycomb: it has a tendency to explode out of your biscuits if you put too much in. I used nearly a cup of crushed honeycomb pieces and found some oozed out of the biscuits to form a burnt caramel layer on the baking tray. I have reduced the quantity in the recipe to half a cup, and advise keeping a close eye on the biscuits from the 8 minute mark!

 

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Peanut butter oat and raisin cookies (vegan + gluten free)

When I am in a peanut butter phase (or an almond butter phase, or a tahini phase, or an apple sauce phase, or a sweet chilli sauce phase...) it amazes me that I have patches when I am not obsessed with peanut butter (or almond butter, or tahini, or my food love of the week). After a few months of occasional peanut butter consumption, I am back into enjoying it with a vengeance and these biscuits (cookies) are a direct result.

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Made over orange, cranberry and chocolate chip biscuits

I'm pleased to say that in the space of a week, I have gone from disorganised to organised with Christmas food. I've sorted our Christmas meals for the Lake District, made my annual spiced Christmas cookies, and made a healthier, orange flavoured version of my popular cranberry and dark chocolate cookies.

Spiced Christmas cookies

Yesterday, we also had an early Christmas dinner with my UK family, making another day trip to my grandparent's home in Sussex. There were nine of us in total and it was great to be able to join in on celebrations with family here. We went out for the meal and I enjoyed a nut roast that may have been the best I've had (although I'll concede I haven't had all that many). The setting in a Tudor building was great too - quite different to Australian Christmas!

Christmas dinner, plant style -
nut roast with a sweet potato and coriander sauce, and vegetable trimmings

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Cardamom and ginger spiced biscuits (cookies)

Do you remember studying Venn diagrams in high school maths? Chocolate tastes in our household resemble an overlapping 2 circle example.

In the overlapping component ("Kari intersect Mr Bite") we have moderately dark (50-70% cocoa), reasonably sweet, dairy free chocolate that doesn't include nuts or spices.

In the bit specific to me ("Kari minus Mr Bite"), we have darker, less sweet chocolates of all varieties, plus lighter dairy free blocks with nuts and/or spices.

In the bit specific to my husband ("Mr Bite minus Kari"), we have milk chocolate.

Chocolate chip biscuits featuring Cadbury's Marvellous Creations chocolate.

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18 lower sugar Christmas cookies {Christmas ideas 2013}

I'm bringing you a short post today, to share this round-up of 18 Christmas cookies with a healthy twist. Each of the recipe links is below, or you can access them through the original post.

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Hazelnut and cherry carob cookies - vegan and wheat free {Christmas ideas 2013}

At the risk of sounding patronising, I always feel a little sorry for people who don't like carob. It's one of those flavours that I find so wonderful, and so satisfying, that it's hard to believe other people don't feel the same way.

(Oh, I know. You probably think the same about me and cheese, or plain avocado, or any number of foods I inexplicably Just Don't Like.)

I attribute my carob love to my mother. When my brother and I were young, she favoured it over chocolate as a lower sugar and - crucially - caffeine-free treat that was less likely to spark over-excitement in our young selves. Having acquired the taste as a child, I've retained it through to adulthood.

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Energy-packed pumpkin cookies - vegan and gluten free

Left to my own devices, I rarely buy pumpkin. This isn't really deliberate, as I like pumpkin and enjoy it plain and mixed into dishes. Rather, it reflects a certain amount of laziness on my part at the time of purchasing (pumpkin is heavy) and when thinking about preparing it (because, you know, it takes a good minute or two to peel and cut up).

Luckily for me, I'm not left to my own devices with vegetable buying these days. Aussie Farmer's Direct have provided me with two pumpkins over my previous three deliveries (six weeks), pulling me out of my pumpkin avoidance and highlighting that, actually, pumpkin is really very easy to prepare and very versatile to use.

Protein-packed pumpkin cookies

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Chilli spiced ANZAC biscuits

Chilli in ANZAC biscuits? I know. What sacrilege. What was I thinking?

Before you declare me un-Australian, let me assure you that I made regular ANZAC biscuits too. In fact, I set out to make regular ANZAC biscuits. It's just that towards the end, I found myself wondering...what would a chilli version taste like?

It turns out, a chilli version is rather wonderful.

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Vegan ginger-vanilla melting moments, for the tricky days

Some days are not good days. Or at least, they start out as good days, but go downhill so suddenly and dramatically that you don't quite know how you got from the start to the middle to the end.

I'm sure you know what I mean. Such is the nature of life, and sometimes the nature of my job, and I am not alone in that. On those days, sometimes the best thing to do is to put one foot in front of the other until you get to the other side.

I am posting these biscuits today because they are the cooking equivalent of climbing into bed, pulling the covers over your head, and shutting out the world around you.

I didn't make them for that purpose, mind you. I actually made them for Valentine's Day, which is a rather more upbeat affair. However, I am sure biscuits can have multiple roles. These are perfect for expressing love, or for metaphorically retreating under the covers, and if you are having a difficult romantic moment they may even be perfect for both.

I adapted these from a Taste.com.au recipe for ginger and vanilla cream hearts. The recipe barely needed veganising, with the only substitution being to use Nuttelex (non-dairy spread) instead of butter. I also used slightly more flour than the original recipe called for, because I found the mix too moist to begin with. Lastly, I made some heart-shaped melting moments and some regular-shaped ones.

These aren't really my sort of biscuits, but that is fitting given I made them for Mr Bite. I did like the use of custard powder in the mix, just because it is a new way of baking for me, and I liked that they were egg free. Mr B indicated that the biscuits were good enough to stand alone with no filling, and also enjoyed them filled, so I am calling that an endorsement from him.

Ginger and vanilla melting moments

Vegan.

Makes 1 batch, with the precise number of biscuits depending on how large you make yours.

Lightly adapted from the Taste.com.au recipe that can be found here.

Print recipe

Ingredients

Biscuits

180g non-dairy spread (I used Nuttelex)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 2/3 cups plain flour

1/3 cup custard powder

2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp baking powder

Ginger-vanilla filling

100g non-dairy spread (I used Nuttelex)

1 cup icing sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tbsp finely chopped crystallised ginger

Method

Biscuits

Beat the 180g non-dairy spread, vanilla and 1/2 cup icing sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the flour, custard powder, ground ginger and baking powder. Beat on low speed to combine.

Roll the dough into a ball and cover in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 180'C and line 2 oven trays with baking paper. When the dough has chilled, roll it out between two sheets of baking paper to approximately 0.5cm thick. Cut out shapes using a heart cutter, or form small balls using your hands. Place on to prepared trays.

If making hearts, prick the outside edges with a fork to form a dotted pattern. If making small balls, use the back of a fork to press the top of each ball.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool on the tray for a further 5 - 10 minutes; biscuits will set further on cooling. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Filling

When the biscuits are cool, beat all filling ingredients together and then spread between two biscuits. Allow to chill in the fridge for approximately 1 hour before serving. I had filling leftover.

What do you like to make / cook / do when your days are sub-optimal?

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Christmas food ideas 2012: Vegan strawberry and white chocolate cookies, and cranberry and dark chocolate cookies

I know Christmas is tomorrow. You have probably planned your menu, started your preparations, finished your baking, and packaged up edible treats if you are giving any food items as gifts.

Given the above, this is a poorly timed post. However, I only made these biscuits (cookies) yesterday. I wanted them for Christmas, not in advance. I wanted them fresh and chewy and just right to bite into.

I hope you'll forgive me. The plus side is, if you do need a last minute baking idea, these biscuits are pretty wonderful. And if you make them today, they will be fresh and chewy and just right to bite into for you too.

I made these by adapting a recipe for chocolate chip pecan cookies in Kris Holechek's The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes. I wanted a festive variation on standard chocolate chip biscuits, and elected to combine dried strawberry pieces with dairy-free white chocolate, and dried cranberries with dairy-free dark chocolate. You could use any variety of chocolate, but I would recommend using larger chunks (by chopping chocolate pieces) instead of chocolate chips. You get more chocolate that way, you see.

Strawberry and white chocolate cookies, and
cranberry and dark chocolate cookies

Soft, chewy, sweet and chocolatey - with two flavour variations

Adapted from a recipe in Kris Holechek's The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes

Makes about 30 cookies in total (15 of each variety)

Vegan

Print recipe

Ingredients

1 cup non-dairy spread, loosely packed (I used Nuttelex)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

2 tbsp non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond)

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking soda

Decent pinch salt

1/4 cup roughly chopped dairy-free white chocolate (~50g; I used the Sweet Williams brand)

1/4 cup roughly chopped dried strawberry pieces

1/4 cup roughly chopped dairy-free dark chocolate (~50g; I used dark chocolate medallions)

1/4 cup dried cranberries

Method

Preheat your oven to 180'C (350'F) and line three baking trays with baking paper.

In a large bowl, beat together the non-dairy spread and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch, milk and vanilla and beat briefly to combine.

Add the flour, baking soda and salt to the butter/sugar mix and stir through, mixing well to combine. Divide the mixture evenly into two bowls.

To one bowl, add the white chocolate pieces and dried strawberry pieces. Mix through. 

To the second bowl, add the dark chocolate pieces and cranberries. Mix through.

Using your hands or a spoon, create heaped tablespoon sized balls of dough and place on the baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, until cookies are golden at the edges but still soft in the centre (they will harden on standing). Allow to cool on the baking trays for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

I will be taking these with me to our Christmas day celebrations tomorrow, but have already taste tested several. As I am not usually a big cookie / biscuit fan (I like them, but don't love them), it is noteworthy that I struggled to stop my taste testing and put the rest away for sharing. I really, really liked them. Mr Bite has only tried the white chocolate variety at this point, but has already declared them the best cookies ever.

As this is my last post ahead of Christmas day, I would also like to wish all of you a very merry Christmas if you celebrate it, and a very happy and safe holiday season even if you don't. May you have good food and good company, wherever you are.

Happy Christmas!

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Vegan English baking: Fruit digestive biscuits (cookies)

It seems that I have spoken about fruit digestive biscuits a few times on this blog. When I took part in Kate's listography of top 5 biscuits, regular and fruit digestive biscuits made my list. That post also sparked some interesting comments about differences between Australia biscuits and American cookies, and allowed me to conclude that digestive biscuits are like American Graham crackers but softer and perhaps a little sweeter. More recently, I showed yoghurt-coated fruit digestives from Spain, a little more exotic than the regular fruit variety but still true to the original digestive biscuit base.

Given the above, it is surprising that I have never tried to make digestive biscuits before. I genuinely grieved when fruit Granita biscuits, Australia's closest option to fruit digestives, disappeared from the Arnott's range some years ago. Digestives aren't a complicated biscuit and they don't even need veganising, with the standard McVitie's version being dairy and egg free.

For those of you who aren't familiar with digestives, they are one of the more popular biscuits (cookies) in Britain and are a soft-ish biscuit that is perfect for dunking in tea. They are made from brown wheat flour, which gives a distinctive taste, and are slightly but not very sweet.

Digestives have reportedly been around since 1839, when they were developed by Alexander Grant, a worker at McVitie's. At that time they were called "homewheat" biscuits because McVitie's used British rather than imported wheat. The change in name to "digestive" biscuits stems from the use of baking soda in original recipes, which was seen as an aid to digestion at the time. Chocolate-coated digestives were created in 1925, and these days the flavour options are extensive, including milk and dark chocolate as well as dark chocolate caramel 

McVitie's is the best known brand of digestive, and so it was with considerable surprise that I found the British McVitie's website to be lacking in fruit digestive biscuits! I am still perplexed by this discovery and wish that I had checked biscuit aisles more carefully when we were in England. McVitie's do list a fruit shortcake, and other English brands make fruit digestives, but I fear that McVitie's has dropped a little in my view with their omission of the fruit digestive from their range.

McVitie's regular digestive biscuits, and my fruit digestive biscuits

Today, of course, is about making fruit digestives and not about McVitie's biscuits per se. I was interested to see that most online recipes for digestive biscuits list butter and milk in the ingredient list, and often oats, despite those being missing from the ingredient lists of commercial versions. I decided to be guided by the McVitie's packet, and my version below thus omits milk and uses vegetable oil rather than non-dairy spread.

I used currants as the only fruit addition, but you could be more adventurous and use other dried fruit if desired. I also decided against using other flavourings like vanilla or mixed spice, although I think both would work. Perhaps next time I will branch out a little more, but for this recipe I thought simple would be best.

Fruit digestive biscuits

Adapted from a recipe for 'Close to McVitie's Digestive Biscuits'

Vegan

Print recipe

Ingredients

1 cup wholemeal flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

4 tbsp brown sugar

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp water

1/4 cup currants (small raisins)

Method

Preheat your oven to 190'C (375'F) and line two baking trays with baking paper.

Combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the oil and water and mix to combine. Add the currants and knead to create a thick, smooth dough.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface, to about 0.5cm thickness. Cut into circles using a cookie cutter or round glass. Bake on the prepared trays for 14 - 16 minutes or until golden brown; allow to cool on the trays before storing.

When I first tried these, I made sure to eat them without eating a commercial digestive biscuit first. When consumed this way, on their own terms, the biscuits are thoroughly enjoyable. They are just sweet enough, with plenty of currants to balance out the wheat biscuit; are soft enough to bite into smoothly but crisp enough to break evenly in two; and work well when dunked into a cup of tea (a crucial part of performance!). Mr Bite declared them to be very similar to 'true' digestives.

Sadly, though, when I subsequently bit into a regular McVitie's digestive biscuit, I realised that my version was missing the distinct, characteristic digestive taste. McVitie's are a little maltier, a little wheatier, they have a little more something that is missing from this version.

I suppose I shall just have to make these again, and again, until I hit upon that something. Fortunately, I don't think I'll mind that process at all.

Are you a digestive biscuit fan? What about fruit-based versions?

This post is part of my Vegan Month of Food contributions for October 2012. 

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Chocolate thumbprint biscuits with jam and peanut butter

Thank you, very much, for your kind words and thoughts on my last post. I generally steer clear of posts that are very personal, but whenever I do veer into that territory (generally for the things that seem too important not to post about), I am rewarded by such kindness and generosity of spirit. Thank you.

I hope that these biscuits, or cookies to Americans, will help to convey some of that thanks. 

Granted, you will have to make them yourself (sorry about that), but they are so quick to make that the whole process can be done in 30 minutes, start to finish, washing up included. I made them after work on Friday to take to my parents on Saturday, and was pleasantly surprised at their ease and the result. 

They are biscuits to say "I'm thinking of you", whether that be to offer empathy and sympathy, to say thank you, or just to convey general well wishes.

They can be filled with any jam or nut butter flavour of your choosing.

They are really delicious.

And they are really, really easy.

Chocolate thumbprint biscuits with jam and peanut butter fillings

Substantially adapted from Kitchen Daily's chocolate thumbprint cookies and Dairy Free Cooking's thumbprint cookies

Makes about 32 biscuits

Vegan

Print recipe

Ingredients

1/3 cup oil

1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup white sugar

1 1/4 cups plain flour

1/3 cup good quality cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch salt

~1 tbsp water

Jam (the higher fruit content the better) and peanut butter (I used crunchy with 100% peanuts), for filling

Method

Preheat your oven to 180'C and line 3 baking trays with baking paper.

Mix the oil, milk and vanilla together, then add the sugar and stir well. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix well to combine. The batter should be thick.

Add the water, enough to make the dough just thicker than thick cake batter (I used 1 tbsp).

Roll dough into small balls and place on the prepared baking trays. Do not press the balls.

Bake for 10 minutes, at which point the balls should have expanded in size. With your jam and peanut butter on hand, press the centre of each ball with your thumb, and then drop ~1 teaspoon of jam or peanut butter into the hole.

Return to the oven and bake for an additional 2 - 3 minutes. The biscuits will still be slightly soft. Allow to cool completely on the baking trays before storing in an airtight container.

My Mum described these as 'brownie like' and Mr Bite declared that I could omit the filling in future, and just give him the biscuits straight up. They are almost cake-like in their consistency and whilst I found the filling to be quite an essential component myself, I do agree that the biscuit base is highly enjoyable.

If you're feeling particularly decadent, you could even eat these sandwiched together, jam on one half and peanut butter on the other. Or you could try an almond butter filling. Or a chocolate one.

The possibilities are endless, in a very good way.

I'm not usually a big biscuit eater (and these are only the fifth biscuit recipe to make it onto the blog!) but I think these will definitely be appearing again in our household.

How do you say "I'm thinking of you" (other than saying the words...)? 

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A breath of fresh air, and a birthday

Some weekends disappear so quickly that it's like they were never there: Friday to Monday is almost an overnight experience. Thankfully, other weekends are slower, calmer. Like a lifeboat, they rescue you on Friday evening and allow you to catch your breath before you return for a new working week.

This weekend was of the lifeboat variety. I finished work on Friday having done the things I needed to do, and we had few weekend commitments, no real errands.

On Saturday, we went for a long bike ride, something I always enjoy. Cobwebs disappear from my mind when I'm outdoors and active, and I find lower intensity casual (non-ball!) exercise to be perfect for unwinding. Running wakes me up but cycling calms me down.

We also finished watching these two episodes of Dr Who, the conclusion to Rose Tyler's time as the Doctor's companion and an explanation of Torchwood. As someone who came to Dr Who late in life, these episodes were before my time...but they may have been the best of the ones I've seen (I started watching about half way through Season 3, I think).

I also finished Zeitoun, by far the best book I've yet to read this year. And I finally updated my 2012 books spreadsheet.

On Sunday, I bought fig and fennel sourdough bread. An indulgence (especially as some people would make their own ;) ) but a worthy one I think.

And last but definitely not least, it was my brother's birthday. An opportunity for dinner, presents, and celebrating his 25 years.

I truly don't know how he went how he looks in the above picture, to, well, an extra 20-odd years and a considerable amount of height.

My Mum was responsible for making my brother's cake, but I wanted to make him something edible to complement the more standard, gift-wrapped gift. And so, his birthday was also an opportunity for baking.

Vanilla biscuits with a drizzle of lemon icing, to be specific.

Vanilla Biscuits with Lemon Icing, to say Happy Birthday

Makes about 30-40 biscuits, depending on size

Adapted from these two recipes on Taste.com.au 

Print recipe

Ingredients

For the biscuits

185g butter, margarine or non-dairy spread (I used Nuttelex)

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1.5 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

For the icing

1 cup icing sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

For the biscuits

Preheat oven to 180'C and line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter / non-dairy spread and sugar, until white and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Stir in the flour. Mix well.  

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for ~30 minutes. Then roll out the dough between 2 pieces of non-stick baking paper, to about 1cm thick. Cut shapes or roll into balls.

Bake for 10 minutes, until just starting to go golden. Allow to cool on the baking trays and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the icing

Mix together the icing sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle onto the biscuits, or pipe on using a piping bag.

As it turns out, my Mum make a lemon cake, so these were a surprisingly complementary choice :-)

What did you get up to this weekend?

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Listography: Top 5 biscuits

Since discovering Kate Takes 5's blog last year (thank you, Lisa), I have enjoyed reading her 'top 5' lists of various items and products.

I have also, on a number of occasions, intended to take her listography topics and participate with a 'top 5' list of my own. Except, to date, I haven't. I just don't seem to get myself organised in a timely manner.

Until now.

A 'top 5' post on biscuits drew me right in, and here I am posting on the topic within a few days of Kate's original list going out. Clearly I just needed the right 'top 5' list to get me going! Interestingly, I don't actually eat biscuits very often, but they obviously hold an important spot in my food heart.

Without further ado, therefore, here are my top 5 biscuits (including a mix of vegan and non-vegan, because some favourites are from my pre-vegan tendency days)...

1. McVitie's Digestive biscuits. These make number 1 because they are so versatile. They work well by themselves, with a cup of tea, crumbled into yoghurt, and even as a base for desserts. They're also vegan to boot. Of English origin, they are readily available in Australia but not (accordingly to Wikipedia) so common in America. Wikipedia also stated that they are slightly similar to American graham crackers, an interesting fact as I've always wondered quite what graham crackers are.

Source

Chocolate digestive biscuits are also enjoyable (and apparently 52 are eaten each second in England!), but I prefer the plain ones best.

2. Fruit digestive biscuits. Sadly, these aren't available in Australia. We once had fruit Granita biscuits, which were virtually the same, but they disappeared from the Arnott's range some time ago. Effectively a digestive biscuit with currants and added spice, these would be my Number 1 if only I could get hold of them readily.

I think the closest available biscuits we have are the Paradise Rich Tea variety. However, the biscuit component of Rich Teas is harder than a digestive, and not quite as enticing. Still good, but not great.

3. Leda Minton dark chocolate mint biscuits. The dark chocolate coating is a relatively new feature of these biscuits. Vegan and gluten-free, they taste like a regular chocolate mint biscuit, but, I think, better. There is a decent biscuit base and a generous mint creme filling, and whilst the chocolate coating is fairly average (chocolate biscuit chocolate, rather than 'real' chocolate), it's on a par with most other commercial chocolate biscuit coatings, minus dairy.

Source

4. McVitie's Penguin chocolate biscuits. Another McVitie's creation and another non-Australian feature on my list, these are effectively English TimTams. I find them more chocolatey and less artificial than the Australian variety. They're also more fun. They come individually wrapped in different colours (I know this isn't environmentally friendly...), with a different Penguin character on each biscuit wrapping, and there is a joke or 'fun fact' on each wrapper. There's also a dedicated Penguin website where you can play penguin-type games, and read about conservation work being done in Antarctica (that at least is environmentally friendly...). In other words, I'm actually 5 years old at heart and chocolate plus child-focused marketing strategies will clearly work to reel me right in.

Source

These are available at an increasing number of Woolworths (in the international section) and at UK food stores, but you do pay for the privilege. I thus don't have them often, but it's always fun when I do.

5. Orgran Wild Raspberry Biscuits. These are vegan, gluten free, and comparably low in fat. They do taste like a 'healthy' biscuit, but I enjoy them and the nutritional profile provides an added bonus. Being 5 years old at heart, I like to nibble the top and sides off the raspberry centre, before moving on to the filling and base.

Source

Honourable mentions also go to Arnott's Malt O' Milk biscuits and Teddy Bear biscuits, which I loved as a child and still enjoy on occasion today, as well as Unibic Sponge Finger Biscuits, which have magical powers of absorption and are thus perfectly suited to dunking in hot drinks.

In contrast, you'll note that none of my favourites are cream-filled. I've never been a big fan, and with age I've come to like them less and less. I also don't like shortbread or Anzac biscuits, or anything plain but very crunchy.

What about you? Any favourite biscuit varieties?

This post is part of the Kate Takes 5 Listography on Biscuits. You can see her original post here.

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Christmas cookies, the Usborne First Cookbook way

For one of my childhood birthdays, perhaps my sixth, I received two books from my UK grandparents.

Newer editions of these books are still being printed, and if you have children - look these books up. I loved my copies, as did my siblings after me (although I reclaimed the books when I moved out of home!).

In my versions, the First Cookbook has sections on 'Hot Things', 'Sweet Things' and 'Party Things' ...

...as well as general tips and advice, some of which I suspect I could benefit from attending to even today.

The Simple Things to Make and Do collection covers Growing Things, Party Fun, and Making Presents.

As with the cooking book, some of the contents remain useful even now;

We haven't made all of the recipes or tried all of the activities, but these books served my family very, very well. Certain recipes and ideas became favourites that we did again and again.

Looking through the books as an adult thus brings back many memories. The worn nature of the cookbook, including the page where my sister's fudge efforts went a little messy (right on top of the safety warning about the hazards of fudge preparation!) also make me smile every time I look at the pages.

This post isn't just about the books, though, despite my extended attention to them. It's really about the Iced Spice Biscuits in the First Cookbook.  My Mum has made these biscuits at Christmas for as long as I can remember, quite possibly since the first year I got the book.

To me, it wouldn't quite be Christmas without these biscuits. I have loved carrying on the tradition since leaving home, and this year I had the privilege of baking a double batch on the weekend and then having my Mum and sister over to decorate them this afternoon.

We made a mess

Although I don't make these cookies at any time other than Christmas, the biscuit base is one of my favourites. This year I ventured to try an egg-free variation (I just subbed in commercial egg replacer), with a certain amount of trepidation lest I ruined the familiar flavour. To my relief, I couldn't detect any differences in the flavour or texture and they were still very, very good.

Although I like these cookies plain, they decorate beautifully. My Mum's icing and decorating efforts have always exceeded mine, but even if you have a shaky hand and clumsy tendencies, you can turn these biscuits into mini Christmas tokens very easily.

They're great for presents, for sharing with family, and for taking in to share at work. And, of course, for eating.

Iced Spice Biscuits, for Christmas

From The Usborne First Cookbook

1 batch (as below) makes about 20 cookies

Print recipe

Ingredients

125g brown sugar

125g dairy-free spread, or butter

250g plain flour

Egg replacer to the equivalent of 1 egg, or 1 egg

Pinch salt

2 tsp mixed spice

Method

Preheat the oven to 190'C and line 2 - 3 baking trays with baking paper

Beat the brown sugar and butter together until fluffy

Gradually beat in the egg or egg replacer

Add the flour, salt and mixed spice and mix well to combine

Knead briefly to form a ball of firm dough

Roll out the dough on a flour-covered surface, to ~1/2 cm thick

Cut out shapes using cookie cutters

Bake on prepared trays for 15 minutes, until light brown (the cookies will continue to firm up after coming out of the oven - they are better coming out a little soft than too hard)

Allow to cool on the tray for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely

To make the icing

Combine 125g icing sugar with 1 - 2 tbsp hot water; mix thoroughly

 Separate the icing into 3 small bowls

Colour icing with food colouring as desired

Decorate and top with cachous, mini M&Ms or other decorations to taste

No matter how hard we try, there are always some demented biscuits left over from the decorating efforts. The above pictures show the 'acceptable' ones - those that may be presented to others or put out when non-family people are around.

Here are some of the ones that will be kept just for home;

A hippy reindeer with a broken leg (among other things)...

...including what is almost my favourite creation, because it is just so odd! I don't know what I was thinking when I decorated this...at least the M&M surplus should make it appealing for eating.

Quality of the cookie decorating aside, I love having this tradition and being able to sit down with my Mum and sister to fulfill it. It's certainly one I will miss if I ever move away (or one of them does).

Do you have any childhood recipes that you still enjoy today?

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