This week we had a bit of much needed rain here at Struan Farm, so I was able to defer my weeding onslaught of the Homestead gardens for a day and continue baking for our Boxing Day celebration.
I made a batch each of lemon verbena shortbread and rosemary shortbread, mostly for the adults in attendance, based on The Corner Kitchen's Rosemary Shortbread recipe. It hasn't failed me yet. I see there's also a walnut shortbread recipe on the blog that might be interesting to try. Clearly something for the New Year, after the flour and sugar settle from Boxing Day!
Next came David Lebovitz' "Pain d'amande cookies," which I've also made previously. Several grandchildren christened them "crunchy almond biscuits," and indeed they are. The dough can be made ahead and frozen, quite helpful when planning for a big event. The trick with these is cutting the dough as thinly as possible so that the cookies are indeed crunchy and not chewy. They are meant to be cut as thin as a US dime, which is similar to a NZ ten cent piece and quite a challenge to achieve. At least for me. They also have to be turned over when baking, which can get a bit fiddly, but these are worth the effort. The dough is in the freezer, I'll bake the cookies on Sunday since they keep for three days. Photo is from my initial effort.
The Fat Pigeon's "Snicker Slice" was next. It was voted the favourite of all of the recipes I made (13!) for the Avalon crew when they stayed in the Cottage last year for thirteen weeks while working up the road. It's very rich, and bit intense from my perspective, so I'll cut it into small pieces. Most slices will keep in airtight containers in the fridge for at least a week, which is why I've left this and the next one for (almost) last.
The other slice I made was Ripe's "ANZAC Caramel Slice," the recipe for which is in "Ripe: A Fresh Batch" cookbook but also available on their blog. I've made this before and it's really good. Crunchy oats and caramel, what's not to like?
For my final baking/dessert act over the weekend I will ice and decorate the mini-cupcakes, most likely on Sunday. John will pick up berries, ciabatta rolls and ice on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day I'll be roasting turkeys and hams and organising the scene down at the Homestead, with time out for some sort of festive Christmas meal, the menu for which has yet to be determined. Tuesday morning I'll be making the salads and doing flowers and table set up before everyone arrives. On time. I'm sure. I will remember to take everything frozen out of the freezer to thaw, yes I will. Cupcakes, cream cheese Christmas cookies, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, pain d'amande cookies, shortbreads, and yep, even my homemade mince tarts.
At the end of the day I predict I will collapse with a cold glass of wine and smile, knowing that I did everything I could to make sure everyone had enough to eat and a fun time at Boxing Day 2017. Pancakes and berries for breakfast anyone?
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.