29 July 2009

Move Over Nigella...


... there's a new domestic goddess in town!

Well, in my dreams anyway.

In an earlier post I asked for ideas for rainy day activities for toddlers, I had a great response. We have already tried washing up, that was a great success. Today I thought Presley and I could have a go at baking.

The lovely AllGrownUp posted a wonderful recipe for squashed biscuits. I haven't linked to her blog because it's a bit broken at the moment. I was going to follow this recipe, but it requires an egg and Andy scrambled the last ones the night before.

So I started searching for another biscuit recipe. When I was pregnant with Presley I had gestational diabetes. Every week at our NCT class our teacher, Sue, would feed us home-made cakes and biscuits. I couldn't have any, so she gave me all of her biscuit and cake recipes when we left.

I put Presley in his highchair in the kitchen, wearing his apron. I thought he would prefer to see what was going on and this also saved me from having to pick him up with cookie dough hands! I let him play with the ingredients and I explained every step. This was where I turned into Nigella Lawson. I scraped my finger round the bowl and licked it clean, luckily there were no cameras as I ended up with cookie dough on my chin, T-shirt and in my hair.

While the cookies were in the oven Presley watched through the glass door as I tidied up and washed my hands, chin, T-shirt and hair. When I took the cookies out of the oven, Presley's eyes were as big as saucers!

Drum roll please.....




Sue's Cookies
6oz self raising flour
4oz caster sugar
3oz margarine
4oz sultanas (or raisins)
4 tablespoons evaporated milk
Grated rind half a lemon (optional)

Sieve flour into bowl, add sugar and rind and rub in margarine.
Add sultanas and bind with evaporated milk.
Form into balls and place on baking sheet.
Bake at 375f/160c for 10-12 minutes.
Cool on wire trays.
Makes approximately 18 cookies.

See, it's so simple even I can do it! I love cooking, but have never really learned to bake. This is partly because I know I'd eat everything I made and this wouldn't be good for my waistline!

The cookies are delicious. I wasn't planning on letting eleven month old Cash have anything with sugar in before his first birthday, but I thought that home made cookies should be allowed. He wolfed his down, so did Presley, so did Andy and so did I.

***

I've entered a couple more competitions! You can too if you really want to - well, the more people that enter, the less chance I have of winning!!!

Firstly the fabulous Laura at Are We Nearly There Yet Mummy? is offering another chance to win a weekend away for a family of four with a day at Alton Towers. I so need a mini-break!

Also the amazing Nadine at Time Management Mum has tickets for an NLP/Breakthrough to Success weekend seminar worth £895! She has just come back renewed and inspired. Sounds good to me :-)



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14 comments:

  1. Those look delicious!
    And I'm a firm believer that anything home made has all the sugar cancelled out. And therefore the calories.

    Right?? :)

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  2. Woohooo, you're clearly a domestic goddess

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  3. Mmmm Good...I'm dying for some homemade chocolate chip cookies but can't motivate myself. Now maybe you've helped me! :)
    Karin at Café Bébé

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  4. Agree with leslieanne, homemade has no calories...glad you had fun bet the boys loved it.

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  5. They look lovely! I love cooking (well, OK then, eating!).

    Aren't you good keeping little one away from sugar? I was like that with my eldest but way too laid back with my second - she started weaning at just before 6 months and just ate EVERYTHING!

    Mel xxx

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  6. wow look at you all domesticated - they look very good but i am terrible at baking things, even the ready made dough in a tub onces from the supermarket are too much for me. Well done :) x

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  7. Well done you and what a great experience it was for you both. Looking forward to hearing all about the next cooking instalment.

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  8. Mmmm lovely. Most homebaking requires tons of butter and sugar - no wonder I've put weight on. Husband asked for Nigella's butterscotch layer cake for his birthday this week - how could I refuse?

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  9. They look great! I love baking cakes and biscuits with my 2 year old too. I smiled about the lack of eggs - whenever I get the desire to bake there is always at least one ingredient missing! I'm so far from being a Nigella, not even an "also ran", so I always have a spare crispy cake kit from M&S in my cupboard (just add butter) for those raining days! Cx

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  10. Leslieanne, LOL you're absolutely right. It's like having a Big Mac and a Diet Coke, they cancel one another out too!

    Mrs OMG, hmm, one plate of cookies may not be enough for domestic goddess status, although I have cleaned the downstairs loo today, so I think I'm getting there!

    Karin,these are sooo simple to make!

    Lorraine, Cash was asleep, but Presley loved it :-)

    Mel, haha yes, I prefer the eating to the cooking! I think Cash has a sweet tooth, he loves fruit and eats sultanas like they're sweets. Only a month to go and I'm sure his Grandma will be feeding him chocolate biscuits as soon as my back is turned! x

    Wife of Bold, thanks! I haven't tried the ready made cookie dough. Honestly though, this is the simplest recipe, try it? :-) x

    b, it was lovely, especially watching the boys eating them. I think I'll get them both in the kitchen when I'm cooking their tea today so they can 'help' with that!

    Working Mum, that's why I rarely bake, although that Nigella cake sounds scrummy :-)

    Claire, hi there! Yes, I'm not really geared up for baking. If I buy the ingredients they stay in the cupboards so long they're past their sell-by dates by the time I get to them! Thanks for the tip about the M&S kits :-) x

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  11. What a good idea and those cookies look fab!

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  12. A Modern Mother, thanks, they didn't last long!!

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