Plain, Almond and Peanut Butter Christmas Biscuits

Busy, busy, busy. Little elves are running up and down, worrying if they'll manage to finish up all the toys for good children. I am as busy as they are. I've spend a whole day baking star-shaped biscuits in 3 different flavours : plain, almond and peanut butter. The oven has been working all day long without a break and it's proud of what it achieved !
These biscuits are great for getting your family in a christmas mood. They can also be used as a beautiful and edible decoration for your Christmas tree ! Come on ! No time to waste; heat up your oven and let's get this baking started !



Ingredients : Plain Biscuit

- 250g plain flour
- 125g demerara sugar
- 125g softened butter

- 1 roughly beaten egg

Ingredients : Almond Biscuit

- 250g plain flour
- 125g caster sugar
- 125g softened butter
- A tsp of vanilla powder
- A handful of almond sticks
- 1 roughly beaten egg

Ingredients : Peanut Butter Biscuit

- 250g plain flour
- 125g demerara sugar
- 125g softened butter
- 2 tsp of peanut butter
- 1 roughly beaten egg
- black sesame seeds to sprinkle on top



All the flavours follow the same pattern. First, you beat the butter with sugar in a bowl. Then you beat in the egg and the flavouring (vanilla/almonds/peanut butter). Next it's the time for flour. I find it easier when I add the flour bit by bit and also mix it in with my hands. When the dough becomes fairly soft put it onto a floured surface and knead it gently until smooth. Wrap it in a cling film and put it in a fridge for 1,5h-2h to cool.

Heat up your oven to 170°C with a fan. 

On a lightly floured surface roll the dough so it's 0.5cm. Use your cookie cutters to cut out shapes from the dough. Decorate with anything you want but I personally prefer simple almond sticks or almond flakes sprinkled with sugar. Lay the biscuits on a sheet of baking paper that you previously laid on a baking tray. Bake it in the oven for around 8 minutes. Keep checking on the biscuits. They should be ready when the sides are turning golden.

Take them out and let them cool down. They're ready !

If you want the biscuits to also be a decoration for your Christmas tree simply make a small hole on top of a biscuit with an end of a paintbrush. A ribbon will fit through there perfectly. Just tie it and it's ready to hang on your Christmas tree !

I just realised it's 3 a.m where I live and with the last tray of biscuits I also realised how long I have not been sitting. My legs are dying.

I hope you'll like this recipe and have as much fun making those delicious biscuits as I did !

Merry Baking from,

Butterfingered Chef !

Pizza made with Love and Care

Hi ! I apologise for not posting any recipes recently but as a university student I concentrate mostly on my studies and I simply don't have much time for cooking. Well, except for today !

























 



 My friend from my course is staying over and I want to surprise her with something delicious (besides, I myself want something that is not from a take-away), but the problem is she does not eat any vegetables and apart from that the list of what she likes is very short...

- Meat
- Chocolate
- Water
- Tea
- Mushrooms
- Tomato if they're a sauce
- Raw Peas
- Potatoes (as chips and crisps)
- White Wine
- Bread
- Cheese

... and that's more or less about it. From this list I see only a couple of options and because it will be a girly night with movies and probably sewing (we're studying Costume Design and our Final Crit is coming to us with big steps) I decided to make a Mighty Meaty Pizza with Mushrooms and Chocolate Muffins. Also another friend of mine is coming and he doesn't eat pork so ham and pepperoni cannot make an appearance on the pizza. Let's get it started !

For a muffin recipe click here http://butterfingered-chef.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/quick-easy-and-delicious-muffin-recipe.html 
To make a fully chocolate muffin melt chocolate and add to the mixture.


Ingredients for the pizza : 

- Slices of beef
- Champignons
- Cheddar Cheese
- 7g of Dried Yeast
- Tbsp of Sea Salt
- Tbsp of Golden Caster Sugar
- 1kg of Strong Bread Flour
- Lukewarm Water (650ml)
- A can of Peeled Tomatoes
- Oregano
- Pepper
- Sugar
- Damp Cloth

Start of by pouring lukewarm water into a large bowl. Slowly add yeast, caster sugar and sea salt while stirring with a fork. Add flour in small amounts. Keep stirring. Keep adding the flour until it creates a spongy dough. On a dusted with flour surface knead the dough with your hand until smooth. Put a dough into a flour-dusted bowl and cover it with a damp cloth (the cloth should touch the dough). Keep it in a warm room until the dough doubles in size. It can take around 30-40 minutes for the dough to expand. Pour the can of peeled tomatoes in a small pot and cook it on a medium heat. Add in normal white sugar, pepper, salt and oregano (the measurements for this are up to you). Preheat the oven to 200°C. Dust a baking tray with flour and pop the dough in. Depending on how big is your tray and how thick you like your pizza this portion of dough can be enough for two trays of pizza. Normally you should stretch and flatten the pizza dough before popping it on a tray but for those who like really thick pizza base I suggest skipping that part. I skipped it and popped my dough straight on a tray and spread it around it with my hands. This created a very thick and delicate base. Spread a thin layer of the sauce on a pizza dough. Now add the toppings. Cheese goes first, then beef and mushrooms. On top of that add more cheese. Pop the pizza in the oven. It should take around 20 minutes for it to be ready. 

Voila ! Very thick, super delicious and as my friends described it "awesome !" pizza. A delicious way to show your friends that you truly care about them. 

I hope you'll try this recipe out and that your friends will love it as much as mine did.

With Love,

Butterfingered Chef 

Light up your mood with a Light Pumpkin Soup

Hi ! Having a weird day ? You don't know what you feel like eating ? It's grey outside and the melancholic rhythm of the rain is driving you into depression ? I know what can help you ! 

Pumpkin Soup ! 

It's really light, very healthy and even it's colour will make you feel much better. Shut the drapes, turn the lights on, put some good music on and start cooking ! 

Playlist that will put a smile on your face even before stepping in a kitchen: 

Lucy Spraggan - Last Night 

Bob Marley - A lalala long

Michael Buble - Haven't Met You Yet

Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines ft. T.I., Pharrell

OK ! Ready ? 

Ingredients : 

For the soup : 

- Parsley (1 Big one or 2 small ones)

- 3 Carrots 

- 3 Small Onions (1 big one)

- 3 Red Peppers 

- Olive Oil 

- Ground Pepper 

- 2 Big Potatoes 

- 3 Pieces of Pumpkin (Like the ones shown on a photo)

- Ground Nutmeg 

- Salt

For crouton :

- Brown Bread (of course it doesn't have to be the brown bread but I think it is the best for this soup)

- Butter (Depending on the amount of crouton you're making)

- Garlic (Depends on the amount of butter)

For serving : 

Apart from crouton you can use sliced almonds, cream cheese (or just cream) and basil. 

First, wash all the vegetables.   

          

Then peel parsley and carrots. Cut of the ends (they're usually bitter).

Chop those carrots and parsley. You don't have to chop them in tiny pieces. Everything is going to be mashed up at the end anyway. The pieces have to be thin enough to soften easily when cooked.

To prepare peppers you have to cut of the top part. This way it's going to be easier to remove the seeds.

Cut the "arms" of the "seed nest".  Now it's going to be easy to just pull out the seeds without much of them falling inside the pepper.

 Told ya ! I've learned that not such a long time ago myself...

Cut the pepper into four pieces and remove all the white bits then chop to approximately 1cm x 1cm pieces.

Peel the onion and chop into similar pieces as the pepper.

Peel and cut the potatoes.

Fun part ! We're taking the alien out of the pumpkin. With a spoon scrape out the seeds and the flesh of the pumpkin.

I find the flesh really funny because for me it really looks like an alien that had a very bad trip to earth.

That's how the inside of the pumpkin should look after you're done with it. Clean.

Cut the piece in two. (In four if it really big).

Remove the skin. It's best to do it with a normal chef knife. Put the piece of the pumpkin on a flat surface and start removing the skin from the bottom while holding the top. Then flip the piece around and remove the skin from the part you were just holding while holding the already clean part.
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I hope that was clear for you...

Chop the pumpkin into quite big pieces. Everything is going to be mashed up so it doesn't matter if they're not going to be perfectly chopped. They have to be a small enough size so they cook easily.

In a massive pot heat up olive oil (use quite a bit).
Throw in the onion and cook until lightly browned (to be save do it on a medium heat so it won't burn when you look away for a spoon).

Add potatoes. Give them 3-4 minutes. Keep stirring all the time until you add the pumpkin.

Add carrot and parsley. Stir.

Add pepper. Stir.

Add pumpkin. Now stir every 3 minutes. After some time you'll see that the vegetables are shrinking and you have more space in a pot.

When you'll see that the pumpkin starts getting mushy add water. Add enough to cover the vegetables. Stir well, cover with a lid, turn the heat up and leave it like that for 10-15 minutes. After this time check on it, stir and do the same (if the soup goes crazy turn the heat down to medium).

Meanwhile cut the bread into 1cmx1cmx1cm squares.

Lay them in a baking tray. (you can also just fry them on a pan)

Depending on an amount of bread melt butter with garlic in a microwave and pour it on the bread. Sprinkle some salt. Stir it well and put in the oven for around 7-10 minutes at 160°C. 

You know your soup is almost ready when all the vegetables are quite soft (soft enough for the blender too). Now it's up to you how salty you want the soup and how much nutmeg and pepper it needs. Keep cooking it over the low heat and slowly add bit by bit of each spice until you get the result you like.

When it's spiced enough mash it up with the blender and voila ! It's ready !

The soup should have a delicate taste. Quite sweet I would say. The pumpkin really does light up the mood. Because it's mashed up it's really good for troubled stomach. The crouton are a nice crunchy touch to the fluffy texture of the soup. 

I hope this soup will make you feel better 

and that making it will only be a pleasure. 

Butterfingered Chef