Over the weekend we have been eating our way through a pile of Hot Cross Cookies from a recipe I found on Whitworths Sugar website. They were easy to make, half an hour from start to finish, and a great alternative to the traditional Hot Cross Bun typically eaten at this time of year. I left out the white chocolate pieces as we all eat far too much chocolate at this time of year (!) but I did decorate them with white chocolate with a little help from my son. The cookies were delicious so would be a great bake…
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If you’re a regular reader of my blog you’ll know that I love to bake and cook from scratch, as a stay at home mum I feel like I should! I love trying new ideas and was recently sent a recipe for some delicious sounding granola cookies made with Jordans Super Nutty Granola. I made these yesterday whilst my children were eating their dinner, they took 10 minutes to put together and 14 minutes in the oven (Gas Mark 4). They’re so quick and easy they’d make a great treat for someone special if you’re celebrating Mother’s Day or any…
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A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend the Hobbycraft Spring Press Show at Homemade London. I got to meet Kirstie Allsopp (again) who was launching her new range of craft kits for Hobbycraft and watched lots of fun crafty demonstrations. I came away with some lovely baking and home decoration samples and have been busy making all kinds of things from them. Today my son and I made some Easter biscuits. I used my never fail Biscuiteers biscuit recipe and cut out lots of bunny and carrot shapes. When they were cool we decorated them with…
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Last week we were the lucky recipients of a Magic Pancake Possibilities Box from Warburtons. I never knew Warburtons made pancakes, we’re much more used to eating their delicious bread, so we were looking forward to trying them. My children absolutely loved opening the Magic Pancake Box which played Pure Imagination from the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film everytime the lid was opened. The box was a very special full sensory fun packed pancake kit, which helped keep my children entertained during half term and also gave us some new ideas ahead of Pancake Day on March 4th.…
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I love the way blogging seems to make me really aware of the seasons and holidays. Perhaps it’s just me trying to entertain 2 small children or spending too much time on Pinterest. Anyway St David’s Day seems to be our next holiday so we tried making Welsh cakes. A couple of years ago we had a lovely weekend in Cardiff Bay and, as I was pregnant at the time, I enjoyed lots of Welsh cakes. They are so simple to make I’m annoyed that I haven’t made them before. It’s also such a simple recipe and method that they’re…
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Babies and children are big business. From toys and games to toddler activities, this particular market offers limitless money making opportunities for those in the know. With parents powerless to resist the hard sell, our homes often become a haven to consumerism and the material trappings of the toddler to teen years. These days, playgroup is increasingly passé and toddlers are often treated to a schedule of organised activities. Swimming and soft play sessions have upped their game, with increasingly expensive activities promising everything from educational benefits to borderline enlightenment. With more and more families feeling the pinch, why not…
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We’ve been baking a lot recently. Both my children love the process of baking and making food (and eating the results!) and as their current favourite book is The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson we made Gruffalo cupcakes. How to make Gruffalo cupcakes First of all we made a batch of delicious chocolate cupcakes. When they were cool and covered with a gooey chocolate icing my 3 year old sat at the table with bowls of decorations. We talked about The Gruffalo and what we could use to make his eyes, nose, teeth and everything else. He has terrible tusks, and…
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Something came over me the other evening, the desire to make delicious things to eat. Before Christmas I had bought a block of marzipan to make some marzipan fruits for Christmas, but I ran out of time. Instead I made some pretty marzipan hearts and dipped them in white chocolate for a naughty treat. They were really simple to make as you can probably see from the photographs above. First I added a little red food colouring to half a block of marzipan and mixed it well, I rolled it out quite thin and cut out my shapes with a…
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Our biscuit barrel was sadly empty so I knew it was time to fill it up. I chose one of Tate & Lyle Sugar’s gorgeous Christmas recipes and made the biscuits last night. Much as my children love helping sometimes it’s really nice to concentrate and enjoy doing something on my own. I followed the recipe for the sparkly Christmas biscuits, mainly as it used cinnamon and ginger, which I just love. I adapted the recipe slightly as I forgot to buy an orange 🙂 The recipe made a lot of dough so I cut out star shapes as the…
