Baking madly
Well, sort of. I've baked the first three batches of cookies - you can check the progress in the pinned entry, I'll update steadily. These were relatively easy ones - in theory. Except that I got really creative. I've coloured the aniseed biscuits green because that looks great with the white pine nuts and made them into little sandwiches via glueing two together with the help of Spekulaas spread. Mum very much approved of the new version. *g*
The ginger meringues got coloured yellow and I put a bit of homemade lemon syrup on top of each one, plus a piece of candied ginger. My lemon syrup turned out great, it's sour, slightly bitter at the same time, with an underlying sweetness. Considering that I only made it to put the lemon juice left over from experimenting with candied lemon peel to good use, it's an unexpected success.
The Kokosmakronen were refined with some lemon zest, dried raspberry chunks and a good shot of eggnog. I also decorated them with chocolate icing and even more raspberry chunks, so I think they are quite pretty. For a change no "ugly but yummy" cookies! We both liked them very much, which is surprising, since we both hate the coconut flavour and wouldn't eat Raffaellos for love or money. But basically, these meringue-based cookies - and a few other versions that are made without wheat flour - are meant for my friend Evie who has recently developed gluten intolerance but still needs something sweet in her life.
Another one of my recipients can't eat eggs and a third one has lactose intolerance, so baking enough variants so that everyone can have something that is delicious and won't harm them is quite the challenge, but it also makes one creative. I enjoy the challenge... so far. ;))
In the afternoon I've prepared stuff for tomorrow, when I'll be baking four different sorts of biscuits. I chopped macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, soft toffee bonbons and other things for an hour and a half, and now I'm fairly dead on my feet. I don't own a food processor (no room for it in our kitchen), and my chopper died on me two years ago. I wish they'd sell those separately, not just as parts of a whole set with other parts that I already own and that are still working perfectly. *sigh*
Anyway, needless to say that I didn't get much else done today, save for the weekly laundry. Tomorrow promises the same, but at least baking is fun.
The ginger meringues got coloured yellow and I put a bit of homemade lemon syrup on top of each one, plus a piece of candied ginger. My lemon syrup turned out great, it's sour, slightly bitter at the same time, with an underlying sweetness. Considering that I only made it to put the lemon juice left over from experimenting with candied lemon peel to good use, it's an unexpected success.
The Kokosmakronen were refined with some lemon zest, dried raspberry chunks and a good shot of eggnog. I also decorated them with chocolate icing and even more raspberry chunks, so I think they are quite pretty. For a change no "ugly but yummy" cookies! We both liked them very much, which is surprising, since we both hate the coconut flavour and wouldn't eat Raffaellos for love or money. But basically, these meringue-based cookies - and a few other versions that are made without wheat flour - are meant for my friend Evie who has recently developed gluten intolerance but still needs something sweet in her life.
Another one of my recipients can't eat eggs and a third one has lactose intolerance, so baking enough variants so that everyone can have something that is delicious and won't harm them is quite the challenge, but it also makes one creative. I enjoy the challenge... so far. ;))
In the afternoon I've prepared stuff for tomorrow, when I'll be baking four different sorts of biscuits. I chopped macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, soft toffee bonbons and other things for an hour and a half, and now I'm fairly dead on my feet. I don't own a food processor (no room for it in our kitchen), and my chopper died on me two years ago. I wish they'd sell those separately, not just as parts of a whole set with other parts that I already own and that are still working perfectly. *sigh*
Anyway, needless to say that I didn't get much else done today, save for the weekly laundry. Tomorrow promises the same, but at least baking is fun.