Cookie cutters!

Anyone that knows me or reads this blog will know I do love to bake!  Cookies my most favourite (cupcakes being a joint fave) to bake.  The fun you can have with different cookie cutter shapes, the icing, the flavours, sky's the limit!
Cookie baking is something great for the kids too. I remember many a happy time with my late Nana when I was a child. We baked away together making all sorts, the sound of the kenwood mixer and the wonderful oven smells....good times.

Hobbycraft sells some great cookie cutters....I have been eyeballing them all today. Here are my two faves!

Retro pastry cutters.

These are on my Pinterest for Xmas gifts....so cute..I especially love the retro tin. I can't wait to make vegan bakewell tarts and rhubarb pies!  

 

Teddy Bears Picnic Cutters 

Look at these teddy bears! I am smitten. 

The cute tin comes with a piping bag and a recipe too...I have to have these! 

Imagine the sweet gifts you could make for people! Great gift idea too.

Cookies are just full of happy, aren't they?

 Check out the full range of cookie cutters and decide which are your favorites! They have some cute kits for kids too, check them out mama bears!


I have to go bake some cookies now :p

xx

Baking time.

  The recipe made the most divine biscuits/cookies. They were zesty and light to eat, so much so I ate 10 in one go...I know..terrible! I did give some away  when I went to see one of my friends last night though! :P

I have a cute ice cream cookie cutter (I made the cookies a few years ago) that I think will be so cute with lavender flowers for sprinkles...must use this one next time I make them.

 

Vegan, creamy hot chocolate!

Oh my!
I shared this on facebook but thought only neighbourly to share over here too. Vegan and healthy-ish Hot chocolate drink!

So good. Take your cup and fill with as much milk as you want to drink...(my Cath Kidston cup is huge so I 3/4 filled it) then pour milk into a pan and gently heat to desired temperature, add your raw cacao or your carob or cocoa...whatever you want to use... add sugar or other healthy sweetener (I used unbleached/unrefined sugar) and stir well, then add to your cup and drink and have foodgasms at that taste, heavenly!   This milk is the best and made the most creamy, delicious hot choccie! 

Yummy Mushroom Soup.

Ok so I made the most yummy vegan friendly Mushroom soup last night but photos at night of food never look nice, so...

Here is a really cute photo of Mushroom soup from a great blog, link to it below!



pig in the kitchen blog
Great blog, loads of gluten free recipes!

Oh how I love the pastel soup bowl and plate!!

Ok, so on with the recipe.

I am not big on measure this and measure that, so I usually eyeball things. Funny I am not that that at all with baking, only cooking. With baking I like to act like a scientist, measuring everything out with precision.


I made enough for 2 full soup bowls, so please keep that in mind if you fancy making a bigger batch. I won't put amounts of things, you can then decide how much you want to make.

Ingredients:

mushrooms.
onion.
stock cubes.
filtered water.
Tinned coconut milk.
salt/pepper.
vegan marg or coconut oil.
Flour.


Heat a tablespoon of vegan marg or coconut oil in your soup pan, add to that chopped onion and cook for about 3 minutes until soft.
Then add all of your chopped mushrooms to the pan and cook for around 3-5 minutes, depending on how many you have.
Then add your stock cubes to a glass jug and add boiled filtered water and mix well then add the mixture to your soup pan to cover your ingredients.
Bring to boil and then add flour to thicken stock. (I only added a teaspoon to my small batch).
Then add salt and pepper and the coconut milk and allow the soup to simmer for 10 minutes, you may need a little longer for bigger batches.

Simply blend and serve with fresh bread.

Gluten free vegan cupcakes

Vegan Cupcakes

The very first I think I have ever made.
I also tried to pipe buttercream frosting for the first time, haha, didn't quite work out.
The consistency of the frosting would have been fine to frost a cake but I wanted to pipe it to look pretty, I am clueless about that, no idea what I am supposed to do ;D
The last photo is after the frosting had been in the fridge for a while, which made it better to pipe.



Recipe
These cupcakes are gluten and sugar free though.
I used dove's gluten free self raising flour.
I used xylitol (natural sugar from birch tree balk) and in place of the canola oil I used vegan margarine.

I ate one and it was yummy, very impressed!!

So no matter if you are a vegan or on a gluten free diet, you don't have to go without a nice naughty treat :)

Happy daze.

Me and my hubs went on a mini adventure and came accross this oddity in the next town!It was in the grounds of a plant nursery. The girl is out if it is a nice sunny day and the man comes out on a rainy day;D Weird!

I decided to make some cute cookies! I have no reason other than I wanted to;D

I made a pale blue fondant icing and made it peppermint flavour, so delish!!

They were a big hit!!

We are having a nice weekend, just about to go and have a walk with the dogs now, burn off some calories;D

HAPPY EASTER!

These lil chicks were on top of a special cupcake for me and Davie:)
I had to take a pic of them, so cute!We bought our lil doggies a special carob dog easter egg so they could get in on the celebrations!They really loved it!There is a video at the bottom of them eating some;D My yummy lindt bunny, so delish!

I made some nest cupcakes! The bases were green!
they were fun to make but even better to eat and they made our bellies full of happy:D
Oh and I won another cute blog giveaway!
This adorable Japanese fabric!

http://fat-connection.blogspot.com/


I hope you have/having a fab Easter, we are!!The weather was stunning today, blue skies, a perfect day!
See you tomorrow with the winner of the giveaway!

Cake and blog giveaway win!

I was getting cravings for chocolate cake today so I decided to make a delish choc chip loaf cake, using spelt flour. It was wonderful, so light and fluffy with yummy melted chocolate inside, heaven!
I had a wonderful day today, chilling with my furry babies, baking, house chores and crafts!I made some cute things, I will show you soon;D

A perfect end to a perfect day was finding out I had won in an adorable blog giveaway!
I entered the blog giveaway here; http://www.thestoryofkat.blogspot.com/and I won this matroishka lavender sachet as well as a charming laundry bag for delicates.
You can buy these adorable items soon here; http://www.geschichtenvonkat.etsy.com

I am so exited to get them!!;D

I'll be back tomorrow with my cute craft piccies, I need nice daylight to take them you see:)

Pretty party cake Sunday!

What is the party that these pretty party cakes are for? Urm, lemme think about that one;DI NEEDED them, it's that craving time of the month, you ladies understand, right? I needed pretty, sweet treats!!Had/having a lovely weekend, hope you are too!

Strawberry buns.

Strawberry buns! I wanted something yummy this weekend and decided on this old favorite:)Here's the recipe!!

• 8oz self raising flour
• 3oz margarine
• 3oz granulated sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• milk (you have to judge how much you need of this as you add it)
• Strawberry jam.

Sieve flour and salt.Add sugar.Rub in marg.Add beaten egg, mixing with knife and adding sufficient milk to make a fairly stiff mixture.Pop onto baking paper/greased tray in stall even heaps.Make a hollow in the centre of each and fill with jam.Cook in oven at 200c for 15-20 mins.Enjoy!!!

Yummy things!

This weekend I baked up some chocolate chip muffins!Very nice *pats tummy* I did a crafty swap with my friendling, the lovely Twinkie chan, http://www.twinkiechan.com/.I received these two amazing brooch pins and i'm as smitten as a fluffy kitten about them;D Here is the lovely lady herself wearing what I made for her!A heart cookie necklace and a hairbow!

Twinkie chan defines the word cute!!!

I'm going to take some happy me pics wearing the lovely brooches I received soon too!

Well, pinch, punch first day of the month! I can't believe that Feb is over, time is going beyond fast for me, it will be Easter before you know it.
I better start thinking about what I want to make for it.

Baking cookies!

I got the urge to do some baking, I don't like to do it too often because I'm super greedy and will eat my way though way too many yummies and that ain't good for my waistline!
Anyway, I got the recipe from my pretty book "Apples for Jam". They were lots of fun to bake, cutting lots of different shapes etc but I wasn't super impressed with the taste. I've made much better from my huge old 80's cookbook!
Of course I will still eat them but they kinda tasted store bought.
I don't like to end on a low note so I will say that I have some really cute valentine goodies to show and tell soon!