GINGERBREAD MEN

Mothers' Day Baking and Bonding.
 

 

To be clear my daughter and I planned to make gingerbread men but soon discovered that we didn't actually have a large enough 'man' cookie cutter. Our 'gingerbread men' turned out to be gingerbread teddies, butterflies, stars and hearts.

I love the old fashioned idea of gingerbread men, as it was one of my favourite things to bake as a kid, but let your children choose whatever they want! Just make sure that whatever shapes they choose the overall sizes are the same on each baking sheet so they bake evenly and you don't get some burnt ones.

 

HAVE FUN!  

 

INGREDIENTS

350g Plain Flour

175g Brown Sugar

100g Butter/Margarine

1 Large Egg

4 tablespoons (60ml) of Golden Syrup

1 teaspoon (5ml) Bicarbonate of Soda

2 teaspoon (10ml) ground ginger

 

 

METHOD

1. Mix flour, sugar, bicarb,giger and margarine/butter in a large mixing bowl together. This step requires you and your little one/s to get your hands dirty. Mix until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

 

 

This part is great fun and great for those fine motor skills

 

2. Add syrup and egg, and mix until you get a firm dough.

You can always try and do what we did. I love how creative my daughter is.

 

 

Be sure to make the holes big enough so it doesnt look like a sad face!

 

If the dough is too dry add a little more syrup until it combines nicely.

 

3. Preheat your oven to 180°C

 

4. Using a rolling pin, and a flour-dusted surface, roll out your dough until about 5mm thick. If your rolling pine and surface are not dusted your dough will stick and you will battle to lift the cut dough from the surface.

  

5. Cut out shapes using your selected cookie cutter/s or knife.

 

 

6. Place cut cookies on greased baking tray about 2cm apart and pop in the oven.

Bake for about 10-15 mins depending on the size of your biscuits and your desired crunchiness. Some prefer a softer biscuit while others like them hard.

 

7. Decorate using icing and anything you can find around the house or in the shops.

Ideas: Smarties, chocolate drops/chips, astros, raisins, silver balls. Ask your kid what they they would like and have fun with it.



Custard Slices

Confession time. I did not actually bake these myself, I just took the photo. 

 

The lovely ladies in the kitchen made these and they were amazing! I have asked the Chef if I can share her recipe because I have never had such an amazing custard slice in my life.

Thank you to Lisa Moffatt for sharing this 'secert recipe'.
Lisa calls these: Instant Custard Slices.
She loves them because they are affordable, quick, easy and appetising.

Ingredients:
1x roll puff pastry (400g)
1x 90g packet instant vanilla pudding
250ml cream
200ml cold milk

Method:

1.Preheat oven to 180c. 

2. Unroll the pastry & cut into rectangles. Place on a greased baking sheet & bake for about 10 mins, until puffed up & golden.

3. Beat the instant pudding, milk & cream together for 1 minute until stiff.

4.Cool the pastry for a few minutes before halving each horizontally.

5. Fill with the pudding mixture & dust with icing sugar.

Makes 20

 

Loving Dieters Nursery

Two big thumbs up to Dieters Nursery.

 

We were massively impressed and arrived with great excitement to see so many trees, plants, shrubs and seedlings! I am very far from a professional gardener but both my husband and I trying our hand at it, enthusiastic and willing to learn.

 

We left with a Navel Orange tree/shrub, a Cooking Leaf Lime shrub and two granadilla vines.

 

Compared to a few other places we have visited we decided that these were well priced. In fact 2 months ago I proudly returned from the Shongweni Farmers Market with a Eureka Lemon tree which I bought "on special" for R150. At Dieters there were healthier and larger Eureka Lemons for R105! You live and learn...

 

We have now planted our new babies and I will let you know how they go in the future.

 

There is a Bonsai Shop within Dieters but unfortunately it wasn't open when we were there.

 

 

 

 

You will find Dieters Nursery at 4 Bona Terra Road, Assagay.

Bona Terra Road is off Kassier Road.

You can contact them on 031 768 1583