Feasting Is Fun – Page 40 – Great recipes for feasting and having fun.

Super Easy Shortbread Cookies.

Hello again. I’m really enjoying this blogging lark, I hope you are enjoying my thoughts and recipes too? Please leave a comment if you try any. I’d love to hear how you got on. So, today let me bring you my Super Easy Shortbread Cookies.

Today is the day…..all the children back at school. My mind is buzzing with all the possibilities that today holds! All the things I put off during the summer holidays to spend time with our 11, 13 and 15 year old children.

Time To Bake Cookies

I love having them home, they all get along pretty well (not bad for 2 older girls and my boy) and I shall miss their music/chatter/mess… Well maybe not the mess. But they do fill our home with energy and fun. Still tomorrow is the weekend, so today I shall enjoy the peace knowing chaos is only a day away.

Hmmm there’s jam to be made, not really in the mood for that, tidying – but it’ll only need doing again on Monday. Cookies! I have nothing really against shop bought biccies but you really can’t beat homemade and these are a doddle.

You will need:

2 x baking sheets with parchment paper on them.

Cling film (I’ll explain later)

Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature : it really makes a difference.

Recipe: Super Easy Shortbread Cookies makes 20-24

150g/5 oz Caster Sugar (plus 2 tsp for sprinkling on top)

1/4 tsp Salt – I use Maldon

225g/8 oz Unsalted Butter

1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste, or 1 tsp Vanilla Extract – I use Nielsen-Massey

1 Large Free Range Egg Yolk – the white can be frozen for up to one month, perfect for Pavlova

225g/8 oz Plain White Flour

50g/2 oz Corn Flour – corn starch

Making The Shortbread Cookie Dough

Place butter, sugar and salt into a large bowl.
Whisk or beat (using a wooden spoon) together until the mixture is very pale yellow.
Now mix in the egg yolk and vanilla paste/extract.
Sift in the flour and corn flour.
Mix thoroughly, but gently until all the ingredients are combined.
Now take a big, deep breath. The smell is scrummy and will help you recognise later when the Super Easy Shortbread Cookies are nearly cooked!

Shaping And Chilling The Cookie Dough

Set the mixture to one side so that you have a clear work top in front of you. You will need a clear space in front of you. Wipe this space with a clean, slightly wet, dish cloth.
Taking the clung film unwrap about 12 inches (30cm) lay it over the damp work surface as you do so. Magically the cling will lay flat and not become a tangled mess!
Place half of your cookie dough on the cling film in a rough log shape.
Using your hands and the cling mould the dough into a log, with a diameter of approx 1 1/2″ (7cm)
Wrap tightly making sure the cookie dough is as even as possible along the log.
Carefully transfer this to the fridge laying it on a flat surface (the dough will still be quite squishy – I usually lay it lengthways across my palm).
Repeat this process with the rest of the cookie dough. Leave the dough to rest and harden up for at least 2-3 hours.

Slicing And Baking The Shortbread Cookies

Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan, 350F, gas mark 4, just before you remove the cookie dough log from the fridge.

Remove 1 log from the fridge and leave to warm slightly for 5 minutes (I find leaving it for this time makes the dough easier to cut and not crack).
Using a sharp knife cut regular discs approx 1/4″ (1/2cm) wide.
You should end up with 10-12 cookie discs.
Place these on the parchment paper lined baking sheets, making sure there is at least 1″/2.5cm gap each way between the discs.
Sprinkle each cookie with a little sugar.
Place the baking trays in the centre and lower part of the oven
Bake the Super Easy Shortbread Cookies for 14-17 minutes.
The cookies are baked when they are a light golden colour.

When you start to smell the scrumptious buttery, vanilla smell it’s time to check on your cookies. DON’T PROD THEM – however tempting! They will still be soft and firm up on cooling. These cookies are cooked when they turn a light golden colour.
As soon as they are baked remove from the oven, careful they are hot!
Leave the cookies on the baking tray to cool completely.

The sprinkle of sugar added just before baking gives the cookies a sparkling sheen once baked.

Pop the kettle on and try one, just to make sure they’re good. These cookies travel well and I like to pop some in cellophane bags tied with pretty ribbon and pass them on to friends andfamily. They are also scrummy when shared with a close friend over a cuppa and a heart to heart chat.

If you have enjoyed this recipe for Super Easy Shortbread Cookies you may also like these:

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Heart Cookies

Cherry Bakewell Cookies

Rolo Chocolate Cookies

Since I am a self confessed Cookie Monster, I assume that others are too. Baking fresh cookies, ready to share, is one way of showing my friends and family how much I love them. I mean I’m giving away cookies! Whether it’s cookies, cakes or other bakes, I have never had anyone turn down the gift of a homemade treat.

If you want to see more of my recipes, or show me your bakes you can find me on Twitter/Instagram/Pinterest – @sammiefeasting

Sammie xx

No part of this post may reproduced or duplicated without the written permission of the owner. Please see my Disclosure Policy.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lemon Drizzle Cake has to be one of my all time favourite cakes. While there are a gazillion recipes on the internet and in books, I wanted to add my own. Firstly because hopefully this blog will become a go-to resource for our children as they continue on their cooking and baking journey. Also, I like my lemon drizzle a certain way. That is, with a fresh lemon glacé icing draped and drizzled over the top. I hope that you enjoy my take on this classic cake?

Since there are various ways to make a lemon drizzle cake, I thought I’d explore them. Traditionally a lemon sugar syrup is made and poured over the top of the cake, creating a crunchy, sugar crust as it cools. For my take on this version see these Mini Lemon Drizzle Bundt Cakes.Perfect individual portions of sunshine.

FF Lemon Drizzle Cake — Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lemons And Their Versatility In The Kitchen

Lemons are a must-have ingredient in my kitchen. Used in both sweet and savoury recipes they are essential in my Tangy Lemon Potato Salad where the un-waxed, scrubbed lemons are cut so thinly they are eaten as part of the dish. Also they are used to thin down mayonnaise for my Crunchy Homemade Coleslaw.Whether halved and added to the cavity of a roasting chicken, or simply squeezed over baked salmon, they add a burst of flavour that lifts each dish.

While lemon extract is available and I confess sometimes is used in my recipes, nothing is quite as good as using the real thing. During lemon season I buy un-waxed lemons as they tend to be slightly under ripe. However, I have had many a mouldy lemon lurking in the fridge! So, if buying waxed lemons, simply scrub under hot water with a nail brush. As a note, I lightly scrub un-waxed lemons as well if using the zest.

You will need a 25cm x 11cm x 7.5cm (10” x 4.5” x 3”) 2lb loaf tin,

Recipe: Lemon Drizzle Cake serves 8-10

225g/8oz Unsalted Butter at room temperature

225g/8oz Caster Sugar

4 Large Free Range Egg

250g/9oz Plain White Flour

1 tsp Vanilla Extract – I use Nielsen-Massey

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 Whole Lemon – finely zested and juiced

1/4 tsp Sea Salt – I use Maldon Sea Salt, halve quantity if using free flowing

175g/6 oz Icing Sugar

Optional – White and Yellow Sprinkles – mine are from Waitrose

Method: Preheat oven to 160C/140C fan, 325F, gas mark 3.

Making And Baking The Lemon Cake

Place butter, caster sugar and salt into a large bowl and whisk until pale and creamy.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a separate bowl.
Add 2 eggs, the vanilla extract and half of the sieved flour to the creamed butter and sugar. Whisk until just combined.
Now add the last 2 eggs, remaining flour and lemon zest.
Stir the ingredients together with a metal spoon until thoroughly combined.
Spoon the lemon cake batter into the prepared tin ensuring the top is level.
Place the cake into the centre of the oven and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes – 1 hour 20 minutes. My cake took 1 hour 15 minutes.
The cake is baked when it is golden in colour, firm to touch and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
As soon as the cake is baked remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes in the tin.

While the cake cools make the glacé icing.

Making The Fresh Lemon Icing And Decorating The Cake

Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and add the lemon juice. Stir until thickly combined and completely lump free. If the icing is too thick add a few drops of water.
After 20 minutes cooling, run a palette knife around the outside edge of the cake. Turn the cake out – take care it will still be warm. Peel back the parchment paper from the base and discard.
Place the cake on to a cooling rack which is then place over a tray or plate.
Using a spoon drizzle the lemon icing over the cake, encouraging it to drip down the sides in places.
Finally scatter over some yellow and white sprinkles and leave the cake to cool completely.

Once cooled this cake is easily sliced. Serve with lemon tea for extra lemon flavour.

Keep the cake in an airtight container and eat within 5 days. Refrigerate during warmer weather.

If you have enjoyed this recipe for Lemon Drizzle Cake you may also like these:

Iced Cherry Coconut Loaf Cake

Raspberry Lemon Celebration Layer Cake

Pomegranate Lemon Drizzle Bundt Cake

Since this cake is so delicious, it’s good to know that I have successfully doubled the recipe and baked two cakes at the same time. It is my firm belief that all food tastes better when shared. So, whether you are baking this cake for yourself, or alternatively as a gift, it’s definitely worth making two. In fact why not give both cakes away?

Whatever you are making, baking and creating in your kitchens, have fun preparing and sharing your feast.

Sammie xx

No part of this post may be reproduced or duplicated without the written permission of the owner. Please see my Disclosure Policy.

Bread Baked The Easy Way

Bread baked the easy way.

Hi, thank you for dropping by.

Today is my first day of blogging!!! I’m excited. I’m going to show you how to bake bread the easy way! The sun is shining, so that means my veggie plants & flowers need watering.

I love the early morning smell of the garden, the slight dampness of dew on the grass, the smell of my tomato plants as I brush past them…

Anyhow I’m waffling, you may find that happens a lot! Back to business. Hey, no, didn’t I say that “Feasting is Fun”??

Bread: that’s what I will be making this morning (with the aid of my bread maker). If you have a stand mixer that can do the same job as my bread maker.

Recipe for a Large White Loaf

4lb loaf tin, buttered.

1 1/2 sachets dried yeast or 15g fresh (or I’m using frozen) yeast.

1lb 8oz Strong White Flour

380-400ml Water (warm -body temp)

1 tsp Honey

2 tsp salt – I use Maldon

2oz butter

1 large (4lb) buttered loaf tin

Clean tea towel

Place most of the water (380ml) into a bowl (of stand mixer or bread maker if using), add yeast. Swish about a bit with clean fingers to mix the yeast into the water ( rub the fresh/frozen yeast through your fingers until it is dissolved into the water). Add the teaspoon of honey & set to one side whilst you weigh the flour.

Add the flour so it sits on top of the yeast/honey/water mixture. Then add the salt. Break the butter into 3-4 pieces (it’s best if it’s room temp – but if it’s cold don’t worry, the bread will just take a little longer to rise).

With a stand mixer make sure the dough hook is attached a mix on slow/medium speed for 8-10 minutes. If using a bread maker I use a spatula to manually mix the dough, giving it approx 6-8 good stirs (this amount of mixture is a little too much for the paddle in my bread machine, doing this starts the mixing process & then the machine can happily cope with fully mixing the dough!).

As the dough comes together it should mix smoothly & look soft & elastic. If it looks dry – or the mixing device makes a clunking sound add more water (the extra 20mls). Be patient it takes a minute or so for the water to become incorporated. Continue mixing for the 8-10 minutes.

If using a bread maker I use the dough cycle, so once mixing is finished the dough is then left in the machine to prove, until doubled in size (up to 2 hours), I then use the start of the dough cycle to knock back the dough for 2 mins before removing the dough.

If you are using a stand mixer, after the initial mixing process is complete, remove all the dough, place onto a clean floured surface & shape into a ball. Place into a buttered bowl, turn over once, so the top has a coating of butter on it & cover the bowl tightly with cling film. Place in a warm, draught free place until doubled in size (up to 2 hours). After this time remove the cling & punch down into the dough gently (feels sooo nice) to deflate the dough.

With either method you now have bread dough ready to be shaped. Place the dough on a floured surface and stretch it out with your hands. Fold one end into the middle & do the same with the other end. Turn the dough by a quarter & repeat the stretching & folding. Do this twice more. This is building structure into your dough & this little bit if effort makes a BIG difference to your finished loaf.

Place the dough seam side down into your buttered loaf tin. Cover with a tea towel & place in a warm draught free place until doubled in size (up to 2 hours).

Just before it has completely doubled turn your oven onto its highest setting, 250C/500F.

When doubled remove tea towel & place the tin in the oven. I then turn the heat down to 230C (but it’s fine to keep it at its hottest – just don’t forget about your bread!!). Bake for 15-25 minutes (depending on your oven & how crusty you want your bread), I usually tip mine out of its tin & leave it upside down on the oven rack (with the oven still on) whilst I rinse out the loaf tin –

White/Wholemeal 50:50 loaf with added seeds. Delicious - might need a lil more water. — White/Wholemeal 50:50 loaf with added seeds. Delicious – might need a lil more water.

– CAREFUL it’s very HOT!

When the bread is a gorgeous deep golden colour remove from the oven, tip out of the tin straight away, or you will have a soggy loaf on the bottom. The bread should sound hollow if you knock on the base with your knuckle.

Enjoy the smell!!! There is nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread.

Now’s the hard part WAITING! The loaf needs to cool to just above room temp otherwise it won’t cut properly.

Prep time is no more than 10 mins. Once you’ve made your first couple of loaves you should get into a rhythm & see how easy it is to make your own bread.

If you enjoyed Bread Baked The Easy Way here are other recipes you may like:

Oat Bran White Bread

Then find someone to share it with. Food ALWAYS tastes better when it’s shared.

Please let me know how you get on. I’m not a professional chef but I’m happy to try & answer baking/cooking related questions.

Until next time have fun making each meal a feast!!