Happy Australia Day



Happy Australia Day!

Today, my first cookie near fail...and with a biscuit that I was so looking forward to making for the very first time.  I should not have been baking today.  I have a 1 year old who has not wanted to have a nap, tried for an hour this morning and she got the best of me.  So off to the grocery store for some Golden Syrup - of course, she fell asleep in the car on the way and stayed sleeping on my shoulder for the entire jaunt around the store.  She so nicely woke up going back into her car seat so I drove around and around hoping that she would nod off again as I know 15 minutes of cat-napping is not going to keep her a happy little girl today.  No luck, she just chatted and said "Hello" to every tree, stop light, and any other thing she could locate.  My husband even took her for a trip to Bunnings so she would have another chance in the car, no luck and they were back before I got down to baking. 

That leads me to my near failure with ANZAC biscuits.  I chose ANZACs as I have never baked them, but love them!  I am Canadian born and as such did not grow up on them and I seem to forget how much I love them until I start seeing the commemorative tins in the stores that I think "oh, I need to get some ANZAC".  So here on Australia day I decided to bake a day early and get some in the oven.  The making of the dough is easy and fast, although not really a good small child recipe as you need to melt butter and syrup on the stove which is extremely hot.  The smell of the dough once you add the liquid amber with the oats and coconut is divine.  They are a slow baking cookie with needing 20 minutes ( I personally wouldn't go this long as they are just a little bit too hard for little kids) in the oven on a low temperature which gives them a wonderful golden brown colour and a crispy texture.  Perfect with a cup of tea or glass of milk.  Today though instead of the nice slow bake, there started to be a burning odour in the air and I could smell a hot oven.  Hmm...strange it had only been 6 minutes of the baking time - best check.  Ah yes, Little Miss M had jacked the oven temperature up to a whopping 210 C!  Little bit of smoke coming out near the grill and the cookies were a toasty brown with very gooey middles and a hint of smoke flavouring.  My quick fix solution.  Turn the oven off, leave the cookies in for a few more minutes and somehow they turned out OK, not great, but definitely edible. 



The Failed, but yet still tasty 1st Tray



Second tray still not that successful.  Have I met my cookie match?  They taste OK, but I really wouldn't serve them to anyone outside the household. Third tray in the oven, I was not going to be beat by a cookie that so many make and always say what a simple cookie it is.  Do you need to be Australian?  Does the cookie know this?  Is it because I have kept calling it a cookie instead of a biscuit? 

After discussion with my husband, he gave me some constructive criticism on how to improve or what they should really be like.  So here is the final I think successful result. 

Third time's the charm. 

My Helpful hints for this tasty little cookie:
1) watch them...the time is really long at 20minutes, but can be fine if your oven doesn't register too hot
2) do not let toddlers change your temperature setting
3) let an Australian tell you how they should really taste as they are the experts

Enjoy!

ANZAC Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of rolled oats
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups coconut
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 250g butter
• 4 tblspns golden syrup
• 1 tspn baking soda
• 2 tblspn boiling water

Method:

Turn oven to 160'C. Lightly grease oven trays.
Put oats, flour, coconut, sugar in big mixing bowl. Melt butter and golden syrup in pan. Take off heat.
Mix baking soda and boiling water in a cup. Add to melted butter in the pan. Quickly add to big mixing bowl. Mix well.
Roll tablespoonful lots into balls. put on trays 5cm apart. Press lightly with fork.
Bake for 20 minutes, one tray at a time.

Summertime looks to be here...

Summertime...I think it may have finally arrived here in Melbourne. 

How nice is it to be able to sit outside, the kids eating Freezies, playing with Bubbles and in the sandbox while Mum has a nice cold drink.  It is just sparkling water with a wedge of lemon but maybe after 5pm when Dad is home it will have a little something extra in it.  So now that brings me to the recipe of the week inspired by Summer Days and lemons.

Lemon Cranberry Wafers - Refrigerator Cookies

These sounded like they would be yummy little morsels to bake on a hot day.  The dough is made ahead of time and chilled in the fridge for no less than 2 hours and can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer ( no specific time given but I wouldn't leave it for more than a few months.)  They took me a whopping 8 minutes to make and get in the fridge, so fast and easy too.  The recipe called for Pecans, but as all my recipes will be nut-free to accommodate my allergy I chose to substitute with dried cranberries.  They are chock full of of vitamin c and will look oh so lovely in the cookie.  I worked in a Credit Union in Canada  and the cafeteria served lovely fresh baked muffins each day.  My favourite of all time was the lemon cranberry one so I know this combination will be fantastic.  And with the leftover lemon you too can enjoy the above pictured beverage of your choice. 

After the mixing - here is the dough wrapped and about to be wrapped before getting chilled.  If freezing I would also include a layer of foil or pop in a freezer bag.  Chill for minimum of 2 hours.



The Finished Result

These are wonderful little cookies.  A nice lemony taste, soft texture (you could bake them a bit longer if you wanted them firmer) and the cranberries just add a nice extra flavour to them.  I would recommend these for a picnics, lunchboxes and with a great cup of Earl Grey Tea.  There aren't really any cons to these cookies other than having to wait to bake them, but then the pro is that you can make ahead and pop them in the oven when guests arrive and they will be ready and warm in 12 minutes!  You can't beat that!  There are so many other variations of fridge cookies too and I'll add some variations to my other pages for you to look through over the coming week.

Hope you enjoy! 

Aileen

P.S. Did you like Snickerdoodles or Chocodoodles best?  Leave me a comment below.

Lemon Cranberry Wafers - Refrigerator Cookies

1/2 cup (125gm) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon each grated lemon peel and lemon juice
2 cups all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup dried cranberries


In large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy; beat in egg, lemon peel, and lemon juice.  In another bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually add to butter mixture, blending thoroughly.  Stir in cranberries, mixing with your hands if necessary to distribute cranberries evenly.  Shape dough into 2 rolls, each 1 1/2 inches in diameter; wrap in wax paper and refrigerate until firm (at least 2 hours) or for up to 3 days.


Unwrap dough.  Using a sharp knife, cut into 1/8 inch thick slices; place slices about 1 inch apart on greased baking sheets.  Bake in a 350 F oven for 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Transfer to racks and let cool.  Store airtight.  Makes about 6 dozen.

The First Batch of Cookies is Out of the Oven

Well hello. The weather is horrid outside - raining, but nothing like Queensland - the kids are going stir crazy for not getting to go outside and it's muggy! So what to do? Bake my first batch of cookies for The Cookie Review. This week's tasty morsels are Snickerdoodles! These have been a long time favourite of mine and a frequent request of my family. I thought for the first post we should start with a winner and from here out there will be recipes that I haven't baked before so you will get to be here for the successes and failures. I am not too proud to post those that turn out disastrous as it shows that even those of us who consider themselves good bakers have a great fail at times. I think the chickens will love getting their little beaks on those ones! Plus the kids will probably eat them anyway, they are little and not really great critics as of yet.

Firstly a little about myself. I'm a Stay at Home Mum and proud of it. My house is by no means perfect, but the kids are always dressed, clean (well hygenic clean, not necessarily dirt, sand, muck free), and there is usually laughter and things being done. I love to bake, as to why I started the blog, craft, make candles and have a little business LimeDaisy Design selling Breast Pads for those of us who are passionate Breastfeeders. My two children are helpers each in their own special way. M as the destructor of the kitchen cupboards and A as taster, mixer and bowl licker. Hopefully one day they will also be the assistant bakers and dishwashers!

I have always loved baking and doing all the fiddly little things that make the cookies or other treats that extra bit special. I'll tell a few more tales along the way. Today, I'll just get onto the cookie review.

Snickerdoodles - they make your house smell amazing! There is no way to describe how wonderful a house filled with just a hint of cinnamon and the warmth of the oven baking feels so inviting. These are a winner, hands down one of the classics that everyone should make. Just look at how yummy they look! They are made in no time and even the most novice of bakers should be able to have great success with these ones.

Now I have also come across a twist - Chocodoodles - so of course I had to give those a go. They were ok, but really nothing to rave about. I do not think they should be in the league of the Snickerdoodle as once they have the cocoa added they really lose all Snickerdoodle qualities.

Here is the image of them before going into the oven - I like to make them kid size so that they can have 2 and still think they are getting a lot.

And here is the final result.

Positives of this cookie - just as fast and easy as the original Snickerdoodle about 6-8minutes to prepare them, not a super sweet cookie as they have cocoa in them so give them that rich taste without being sugary. Negatives - as you roll them in cocoa/sugar blend, can tend to have a bit of a burnt edge to them with the cocoa getting too brown, bit on the boring side really. Recipes for both are below.

Give them a go and let me know what you think! Happy Baking! Join me next Thursday when I review another cookie!

Snickerdoodles

1 cup (225 gram) butter or margerine (I honestly only use butter) softened

1 1/3 cups sugar

2 eggs - fresh from our chickens

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups all purpose flour (plain flour)

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons sugar

In large bow of an electric mixer, beat butter and the 1 1/3 cups of sugar until creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, blending thoroughly.

In small bow, combine cinnamon and the 3 tablespoons sugar. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, then roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat. Place at least 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Bake in a 375 F (~160 C fanforced or 180 C) for about 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for about a minute, then transfer to racks and let cool completely. Store airtight. Makes about 4 1/2 dozen.

Chocodoodles - add 2 tablespoons cocoa to flour mixture and roll the balls in cocoa and sugar mixture instead of cinnamon and sugar mixture.

The Cookie Review is Under Construction!