Gingerbread Cookies & Bias Tape
OK. I am allowed to make gingerbread cookies. Just as well. I was going to anyway. These ones ended up being egg-free. Not because I didn't have an egg, which often happens, but because my nephew, who is allergic to eggs, was going to be visiting (but didn't). And they turned our great! I think they do rise a bit more with egg, but we quite like ours just like this. Mental note, no need for egg next time either.
The recipe for these delicious cookies is below. I think it's from a Women's Weekly cookbook originally. I do often sit my mixing bowl on the scales and weigh ingredients into it, after learning that some things, like flour, especially the non-wheat, non-white varieties, can vary quite a bit in weight. If you dont weigh your flour and you thinks it's too dry add a bit of water or milk. Or an egg. And I never sift. Well almost never. I did sift the bicarb in this cute little mini sifter I have. It was pretty lumpy.
Gingerbread cookies (egg-free)
125g butter, chopped
1/3 cup (75g) brown sugar
1/2 cup (175g) golden syrup
3 cups (450g) plain flour
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves (grind some in a mortar and pestle if you need to)
2 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
icing and hundreds and thousands to decorate.
Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Grease and line oven trays with baking paper.
Combine butter, sugar and golden syrup in small pan, stir over low heat until smooth (or microwave). Cool 5 minutes.
Sift flour, spices and soda into large bowl; add butter mixture and vanilla extract (and egg if you're using one), stir until mixture is combined.
Knead dough on floured surface until smooth. Roll dough between sheets of baking paper to 5mm thickness; refrigerate 10 minutes.
Using biscuit cutters, cut out shapes from dough; place on trays.
Bake about 10 minutes or until browned. Cool on trays.
Decorate biscuits with icing and decorate with hundreds and thousands, coloured sprinkles, sparkling cachous or currants.
Makes about 40 cookies.
The dough was quite stiff, and went really hard in the fridge (too hard for the kids to cut shapes from). I was a bit worried it would be too crumbly, but the kneading sorted that out. Dont worry if the edges are a bit crumbly the first time you roll it out. Once you gather those bits up and roll it again it'll be fine (I only refrigerated once). It'll also be easier to cut the second and third...and fourth times around.
Now, the bit about the bias tape - I went looking for fabric to make into bias binding, to match this fabric that I've had in my stash for a really long time...
and when I found this...I though perfect! Really?!
I keep thinking 'jelly stripes. It really is Hoot owl stripe something-er-other from Spotlight. I did have this pale blue which would have been a nice match , but I didn't think it suited the person it was going to (plus I didn't have enough) - it was a bit too carefully matched, too 'run of the mill' and I wanted something a bit more daring and colourful.
Like I said, I didn't really have enough of the pale blue but I just wanted to make sure. (This was before I found the jelly stripes). I went scouring other blogs, trying to find out how much bias I would actually get out of my remnant, I discovered a few different ways of making bias tape.
Something for Kate, who keeps saying she needs me to teach her how to make bias tape, this tutorial is for you! Makes my method of marking and cutting seem unneccesarily tedious!! So EASY.
Guess what else? One metre of fabric makes around 8.5m of 1/2" double fold bias and about 5.5m of 1" double fold bias. Now I know! The other nifty thing I bought last week was a bias tape maker. Fantastic!
So, eventually, I completed this little project last weekend. Almost. I just need some cord to finish it off.
I cant tell you what it is, because I haven't gifted it to my friend yet. Can you (can she) guess? I'll let you know if you're right, after I've given it to her.
SUPPLIES
Hoot Owl Stripe David Textiles
Butterfly Bliss Michael Miller
Clover 25mm bias tape maker
Polyester batting
The recipe for these delicious cookies is below. I think it's from a Women's Weekly cookbook originally. I do often sit my mixing bowl on the scales and weigh ingredients into it, after learning that some things, like flour, especially the non-wheat, non-white varieties, can vary quite a bit in weight. If you dont weigh your flour and you thinks it's too dry add a bit of water or milk. Or an egg. And I never sift. Well almost never. I did sift the bicarb in this cute little mini sifter I have. It was pretty lumpy.
Gingerbread cookies (egg-free)
125g butter, chopped
1/3 cup (75g) brown sugar
1/2 cup (175g) golden syrup
3 cups (450g) plain flour
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves (grind some in a mortar and pestle if you need to)
2 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
icing and hundreds and thousands to decorate.
Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Grease and line oven trays with baking paper.
Combine butter, sugar and golden syrup in small pan, stir over low heat until smooth (or microwave). Cool 5 minutes.
Sift flour, spices and soda into large bowl; add butter mixture and vanilla extract (and egg if you're using one), stir until mixture is combined.
Knead dough on floured surface until smooth. Roll dough between sheets of baking paper to 5mm thickness; refrigerate 10 minutes.
Using biscuit cutters, cut out shapes from dough; place on trays.
Bake about 10 minutes or until browned. Cool on trays.
Decorate biscuits with icing and decorate with hundreds and thousands, coloured sprinkles, sparkling cachous or currants.
Makes about 40 cookies.
The dough was quite stiff, and went really hard in the fridge (too hard for the kids to cut shapes from). I was a bit worried it would be too crumbly, but the kneading sorted that out. Dont worry if the edges are a bit crumbly the first time you roll it out. Once you gather those bits up and roll it again it'll be fine (I only refrigerated once). It'll also be easier to cut the second and third...and fourth times around.
Now, the bit about the bias tape - I went looking for fabric to make into bias binding, to match this fabric that I've had in my stash for a really long time...
and when I found this...I though perfect! Really?!
I keep thinking 'jelly stripes. It really is Hoot owl stripe something-er-other from Spotlight. I did have this pale blue which would have been a nice match , but I didn't think it suited the person it was going to (plus I didn't have enough) - it was a bit too carefully matched, too 'run of the mill' and I wanted something a bit more daring and colourful.
Like I said, I didn't really have enough of the pale blue but I just wanted to make sure. (This was before I found the jelly stripes). I went scouring other blogs, trying to find out how much bias I would actually get out of my remnant, I discovered a few different ways of making bias tape.
Something for Kate, who keeps saying she needs me to teach her how to make bias tape, this tutorial is for you! Makes my method of marking and cutting seem unneccesarily tedious!! So EASY.
Guess what else? One metre of fabric makes around 8.5m of 1/2" double fold bias and about 5.5m of 1" double fold bias. Now I know! The other nifty thing I bought last week was a bias tape maker. Fantastic!
So, eventually, I completed this little project last weekend. Almost. I just need some cord to finish it off.
I cant tell you what it is, because I haven't gifted it to my friend yet. Can you (can she) guess? I'll let you know if you're right, after I've given it to her.
SUPPLIES
Hoot Owl Stripe David Textiles
Butterfly Bliss Michael Miller
Clover 25mm bias tape maker
Polyester batting
Oooh... I have an idea! Is it a casserole holder? That fabric is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteYour awesome Michelle. I dont even know what Bias tape is :-)Not sure what your gift is but whoever gets it will love it xoxo Wendy
ReplyDeleteYou make me laugh! It's the binding stuff that neaten up the edges :)
DeleteWell yes, Elke is right! It was a casserole holder. Hopefully it'll keep it a bit warm too :)
ReplyDelete