One thing I have learned about myself during lockdown.
- Taz
- May 21, 2020
- 3 min read
I really, really, really, really love cooking and baking!!!! Of course, this is not really a surprise to me but I didn't realise how much I relied on cooking and baking as a kind of therapy and a way of getting some time to myself until I had to be in the house 24-7, homeschooling my 5-year-old and looking after my 5-month-old.
One of the biggest positives for me has been having an excuse to do lots of baking and try out different recipes because you can't just pop down to the shops and buy a packet of biscuits, or a loaf of bread or some snacks for your hollow-legged kids.
Let me tell you about my four favourite recipes that I have found during this lockdown period and have continued to or will continue to use in the future.
I found a fabulous recipe for plain crackers which has been made about 5 times since lockdown started as they proved to be very popular with husband and kids. They are really easy and you can play about with flavours if you want to. Once I added a tsp of garlic powder which was very tasty. They are so good I may never buy crackers or breadsticks ever again! The recipe says to roll them in sesame seeds but obviously my oldest daughter has not allowed that to happen. Maybe when she goes back to school I will make myself a secret stash with sesame seeds and poppy seeds. I also made them with wholemeal bread flour and they turned out very nice, which was good because it was a while before plain flour was available.
(While everyone else was in a state of panic over toilet paper and hand sanitiser, I was hyperventilating at my inability to get my hands on some plain flour.)
By far the most popular biscuit recipe in our house is my gingernut recipe. The recipe makes loads and I make mine small so my daughter can have one as a snack and not have too much of a sugar overload. The latest batch made 70 small biscuits. I've included the recipe at the end because this one is old school and actually comes from a recipe book!
My favourite recipe is one that I have only come across recently and then only because I was trying to find recipes without plain flour. Its a recipe for thumbprint cookies which uses only peanut butter, sugar, desiccated coconut and eggs, plus a little jam for the top. Unfortunately, these were not a hit with my daughter who said they were too "peanut buttery"! I mean, is there such a thing as too much peanut butter??? I think not!!
The other recipe that I have used over and over again is a simple brown loaf recipe that I found on the BBC food website. It makes a lovely loaf and keeps well enough for a few days to make sandwiches with and after that, makes divine toast. It is very popular with my oldest daughter who says that she likes it because it has a taste as opposed to sliced bread from the shop which apparently tastes like air.
Ginger biscuits
275g/10oz plain flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
11/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
115g/4oz butter
350g/12oz caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
4 tbsp treacle
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F. Lightly grease three to four baking sheets.
2. Sift the flour, bicarb and spices into a small bowl and set aside
3. Cream the butter and the sugar and two-thirds of the sugar together.
4. Stir in the egg, treacle, and lemon juice.
5. Add the flour mixture and mix in thoroughly with a wooden spoon to make a soft dough.
6. Shape the dough into 2cm balls.
7. Roll the balls in the remaining sugar and place 5cm apart on the baking sheet.
8. Bake until biscuits are just firm to touch, about 12 minutes.
9. Use a palette knife to transfer the biscuits to a wire rack and leave to cool.
10. Try not to eat 10 every time you have a cuppa!
This recipe is taken from the recipe book "500 fabulous cakes and bakes" published by Joanna Lorenz. I've seen it online in several places to purchase and I would recommend it.
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