Been baking all afternoon as my great niece came rushing in yelling HELP ME -[ my men all jumped up & ran outside thinking she was being attacked-] mummy's forgotten you got to help me, ok now am confused, so I said what's wrong Punky [she hates my nickname for her but I still call her Punky] she then said we having party in brownies tomorrow & mummy's forgotten so not baked any cakes phew that's all, so I said ok I bake you some & said what cakes you want & how many you want [I was thinking maybe 2 dozen] but oh no little madam then said about 200 different cakes please I asked her why do you want 200 cakes & she said well the beavers & cubs are coming to the brownies party so out came my flour, jars of mincemeat, jams, icing bags & gingerbread man cutter [Punky's mum did go shop & replace all the stuff I used, so now all the cakes/biscuits are cooling in kitchen along with the extra ones for my men & 16 Victoria sponge cakes. tip to make reindeer biscuits use a gingerbread cutter
I don't know where you get all your energy from! Those reindeer biscuits are very clever - I would never have thought of that.
Having 3 AGA's helps a lot as can put 50 cakes/biscuits in each oven plus Punky was helping [not] also Punky's mum came round to help make the cakes too, so every cake/biscuit was made in 3 hours & was finished in 4 hours
Them greedy Beavers, Cubs & Brownies have scoff all the cakes/biscuits I made, good job I did extra ones for my men or they would of been left without any cakes to take to work tonight
wow, you must have a LOT of good baking tools. nice assortment of sheet trays, molds and cookie cutters were you using a basic ginger bread recipe or did you try a nice, dry shortbread cookie. fact is, I love baking dearly, and really miss my years in that trade. coming home covered with powdered sugar and fine flour! I had a cat at the time, and she would rush over to me upon arrival from work to lick me! what a way to return home! now I have a weakness for the ultimate brownie recipe. thats my sweet tooth function now. still looking for the right chewy brownie recipe, cant seem to find the best one have fun in the kitchen!
I use my Grandma's & Mama's Gingerbread recipe 5 to 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1 large egg, at room temperature 1 cup unsulfured molasses [Black treacle/Golden syrup] 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium until smooth. Add the molasses and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture 1 cup at a time, blending until smooth. The dough should gather into a semi-firm mass. (If it's not firm, add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour, but not enough to make it crumbly.) Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Flatten into disks and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 1 week. Preheat oven to 350° F. On a floured surface, roll each disk to 1/8 inch thick. Use gingerbread-man cutters to make shapes. Transfer them to a large, parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Decorate, if desired. Bake until firm to the touch, about 12 minutes. Cool slightly before transferring to a rack.
