Christmas Shortbread Revisited

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I thought it was timely to re-share my shortbread recipe – only slightly readjusted over the years.
This stuff is good and makes a thoughtful Chrissy gift to those who made it on to your ‘nice list’.
Here’s a few wee baking tips.
  1.  When making gluten free shortbread the flour blend does matter. Choose one with more ‘body and substance’. (I love Bobs One-to-One when I can find it.)
  2. I use unsalted butter but I do add a big pinch of salt. (ie almost 1/4 tsp.)
  3. Be generous with vanilla bean.
  4. Rest assured that if you are baking in the southern hemisphere it will be an extremely humid day. Murphy’s Law.
  5. As much as you may come up with fancy permutations of said shortbread, the people just want the plain vanilla.
  6. You can double this recipe.
  7. Shortbread stamps, embossed rolling pins and moulds are super fun.
  8. Homemade is best when it comes to shortbread.
Merry Christmas and peace out.
SHORTBREAD
What you need
250g unsalted butter room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 3/4 cups of gluten free plain flour or regular plain flour
1/4 cup rice flour
Big pinch of salt (or two)
How you do it
Preheat oven to 180C.
Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Cream the butter.  Add the sugar gradually (I use a stand mixer), beating until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Sift the flour, rice flour and salt together.
Work in the flour to the butter mixture gradually until the mixture is just combined.
Knead the mixture to bring together to a dough, with a very light hand. (I do this in the bowl.)
Divide the dough in half and roll each half out to a 3-4 cm log.
Wrap in clingwrap and refrigerate for half an hour to an hour.
Slice the logs into 1-2 cm thickness, depending on your fancy.
Place then 10mm apart on a baking tray and prick each piece all over with a fork.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until crisp and straw-coloured. (Non-gluten free shortbreads will be quicker to bake, probably only 15-20 minutes.)
Please Note: If using individual shortbread moulds, roll the dough out and cut to fit the shape before imprinting the shortbread dough. Then place then gently on the lined tray.
Cool down on wire racks.
Makes about 20-25 pieces.
The shortbread is adapted from a Margaret Fulton recipe.
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Mango and coconut shortbread

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All year, I have felt like I was running with scissors. (Something that our parents told us as children, we were never to do.) A pandemic will do that do a person I guess.

Some traditions must be upheld and shortbread is still on my
Christmas baking list. This particular version is a lovely taste of the tropics and just perfect for summer.

Whatever this festive season looks like for you and yours, I wish you peace.

MANGO AND COCONUT SHORTBREAD

WHAT YOU NEED
250g unsalted butter, room temperature
A dash of vanilla.(Just a wee bit)
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 3/4 cups of gluten free plain flour or regular plain flour
1/4 cup rice flour
Big pinch salt
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
70g finely diced dried mango

HOW YOU DO IT
Preheat oven to 180C.
Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Cream the butter. Add the sugar gradually (I use a stand mixer), beating until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Sift the flour, rice flour and salt together then stir in the coconut and dried mango.
Work the flour mixture into the butter and sugar mixture gradually until just combined.
Knead the mixture to bring together to a dough, with a very light hand. (I do this in the bowl.)
Divide the dough in half and roll each half out to a 3-4 cm diameter log. Wrap in clingwrap and refrigerate for half an hour to an hour.
Slice the logs into 1-2 cm thickness, depending on your fancy.
Place them 10mm apart on a baking tray and prick each piece all over with a fork.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until crisp and straw-coloured. (Non-gluten free shortbread will be quicker to bake, probably only 20 minutes.)
Cool down on wire racks.
Makes about 20-25 pieces.

The actual shortbread is adapted from Margaret Fultons and the rest is Cheergerm.

Chocolate and orange shortbread

Gluten free pecan and vanilla shortbread

Ginger shortbread for Christmas

Illuminating cardamom, cinnamon and brown sugar shortbread

Pandemic Apple Slice

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Ahh, the pandemic. What to say when so much has already been said? During lockdown, like so many others, I veered between being happily ensconced in the safety of home, only to find myself the next day, pacing the house like a caged lion. Wistfully remembering happier days involving family, friends, cafes, restaurants and someone else’s cooking. Good days were spent helping kids with schoolwork, baking, cooking, cleaning, tidying, sorting, exercising, playing games with family and watching movies. (Other days that were ‘less good’, were spent watching too much Tiger King on Netflix, drinking too much wine and freaking out…just a wee bit.) There is no ‘upside’ in a pandemic but with the Yak working from home, we got to spend precious time as a family that we had never experienced before.

Personally, the major downer in all of this, has been missing seeing Mum. No more Thursday morning market visits, dinners and especially, no hugs since March. Being over that ‘certain age’ and in the process of sorting out a pre-existing lung condition, meant strict self-isolation for our Mum. And whilst phone conversations and brief chats from the end of her driveway may have grown tiresome, (especially for her), it was a constant reminder of how important it is that we all did the right thing. And that we all still continue to do the right thing, ensuring that we protect those who are most vulnerable and ourselves.

This is not a whinge, I was very grateful to see her, even from a distance. My husband is unable to go back to the UK to see his Mum and as she is medically vulnerable, God knows when he will see her again. Other friends are in the same situation as him, with family in far away countries that they cannot go home to and visit. So many jobs lost, so many struggling and my heart breaks for all of those who were unable to and still cannot, visit family in aged care. Let alone and even more so, for those have lost loved ones forever, to this damn virus.

In Sydney and NSW Australia, we are currently hovering in a strange place, Covid wise. Kids are back at school here but sadly, Melbourne and parts of Victoria are back in lockdown with infection rates and deaths growing scarily by the day. In NSW, Covid clusters are occurring but at a slower rate. Some restrictions have just came back into place regarding numbers at restaurants and at social gatherings. We are on tenterhooks, waiting for the next shoe to drop. Hoping that we can all make sensible choices and keep one another safe.

Recently and cautiously we have seen a little more of Mum. (Although that may have to go back on hold considering the last few days of community infection rates.) Her condition is now under treatment and we have enjoyed carefully curated coffee catch ups outside and one or two short, socially distanced visits from one faraway couch to another. Baking this apple slice for afternoon tea on one of these visits, was my way of letting her know how very much I love, miss and appreciate her. There are no guarantees of a tomorrow for any of us and time is so very precious. This delicious slice was a recipe that she passed along to me and has become a firm family favourite. It is simple, quick and delicious. Give it a whirl, it’s a food hug you can give when you can’t give a proper hug.

PANDEMIC APPLE SLICE

WHAT YOU NEED
3 apples, peeled, cored and diced (1 cm)
1 tbl lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
280g self raising gf flour
(Or 280g plain gf flour with 4 tsps baking powder and a 1/4 tsp salt.)
1 cup caster sugar
125g butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk

HOW YOU DO IT
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Toss the prepared apples in the lemon juice to ensure they don’t go brown, add vanilla and stir through.
Combine the flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl then add the apples and stir through.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan or in a small bowl in the microwave.
Pour the cooled butter, beaten egg and milk into the flour and apple mixture and stir until combined.
Tip the mixture into a lined tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Can keep up to 3 days.

Cooking Notes: If you don’t require this slice to be gluten free, substitute for 2 cups regular self-raising flour. I sometimes add a teaspoon of cinnamon depending on my mood.

Original non-tweaked and non gluten-free recipe found here:

Apple slice

 

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Gluten free macadamia and lemon shortbread

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Christmas baking. Those of us who reside in this sunburnt country love nothing more than turning on our ovens in thirty plus degrees heat and ninety plus humidity. If you can’t ‘hack’ it, stay out of the kitchen us hardcore bakers would say. Every year I try a new spin on the classic shortbread and this Yuletide season, I decided it was time for a little bit of Australiana. A dash of ‘yeah mate’, a teaspoon of ‘good on ya’ and a sprinkling of ‘g’day.’

The macadamia nut is indigenous to Australia (sorry Hawaii, it was ours first) with a mild flavour and creamy, buttery texture. These ovoid tree-grown kernels pair beautifully with citrus. I would have loved to used the wonderfully zingy lemon myrtle, another native ingredient but sadly, I hadn’t ordered it in time. Hence, good old lemon rind had to suffice.

By all accounts this is a ‘little ripper’ of a combination and one that I am sure any good ‘sheila or bloke’ would be happy to find in their Christmas stocking. Have a ‘beaut’ Christmas and a ‘bloody’ Happy New Year.

MACADAMIA AND LEMON SHORTBREAD

WHAT YOU NEED
250g butter, room temperature
2 tsps finely grated lemon zest (approx the zest of 2 medium sized lemons)
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 3/4 cups plain gluten free flour (for non gluten-free shortbread use the same amount of plain flour)
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 tsp fine salt
60g macadamias, very finely chopped

HOW YOU DO IT
Preheat oven to 170C.
Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and sift the flours and salt together into a bowl.
Cream the butter, lemon zest and add the sugar gradually (I used a mixer), beating until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Work in the flour gradually until the mixture is just combined.
Add the macadamias and give the mixture another quick mix.
Knead the mixture lightly in the bowl for a few minutes to bring it together.
Divide the dough in half, roll each half out to a 3-4 cm log. Wrap in clingwrap and refrigerate for half an hour to an hour.
Slice the logs into 1-2 cm thickness, depending on your fancy, place 10mm apart on a baking tray and prick each piece all over with a fork.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until crisp and straw-coloured. (Regular shortbread will be quicker to bake, probably only 15-20 minutes.)
Cool down on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.
Makes about 20-25 pieces.

A Cheergerm Adaptation of a Margaret Fulton recipe.

Cooking Notes: Gluten free shortbread can be delicate creatures so please handle carefully when rolling and cutting. When adding the flour to the mixture, I pop a teatowel over the mixer to stop the flour ‘floofling’ (an exact culinary term) all over the joint.

Go here for some other Christmas shortbread variations:
Ginger shortbread
Cardamom, cinnamon and brown sugar shortbread
Pecan and vanilla shortbread
Cranberry chocolate and pistachio shortbread

Pam’s lemonade scones

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Some people are irrevocably part of your childhood fabric, the person who gave me this scone recipe is one of those people. Not long after we moved to Melbourne from New Zealand, over forty years ago now, I made friends with a wee red-headed energetic lass at our local primary school. Her mum’s name was Pamela and as time went on, our Mums became friends and our families became close. In many ways, they were our Australian family. Patching a hole that had been left from leaving loved ones behind in The Land of the Long White Cloud.

Pam’s parents were Dutch, she had beautiful high cheekbones and a European sensibility. She was strong, funny, fierce, kind and possessed a bullshit radar like no other. As well as raising a family, she ran a catering business from home using the classical cooking skills she had acquired in a cordon-bleu cooking course. I remember sitting on tall stools on the other side of her tiled kitchen bench. Shiny copper jelly molds decorated the walls and I watched with quiet amazement as she deftly chopped vegetables with a skill I had never seen before, made pastry or prepared hor’douevres for upcoming catering gigs. (Oysters atop black pumpernickel bread spread with green butter, being one of them. It was the late 70’s.) Alongside my own Mum’s passion for healthy, fresh produce and good home cooking, watching Pam in the kitchen deeply influenced me in a way that I wasn’t aware of until many years later.

I learnt much from Pam and from observing the friendship between her and my mother. She showed me how to clean a bathroom properly and how to use one square of toilet paper if that was all you were left with. (You don’t want to know.) She taught me the pinch test on the back of your hand to see how your skin was ageing. I remember watching with fascination as the skin on our younger hands pinged back quickly but when she pinched her own hand, it went back into place at a much slower pace. Funny the things we remember.

Pam and Mum’s friendship was close and honest. I observed them with equal parts envy, interest and delight. In retrospect as an adult, probably in the hope that I too could emulate this kind of relationship one day. From my perspective, they seemed to stimulate and challenge each other both intellectually and emotionally. It appeared as if the status quo existed only to be questioned. Pam was a stalwart support in some of my family’s darkest times and their friendship taught me that friends don’t always have to see eye-to-eye. That close relationships can move past a disagreement or a hurt into a deeper understanding. Her and Mum are still friends and being divided by distance, talk on the phone, text often and visit when they can.

Pam is a never boring whirlwind of ideas, deep thoughts, rapid-fire at times bewildering conversation that pushes you to keep up. She has an abiding passion for the new, for life, for food, for people, for education and for the intricate workings of the human mind and body. In a recent conversation based around baking, I had told her that my scones were always too heavy, so she promptly emailed me her lemonade scone recipe.

Using the lightest possible hand (as directed), the scones have turned out beautifully light and airy both times I have baked them. They will slip nicely into my standard repertoire and be the basis of some gluten free experimentation in the future. I think I will call them Pam’s Lemonade Scones. Because that’s the very least that she deserves.

Lemonade scones

WHAT YOU NEED

2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup castor sugar
125 ml thick cream
125 ml lemonade
2 tbsp milk

HOW YOU DO IT

Preheat oven to 200C. Line a tray with baking paper.
Sift the flour, salt and caster sugar into a medium sized bowl.
Add the cream, lemonade and milk to the flour mixture quickly. Using a knife or spatula and with a very light touch, bring the mixture together.
Tip onto a floured board and very lightly knead together. (The mixture is quite wet and sticky.)
Pat into a 2cm thick square and cut the mixture into 12 squares. (Or use a cutter but I think this would be a wee bit tricky with a sticky mixture like this.)
Brush the top with any remainding cream.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until risen and lightly golden brown.
Serve with butter, jam, cream. Whatever takes your fancy.

Pam’s Lemonade Scones

Ginger shortbread for Christmas

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Just as ginger is spicy and hot, I too, am a bit of a hot mess. Losing two absolutely beloved people in one year and all that comes with that, alongside some health issues; my blogging and writing mojo is sporadic at best. Frankly, my Cheergerm soul is weary, low and well, not so cheery as of late. As I tried to write this post, nine year old Kid 2 was beside me, wrapped in my doona; bouncing, rolling and banging his skinny bony knees into me. Asking me the same question over and over again. I snapped at him, then felt bad. He told me his new job ‘is messing up beds.’ This made me laugh. No chance of an idealised writing environment in my life, where is that solitary attic with a wooden desk that I once dreamed of?

Its been hard to get excited about Christmas, a season that usually provides much delight. Having children pushes me to make an effort. Writing the stripped back truth about your feelings can smack of self-pity and over-introspection. Whilst I am more than happy to read of others struggles, to write about my own leaves me feeling exposed and vulnerable. In the midst of it, I also know that things are so much worse for so many and that our children are healthy and happy. Rather than continue in this vein, here is a list of little joys I have collated from this past week.

The young kindergarten lass at the school Christmas concert on Friday night who raucously and joyfully sang ‘la la la’ shaking her head (much as a headbanger would at a Metallica concert).

Watching Kid 2 at the same concert, impersonating a kookaburra during a song with great abandon, all self-conscious anxiety placed aside for a moment.

Our twelve year old Kid 1 picking out small Christmas gifts for his kindy buddies, selflessly and of his own volition.

All the appreciative folk who view our street’s Christmas lights with gratitude and wonder.

The ongoing support of family and friends and the camaraderie I have found in this online blogging community.

The Scottish people, my ancestors, for creating that delicious biscuit called shortbread. Attributed to Mary Queen of Scots in the 16th Century, it was an expensive luxury for the ordinary folk. In Shetland, it was once traditional to break a piece of shortbread over the brides head as she crossed the threshold of her new home. (Not sure how I would have felt about buttery crumbs through my hair but this shows how special this biscuit was.)

My creation this year combines warm spices with small nuggets of ginger that add a chewy, toffee-like surprise. I used a brand that stated it was ‘un-crystallised bare ginger’ but it still has some cane sugar on it, so I am not quite sure what the difference is. (I imagine it contains less sugar.) There is nothing quite like giving something homemade as a gift. Pop your baked goodies in a vintage tin or wrap them in some pretty cellophane and finish off the parcel with a darling bauble. Another little joy to add to my growing list. Merry Christmas to you all.

GINGER SHORTBREAD, (CAN BE ADAPTED TO GLUTEN FREE)

WHAT YOU NEED
250g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 3/4 cups plain flour or gluten free plain flour
1/4 cup rice flour
2 1/2 tsps ginger powder
1/2 tsp mixed spice
30g bare uncrystallised ginger, finely chopped (if you can’t find this ‘naked’ stuff just use crystallised.)
Extra white sugar for sprinkling on top

HOW YOU DO IT
Preheat oven to 170C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper Sift the flours and spices together into a bowl.
Cream the butter in a stand mixer then add the sugar gradually, beating until the mixture is light and fluffy then stir in the finely chopped ginger.
Work in the flour gradually until the mixture is just combined.
Knead the mixture lightly to bring together to a dough. (I do this in the bowl.)
Divide the dough in half, place onto a floured board and pat each into a square.
Using a rolling pin, roll each square into a 16cm by 16cm square, roughly 1cm to 1 1/2 cm thick. Gently lift the squares onto the prepared trays and cut each square into 12 rectangle fingers.
Prick the surface of the shortbread with a fork. (This helps in releasing moisture as it cooks, making the shortbread crisper.)
Sprinkle extra caster sugar over the shortbread.
Bake in the centre of the oven for ten minutes then reduce the temperature to 150C and cook for about 30 minutes to 40 minutes. It is ready when it is firmish to the touch in the centre and golden around the edges.
Remove from the oven and carefully run a sharp knife through the shortbread rectangles again to make it easier to break into fingers later.
Cool down on wire racks. Gently break the shapes apart.
Wrap up festively and give to your best people, and eat some, always eat some.

Cooking Notes: when making gluten free shortbread, keep in mind the mixture will be more fragile. You may want to shape it into a square rather than use a rolling pin particularly if you are baking on a hot day.

A Cheergerm adaptation from The Margaret Fulton Cookbook 2004 Revised and Updated Edition published by Jannie Brown and Suzanne Gibbs.

Click below for previous shortbread recipes.

Cardamom, cinnamon and brown sugar shortbread
Cranberry, chocolate, pistachio shortbread
Old school shortbread
Gluten free shortbread

Vegan peanut butter and chocolate chip biscuits

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Joe (she added the ‘E’ because that’s how she rolled) was beautiful, sweet, wise, brave, funny, passionate, a letter writer, smart as a whip, suffered from a chronic illness but never complained. An absolutely devoted wife, her equally devoted husband is bereft without his soul mate. Beloved baby sister of the Yak, a loving daughter, a committed vegan, animal lover and mother to two very fine cats. An amazing Aunt, sender of wonderful Christmas packages to our boys, the best of sister-in-laws and a true friend to many.

We are lost, The Yak is undone. She died far too young. As I write this it’s raining, like some cliched Hallmark movie. Except that real grief is not like a Hallmark movie. It’s hard, cold and shit.

The Yak made it to her bedside in the UK hours before she died, he went thinking he would be keeping her company in hospital. He came home for a short time then flew back again for her funeral. The tryanny of distance. The lads and I are preparing to leave on our pre-planned trip to the UK to meet up with The Yak. The original purpose was to visit with our Joe.

I have not had the heart to bake, write or blog. But it had been in my mind for the longest time to do a vegan post just for her. So here it is. Vegan peanut butter chocolate biscuits, I hope Joe would have loved them. Just like we loved her.

VEGAN PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE CHIP BISCUITS

WHAT YOU NEED
1/2 cup unsalted natural peanut butter
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white caster sugar (see cooking note below)
1/4 cup almond milk
1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder or 1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp ground flaxseed (this can be omitted if you don’t have it, it assists in binding the ingredients a little more)
1 cup vegan dark chocolate chips

HOW YOU DO IT
Preheat the oven to 180C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
Place the peanut butter, grapeseed oil, sugars and almond milk into a large bowl. (If you are using vanilla essence add it here.) Beat well until the ingredients are well combined. (I used an electric hand beater.)
Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and vanilla bean powder into the bowl with the peanut butter mixture. Add the ground flaxseed and stir well.
Mix in the chocolate chips.
Roll heaped teaspoons full of the dough into round balls and place on the baking tray allowing room for spreading.
Bake at 180 for 12-15 minutes until light golden brown.
Let cool on the tray slightly then remove to a wire rack to complete cooling.
This made about 22 biscuits.

Cooking Note: it appears that in some parts of the world, some white sugar is processed using bone char. Ewww. That appears not to be the case in Australia but to be safe, I imagine vegans would check it out before they used a particular brand of sugar.

Recipe adapted from the Vegan Yoga Life blog. Link follows photos.

Original recipe:

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut butter chocolate brownies, GF

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‘Starry, starry night, paint your palette blue and gray.’

Looking down upon this brownie reminded me (ever so slightly), of a two-toned version of Van Gogh’s iconic painting The Starry Night. Yes, it may be a stretch but this is possibly as close to creating a masterpiece as I shall ever get. My ‘swirling’ technique could use some work and my cake decorating skills are limited. I am a dab hand at the fine arts of ‘icing sugar dusting’, ‘coconut sprinkling’, ‘messy look icing’ and ‘rose petal strewing.’ Let’s just call it rustic styling.

Peanut butter is a recent joyous food rediscovery of mine and the chestnut flour contributes a wonderful light crumb. This fudgy brownie with it’s nutty ‘stick to the roof of your mouth topping’ is satisfying. A little bit goes a long way. Well, not in Kid 1’s opinion. He feels that a lot goes a long way and would have attempted to eat the entire tray if he was left to his own sweet-tooth machinations. ‘Tell Dad it’s not gluten free Mum. Please…’, he begged. After a little reconsidering, I realise I am an artist of sorts after all. And this child is one (of two) of my finest creations, no matter how gorgeously greedy he may be.

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE BROWNIES, GF

WHAT YOU NEED
150g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
100g butter, chopped
75g chestnut flour
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 tbl cocoa powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 eggs, beaten
200g (3/4 cup) peanut butter (I used a natural peanut butter with no salt added)

HOW YOU DO IT
Preheat the oven to 160C and line a 16 X 26cm baking pan with non-stick baking paper.
Place the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan half filled with boiling water. Make sure the saucepan isn’t touching the water. Use a metal spoon to stir the chocolate until it is melted and smooth.(I actually just placed the chocolate and butter in a small saucepan and melted it over direct low heat whilst constantly stirring but this can be tricky so stick to the tried and true method.) Let it cool for a few minutes.
Sift the flour, sugar and cocoa into a large bowl and stir in the salt.
Mix the chocolate mixture to the flour mixture, then add the eggs and stir until just combined.
Pour into the prepared pan then spoon teaspoonfuls of the peanut butter evenly over the top of the batter. Use a round ended knife (a butter knife) to swirl the peanut butter into the chocolate batter.
Cook for 35-40 minutes or until crumbs stick to a skewer inserted into the centre.
Let it cool completely in the pan then cut into slices and eat it. A fine cup of coffee or good strong cup of tea is the perfect accompaniment to this toothsome treat.

A Cheergerm adaptation of a recipe from the Taste website. Link follows the photos.

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/16515/peanut+butter+and+chocolate+brownies

Note: The first quoted line is from the song ‘Vincent’ by Don McLean, a tribute to Van Gogh.

Lemon sour cream muffins

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Kid 1: If I was to be killed and eaten, I would like to be put to sleep so I couldn’t feel anything, then have every part of my body used, eaten and nothing wasted. Kind of like a soft shell crab.

He really is showing an extreme commitment to the concept of nose to tail eating. During the school holidays, Kid 1 watched a junior baking show on television where ten year olds created intricate baked goodies. This put a fire in his belly and he insisted on baking these muffins completely by himself (under my supervision.) His egg-cracking ability has come along in spades and it’s lovely to observe his burgeoning kitchen confidence.

This is a standard recipe in our household and they are very good. The sour cream moistens the muffins and contributes towards a tender crumb and light golden exterior. They are tangy, creamy and moreish. The only thing that will be be left is the muffin wrapper.

LEMON SOUR CREAM MUFFINS

WHAT YOU NEED
1/3 cup vegetable oil (we use grapeseed)
2/3 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, 70g
Zest and juice of one medium size lemon (roughly 1 tbl of zest and 1/4 cup lemon juice. If I have extra lemons, I will often add another tbl of zest. We love ‘mega lemon’ flavour)
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup wholemeal plain flour
1 tbl baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

HOW YOU DO IT
Preheat the oven to 200C and place your muffin papers in a muffin tin or on a baking tray. I will often give the muffin papers a light spray with rice bran oil spray to avoid sticking.
In a large bowl, combine the oil and sugar.
Add the eggs and mix well.
Add the lemon juice, lemon zest and sour cream and mix well.
Sift the flours, baking powder and salt into the bowl then fold in gently. Do not overmix or your muffins will be not as tender.
Fill the muffins papers about 2/3rds full and bake for about 15-20 minutes until they are risen, light golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.
Eat them.

Makes 11-12 muffins depending on the size of your muffin papers

Slightly adapted from a recipe from Jens Favorite Cookies blog, link to original recipe follows.

Lemon Sour Cream Muffins

Chocolate chip biscuits and a hug

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It was late and I had been lying next to my twelve year old lad with my arm draped over him. I stood and said good night, exhausted and ready to flop into the sweet comfort of bed and attempt some semblance of sleep.

Kid 2: Mum, could I please just have one more big proper hug?
Me: Oh mate, I just gave you a hug.
Kid 2: But this time I want a proper two-armed hug.
So, I leant down, scooped up his skinny little body and squeezed him hard. Cheek to cheek. I kissed him and told him I loved him.
As I stood to go he spoke these words to me.
‘I am so glad that I have your Mum hugs with me to go into the world. They make me feel strong and loved and special.’

Sometimes, I am grumpy, mean and tired. Sometimes, my children are grumpy, mean and tired. This motherhood gig isn’t always a lark. I am not whinging. I made my choice. I am also fully aware of all those women who have tried to become mothers and couldn’t, of mothers who mourn the loss of a child, of women who become stepmothers and all those in the sisterhood who have simply decided motherhood was not for them. Total respect and love to us all.

In the future, when feeling like everyone wants a piece of me, or the next time my children are feeling much the same way; I will think of the words from my ‘on the cusp of adolescence son’, take a deep breath, open my arms and just hug them.

These biscuits are on regular rotation in our household and are almost as good as a cuddle from a loved one. Using quality dark chocolate and a sprinkle of sea salt elevates them just a little past the ordinary, to the very bloody good. Happy Mother’s Day to all of us mothers, in whatever form that may take.

CHOCOLATE CHIP BISCUITS

125g butter
1/2 cup white caster sugar
1/2 cup soft brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (or 1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
125g dark chocolate chopped (or 125g chocolate chips)
1 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 180C and line two trays with baking paper.
Cream together butter, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy. (I use a stand mixer for this.)
Add egg gradually, beating well after each addition.
Mix in sifted flour then add the chocolate (or chocolate chips) and stir through well.
I often let this dough rest for half an hour or so before baking but it doesn’t matter if you don’t.
Shape large teaspoons of mixture into balls and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Allow room for some spreading. Sprinkle a little sea salt atop each biscuit.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove the biscuits just as the edges start to colour so they don’t overcook and go too crunchy.
Makes about 15 to 20 biscuits, depending on how large you make them. (The photos in this post contain a double batch of these bikkies. Hence, the large amount.)

A recipe that a friend gave many years ago, slightly adapted.

Go here if you are looking for a gluten free chocolate chip biscuit recipe.