Tag: home-made gifts

BEFORE & AFTER ICING THE COOKIES…

“Cooking is an art, but you eat it too.”
Marcella Hazan

Oooops!! Guess what? Forgot to post the before and after pictures of the ‘Iced Sugar Cookies’. I love the way they look both ways….& these photographs are 2 of my favourites!

Here are the cookies in my previous post before they were iced. They look quite pretty just like this as well, and taste great too!

And now…the cookies post icing! These are my signature cookies. A beautiful splash of colour to cheer up even the weariest soul! The excitement that they give kids is to be seen to be believed.

Pure euphoria!!
Posted by Deeba @ PAB

ICED SUGAR COOKIES…A great gift for any occasion!

“The preparation of good food is merely another expression of art, one of the joys of civilized living”
Dione Lucas

Iced Sugar Cookies…

My all time popular cookies that kids love. They add a burst of colour to the surroundings and are fascinating. They are very delicious too as they are almond butter cookies with a sugar icing. I’ve been doing these for almost 8 years now, and though they aren’t very easy to do, they are therapeutic. Made this batch yesterday for someone’s birthday…thought of ‘Bee’ while doing the bees!!

An extension of my canvas onto the cookie, its great fun mixing colours and indulging in food art. The trick is to make sure they are crisp after the icing…a bit fiddly for a new baker, but worth the trouble for someone who has time & patience!!

The basic cookie recipe is the same one that I use for ‘Smartie Cookies’. Its a very versatile one, and works well with this recipe. For the icing, I use powdered sugar mixed with just enough water to make it thick & flowing, then colour according to requirement, and drizzle it on the cookies. I leave them to dry out overnight, and sometimes give them a minute in a hot oven to get rid of any moisture (depends on the weather actually). Practice makes this one better each time.

Perfect to be boxed & gifted…birthdays, festivals, anniversary’s…whatever. Just cut them according to a theme & colour code them ! Will be doing a batch in Christmas colours soon!

O when the snails go marchin’ in, o when the snails go marchin’ in…..

Will add this too as an entry to Zlamushka’s Spicy Kitchen’s event ‘Spoonful of Christmas’. These make nice gifts under the tree; box them, basket them or platter them…or for that matter- even hang them from the tree as Christmas tree ornaments!!

Wrapped in a basket…a gift for someone you love!

Note: Do remember to make a hole with a skewer on the top of the cookie before baking if you wish to pass a ribbon through them.

Am sending this one in for Susan’s Christmas Cookie event at Food Blogga … will be doing a batch soon in Xmas colours too!

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

PRETZELS a la CHOCOLATE!

“The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.”
OSCAR WILDE, The Picture of Dorian Gray

CHOCOLATE PRETZELS

Thanks to Happy Cook, have woken up from my slumber to make my first entry for a wonderful and festive blog event…‘A Spoonful of Christmas’ which is a ‘food as a gift’ theme event…‘An event designed for all the people who love to cook for their loved ones. Those, who are willing to spend some time in the kitchen in order to come up with great ideas for food as a gift.’

Great way to usher in the holiday season, and a theme that I can’t think can get better. HOME-MADE gifts…my mantra always! The mind is thinking, so hopefully Zlamushka’s Spicy Kitchen should have more entries.

Here’s a recipe I’ve made umpteen times, over & over again. It’s from my first baking book I bought after I got married, ‘The Baking Encyclopedia‘ . The kids love these chocolaty, crisp pretzels. I sometimes colour co-ordinate them with the cake frosting at birthdays; & at other times, like for Christmas, I use Xmas sprinkles. They are great fun to make, & cookies made at home have a wonderful flavour that you can’t find in ones that are store-bought! Always worth the bother…these pretzels can be put into a pretty box or basket & make great gifts.

Pretzels with Iced Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

Flour- 1 cup
Salt – 1 pinch
Cocoa Powder – 3 Tbsps
Butter – 1/2 cup
Castor sugar – 2/3 cup
Egg – 1
Egg white – 1/slightly beaten for glazing
Sugar crystals, dragees, sprinkles etc for decoration.
Method:
  • Sift the flour + salt + cocoa powder 3 times. Keep aside.
  • Cream butter with sugar until light.
  • Beat in the egg.
  • Add the dry ingredients and stir to blend. Gather together to form a ball.
  • Wrap in clingwrap & chill for 1 hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Grease 2 baking sheets.
  • Divide the dough into 28 balls. ( I first divide it into half, then make a long cylinder, mark it 14 times & then make the balls). Flour your hands if the balls are sticky.
  • Roll each ball into a rope about 10 inches long. Mark the centre of the rope, and bring both the ends in a loop to meet the centre. Twist the ends and fold back on the circle to make a pretzel shape. It sounds a bit tough, but is simple to do..look at the picture.
  • Brush the pretzels with egg white. Sprinkle with sugar or sprinkles and bake for 10-12 minutes till firm. Transfer carefully to a wire rack to cool.

Posted by Deeba @ PAB
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