recipe: custard cookies

I have wanted to share this recipe on my blog ever since I baked these on the weekend. Unfortunately my internet/ADSL line at home has been down for the last few days so I am only able to post this up now. If you're a fan of custard, you will love these... obvs! Once you've had the first bite of a custard cookie you will find it extremely difficult not to come back for seconds. Or thirds. Or fourths. (True story)


Custard cookies


Ingredients:
180g butter
125ml icing sugar
250ml flour
5ml baking powder
130ml custard powder


Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 160°C.
2. Cream the butter and icing sugar in a mixing bowl.
3. Sift in dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Roll out dough and cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters.
5. Place on a baking tray for 15 minutes.
6. Bake until golden brown. 


For the royal icing 


Ingredients:
1 and a half cups icing sugar
1 egg white
4 drops lemon juice
food colouring

Directions:

1. Sift icing sugar. Beat egg lightly and then add icing sugar gradually, beating well, until the icing reaches piping consistency. Beat in lemon juice.

2. Colour small quantities of icing according to personal taste. Spoon each colour of icing into a small plastic bag and snip off one corner to make a piping bag. Pipe detail onto the cookies.

easter

Had the most relaxed Easter down the coast at my family's beach cottage this weekend. Time spent with family is really the most valuable thing to me!

i like.

The internet has been a real visual treat for me lately. So many things I covet. (Click on image for link)

toffee-flavoured

Miroslava Duma just doesn't seem to make mistakes. Ever. Image found here.

recipe: lemon curd cookie cups

If you follow me on Twitter you may have seen that I tweeted a pic of these bad boys last week. They were too good not to share (the recipe, that is - I wolfed down most of these myself!) so... here it is. I made small adaptations to the original recipe and decided to use my own fat-free version of lemon curd.  

Lemon curd cookie cups

Ingredients: 
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)
1/2 cup canola oil
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup lemon curd (recipe below)
icing sugar for decorating, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Combine the flours, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar in a small bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the oil, egg and extracts. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture and stir until combined.

4. Use a tablespoon-sized amount of dough to line each cup in a greased muffin tray. Bake for 8 minutes.

5. Remove from oven. Fill each cookie cup with a teaspoon of lemon curd. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 4 minutes, or until cookies are firm and lightly browned on the sides. Remove to wire racks to cool.

6. Sprinkle the edges to the cookies with icing sugar.

Fat-free lemon curd recipe


Ingredients:

4 eggs
200g castor sugar
120ml lemon juice
finely grated rind of 2 lemons
10ml cornflour


Directions:


Beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and beat to combine. Microwave for 2 minutes, stir well. Now microwave on High (70%) for 2 minutes more, stirring at the end of each minute. Reduce power setting to Medium (50%) and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes more. Beat well. Cool slightly.

If you have leftover lemon curd after filling the cookie cups, pour into medium-sized jars and cover when cold. Store in the fridge. 

competition time!

How gorge are these shoes? These are just several of my favourites from Zando! If you haven't heard about Zando - Zando.co.za is South Africa's newest online shopping destination. Not only is it a safe way to shop online, Zando also promises fast and free delivery to your front door. Yes, that means no more stressing about shipping and postage! 


Do you want the good news? Zando has given me 10x R100 gift vouchers to give away to you guys!


How do you enter? Two easy steps. 


1. Leave a comment on this post - I'd like to know what you would spend your voucher on! (It may help me decide on which pair of shoes I'm going to treat myself to) :)
2. "Like" Zando on Facebook. 


Want extra entries? Tweet about this competition on Twitter (Be sure to include the Twitter handles @heysweetieblog and @zando_co_za so I know that you've entered)


Good luck guys! Competition closes 2nd April. 

T&C's: Vouchers are valid for 90 days. One voucher is allowed per purchase, and the minimum spend is R300.