Enchanted Toadstool Biscuits

Ingredients:

For the gingerbread tops:

• 125g butter

• 250g plain flour

• 100g dark Muscovado sugar

• 1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

• 4 tbsp Ground Ginger

• 4tbsp Golden Syrup

For the stalks - one batch of Zimtsterne biscuit dough (see previous blog post) You’ll also need a small paintbrush.

For icing the spots on the caps:

1 small egg white

100g icing sugar

squeeze of lemon

cocktail stick

These fairytale toadstool biscuits are made from two different batches of dough. The tops are made from gingerbread, and the stalks from Zimtsterne dough.

Pre-heat the oven to 160˚/ gas mark 3 and line a baking tray with baking paper.

For the Gingerbread:

In a saucepan gently melt together 125g of butter, 4 tbsp of golden syrup and 100g of dark muscovado sugar. Stir well until the sugar has dissolved.

In a bowl sift together 250g of plain flour, 4 tsp of ground ginger and 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda. Pour the melted ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough is formed.

Wrap up the dough in cling film or baking paper and chill it in the fridge for 10 - 15 minutes.

Now make your Zimtsterne dough by following the recipe on the previous post. Remember to reserve some of the meringue for painting the stalks before baking.

Roll out the gingerbread dough to a thickness of 0.5cm onto a floured surface and cut out toadstool-cap shapes using a knife. Place them onto the tray lined with baking paper.

Now roll out the Zimsterne dough and cut stalk shapes. Using a clean paintbrush, paint a thin layer of the reserved meringue onto the front of the stalks. Dab a little more onto the top of the stalk where it joins the cap and gently stick together.

Bake in the oven until the caps are just turning golden brown - about 10-15 minutes.

Allow them to cool on the tray for five minutes then move onto a cooling rack. The biscuits will get crispier as they cool.

Make the icing for the dots: Sieve the icing sugar into the egg white and beat together with a spoon. Add a few drops of lemon. You should end up with a slightly runny icing.

Once the biscuits have cooled, dip the end of a cocktail stick into the icing and make small white dots on top of the caps.

Owl Ginger Cookies

Ingredients:

• 250g Butter

• 500g Plain flour

• 200g Light Muscovado sugar

• 2tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

• 8tbsp Ground Ginger

• Handful of Almonds

• 4tsp Cocoa Powder

• Handful of Dark Chocolate chips

• 8tbsp Golden Syrup

To make these owl cookies you’ll need to mix up two different batches of cookie dough. One batch will have cocoa powder sifted into the flour to make it darker for the owl bodies, and the other will be plain without cocoa – this is for the centre of the faces.

Pre-heat the oven to 160˚/ gas mark 3 and line a baking tray with baking paper.

First make the lighter colour dough:

In a saucepan gently melt together 125g of butter, 4 tbsp of golden syrup and 100g of light muscovado sugar. Stir well until the sugar has dissolved.

In a bowl sift together 250g of plain flour, 4 tsp of ground ginger and 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda. Pour the melted ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough is formed.

To make the darker dough repeat this but this time sift the three teaspoons of cocoa powder in with dry ingredients. Wrap up each ball of dough in cling film or baking paper and chill them in the fridge for 10 - 15 minutes.

Roll out the darker dough onto a lightly flowered surface to about 0.5cm thickness. Cut out circles using the circular cookie cutter. Using a spatula, carefully lift each circle onto your baking tray use. Use the heart cutter to cut out a heart shape slightly above the centre of each circle. You might need to use a small knife to gently lift out the hearts. Keep the heart shapes to one side as they can be baked alongside your owls.

Now roll out the lighter colour dough to the same thickness and cut out the same heart shapes. Fill the gaps in the Owl bodies with these lighter colour heart shapes. Use any left-over dough to make more hearts - so there’s no wastage 

Using the edge of your round cookie cutter make the indents of the wings on each side be careful not to cut right through.

Lightly press the end of a fork into the base of each circle to make the claws as pictured below.

Add chocolate chips for eyes and an almond for the beak, you could use sunflower seeds instead if you don't want to use nuts.

Bake in the oven until just turning golden brown - about 12-15 minutes.

Allow them to cool on the tray for five minutes then move onto a cooling rack the cookies will get crispier as they cool. Enjoy with a cup of cocoa and a cosy fire!

Autumn Leaves Pumpkin Pie Recipe

This is our favourite pumpkin pie recipe. You can use pumpkins or butternut squash instead. It makes a delicious and comforting autumnal dessert.

You will need:

• 9 or 10 inch Pie or Flan Dish

• Cookie cutters - a few different leaf shapes

• Baking beans / lentils

• Baking paper

Ingredients:

For the sweet pastry:

• 400g of plain white flour

• 80g caster sugar

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 230g unsalted butter

• 2 large eggs - beaten

• 1 egg (for the egg wash)

For the pie filling:

• 750g pumpkin or butternut squash - peeled and cut into small chunks

• 140g dark muscovado sugar

• 1/2tsp of salt

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 - 1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg (or 1 tsp ground)

• 2 eggs beaten

• 25g melted butter

• 100ml milk

• 75ml double cream

Start by making your pastry. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Slowly add the 2 eggs, then add the flour and salt, and mix until a ball is formed. Don’t over mix otherwise the pastry will become hard when baked.

Flatten into a fat disc and then chill in the fridge for at least an hour to firm up.

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C. Roll out half of the dough, on a generous dusting of flour, to a thickness of about 5mm and use a rolling pin to transfer the pastry into your pie dish. If the pastry breaks up, you can just patch it up by pressing pieces of pastry with your finger tips into the dish. Try to handle it as little as possible.

Lay a piece of baking paper over the pastry shell, then fill it with baking beans or lentils (this helps it keep its shape) then bake for 15 minutes at 180°C, beat one egg for your egg wash. Remove the dish from the oven, take out the baking beans and paper, then reduce the oven temperature down to 160°C. Brush your pastry with the egg wash, make sure to leave some for later. Bake for a further 5 minutes. Leave the pastry shell to cool.

Roll out the other half of your dough (to about 5mm thick) and use the leaf cutters to cut some pastry leaves. (Use a knife and freehand if you don’t have cutters). Use a knife to create the indents of the veins. Put aside some of the leaves to go around the edges of the pie crust (about 15). Bake the rest of the leaves in the same was as you baked the shell above, including the egg wash. Bake until they start to turn brown. Allow the leaves to cool.

For the filling:

Increase the oven’s temperature back to 180°C. Meanwhile, cook the pumpkin or squash for about 20 mins in boiling water until very tender. Drain well and then allow to cool, then puree well until smooth. In a bowl mix together the dark muscovado sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add in the beaten eggs, melted butter, milk and cream. Then add the pumpkin puree and combine well.

Pour the mixture into the pie shell until it nearly reaches the top (you may end up with some left over).

Brush the rim of the shell with some of your egg wash once more. Then lay the reserved uncooked pastry leaves around the edge. Brush the leaves with the rest of the egg wash. Bake the pie at 180°C for 10 mins, then drop the temperature to 140°C and bake for a further 40-45 minutes until the filling has just set. Leave to cool and then decorate with the cooked pastry leaves.

Serve chilled with whipped cream.