Saturday 4 December 2010

Baking for Winter



Am I the only English blogger not to have documented the snow yet?
Probably, but there's a reason for that. Here in Hereford, although we've had a few inches, we've not had enough to shut down our roads, prevent our deliveries getting through or even force us to shut the restaurant for the evening. Im not even aware that any hereford schools have closed. As I write this, it rains and the ice turns to slush, slush turns to water and drains away from view.
Lucky huh?


We haven't been deterred from taking M for snowy walks either. It has been a pleasure to all don our wellies, coats, hats and gloves and venture out into the white. M wears a harness so we can keep her close and we can pull her up quickly if we feel her begin to slip. Of course, last year it snowed too but this year it was her first real experience and we watched as she tentatively went down the front doorsteps and left her first impressions in the snow. It seemed she enjoyed herself quite a bit. The next day, when the majority of the snow had melted, we took her out again and she splish-splash-sploshed in every last one of the puddles we came to. 
And actually, so did L. 
Oh okay, yes I joined in too.



The colder weather puts me in a mood to use lots of spices in my baking. Last week I made sure that these simple biscuits were still just warm for us when we got home from one of our winter walks around the block.

Orange and Cinnamon Spiced Biscuits

Ingredients
115g buter
95g icing sugar and more for dusting
Zest of 2 oranges
2tbsp orange juice
2tsp vanilla extract
150g plain flour
40 grams cornstarch
20g ground almonds
2tsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt


Method
Cream the butter, icing sugar sugar and lemon zest together until creamy and fluffy.
Add the lemon juice and mix.
Add the rest of the ingredients and cream to a dough.
Transfer the dough to a sheet ofbaking paper and shape into a log about 2 inches in diameter.
Use the parchment to tighten the log and form a nice cylinder.
Refrigerate the dough overnight or for at least 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Cut the log into 1/4 inch thick disks.
Cook for 10 - 15 minutes until just golden.
Let them cool on the baking sheet.
When they have cooled a bit but they are still warm, cover them in icing sugar.

9 comments:

  1. Awww, your little girl looks so adorable. And the snow, especially in that photograph with the red-berried tree, seems so magical (it doesn't snow in my part of California). The biscuits seem to be wonderfully comforting for a cold winter's day...

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  2. Oh thank you! It's a silly photo of her but you've got to love that little screwed up face. I can't believe you don't get snow, such a shame. I do appreciate it's yearly visits.

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  3. Wonderful post and pictures :) Cookies do look warm and nice even from here.
    We thought it was going to snow today but it did not:(
    Thanks for visiting my blog. I see that you are part of the Daring Bakers! I just joined and waiting for my approval for January. But the more I see who is in it, the more intimidated I get. I hope i will be half as good as you guys which will be fine with me:)

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  4. i really love your photos... they are gorgeous. and you daughter is so pretty... thank you for sharing the biscuits with us..they looks so lovely.

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  5. I'm glad it's not snowing where I am, although it certainly feels cold enough to snow!
    I love biscuits! There's something appealing about a "cookie" from a different continent. Yours look nice and thick and orange is such a nice winter flavor.

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  6. Delicious for the season! Great recipe.
    So sorry you all suffered such weather last week. My cousins, Aunts and Uncles all reside in the UK. There were a lot of complaints from my older Uncs. but not for my cousins.
    As for us, in New York, it's been coming down steadily today but we don't have the cold that you did.
    Keep warm and keep baking. :)

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  7. This look so inviting n good...I wanna try this..thanx dear for the recipe..
    Tasty Appetite

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  8. These look so delicious, Im going to make them with the girls!

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  9. The cookies look delicious.. but that little face? Priceless:)

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