Refrigerator Cookies

Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: "Bolachas Simples em Discos"

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 cup butter at room temperature

½ tsp vanilla

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. In a bowl beat butter until fluffy. Add vanilla and 1 egg at a time, mixing well between additions. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate for about 1 hour. Form 2 logs with about 5cm in diameter, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for about 8 hours.

Cut into 3mm thick discs and place them on a tray lined with waxed paper. Leave about 3cm space around each disc to allow them to spread out.

Place in pre-heated oven at 180ºC for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool on a rack. The dough will last in the refrigerator for about a week, so you can always have freshly baked cookies. You can also freeze the dough and slice into discs without having to thaw previously.

Peanut Butter Cookies

 Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: “Bolachas de Manteiga de Amendoim”

200g/1 cup butter

220g/1 cup granulated sugar

200g/1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

270g/1 cup peanut butter

280g/2 ½ cups flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

Pre-heat oven to 190ºC/375ºF

Beat butter until fluffy. Gradually add sugars mixing well until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time mixing well between each addition. Add peanut butter and mix well. Measure flour, soda and baking powder into a bowl and mix. Add to the peanut butter mixture and mix well. 

With a teaspoon place small pieces of dough onto lined trays. Dip a fork into flour and flatten cookies. Place in the oven for 15 minutes.

Ideas for Halloween

Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: “Ideias para Halloween”

Halloween is just around the corner so lets get started! Following are recipes I prepared to share with you. Hope you like them!

"Snake" (click for recipe)

Made of puff pastry, ham and cheese it's a sure winner among kids!

“Eyeball Soup” (click for recipe)

Lychees, grapes, jelly beans and jelly are the ingredients for this “soup”.

 “Old Hag's Fingers” (click for recipe)

Made of cookie dough, the sight of these fingers will make you think twice before biting into them…

"Mummies" (click for recipe)

Made of hot dog sausages wrapped in flaky pastry - kids will love them!

 “Witch’s Brooms” (click for recipe).

Made of cheese and pretzel sticks, these brooms make great appetizers everyone will like!

"Frankenstein's Feet" (click for recipe)

A simple meatloaf with a creepy shape!


Let’s have fun with Halloween!

Biscuit Pastry

Para versão Portuguesa clique aqui: Massa Areada

This dough makes an excellent pastry shell for fruit tarts and other pies and tarts with rich fillings. I mix it in the thermomix.

100g sugar

300g flour

150g butter

A pinch of salt

2 egg yolks

20g milk

2 cups dried beans, rice or weights that can withstand the oven’s heat for blind-baking

   

Pre-heat oven to 180ºC.

Place sugar in TM bowl and pulverize 15 sec/speed 9.

Add remaining ingredients and set 15 sec/speed 5.

Roll out pastry as thinly as possible and place in pie plate. Prick lightly all over base with a fork. 

Line with parchment paper and place the beans on top spreading them evenly over the base. This will prevent the pastry from puffing up. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, remove the beans and place in the oven for a further 10 minutes. Save the beans for a next time you need to blind-bake a shell. Let it cool completely before filling.

If any dough is left over it can be frozen. I didn’t have enough dough to make another shell so I just made some cookies! I spread the dough directly on some parchment paper, cut the cookies and removed excess dough. Placed tray in the oven for 10 minutes until golden. Voilá!