Strawberry Cookies

I love cookies, whether they are chocolate chip, macadamia, oatmeal or many of the different varieties we can make or buy (I do prefer homemade, you just can't beat them)

Scroll down for The Recipe

And with a punnet of fresh strawberries on hand, I decided to make

Strawberry Cookies.

And they turned out wonderful, crispy around the outside, chewy in the middle, with the fresh burst of

Strawberry yumminess.

Strawberlicous!

I can't say whether the juice from the strawberries will soften the cookie on the second day

As in my home -- cookies NEVER last that long!

Go on... Bake some Strawberry Cookies.  You know you want to :)

I know they are the new favorite in our home, and what a better way to get my little girls

To eat fruit!

STRAWBERRY COOKIES

Adapted from, ButterBaking.com

Makes 24 cookies.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 punnet strawberries (250g, 9oz)
2 tbsp sugar

Preheat the oven to350 f and line 2 trays with baking paper.

Hull the strawberries and slice them. Mix them with the 2 tablespoons of sugar and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, white sugar and vanilla until smooth and combined.

Add the egg, beating well.

Turn the mixer off, add the flour, baking soda and salt, and beat on a low speed until just incorporated.

Pat the strawberries dry with paper towel and very gently, stir them into the mixture.

Drop tablespoons of the dough onto the baking trays, allowing room for spreading.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through baking, until the cookies are golden brown.

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Baby Burlap Bunny Bags.

How adorable are these baby burlap bunny bags!

Cute, right and easy enough to make if you have a sewing machine, if you're going to sew them by hand, it may take a little longer.

For my Burlap Bunnies

I actually used a Drop cloth for painting.

To start, cut your fabric into rectangles. 

You will need One piece for the front & One piece for its back 

Now, I have no set pattern for this, but you can use a brown paper sack as a reference size.

Once you have the basic rectangle shape, you are going to fold it in half and cut down in a rounding motion.

Your cutting ears, so you don't want a straight cut. See, mine, they have a rounded inside edge. 

Now it's time to 

PAINT DOTS

Using acrylic paint an a round sponge, apply the paint to the fabric and let it dry

Here are my little tinkers helping to paint dots too :)

Once dried,  take the painted side and the back side and turn right sides together.

Then pin together and make a little mark for guidance as to where you start and finish sewing the two pieces of fabric together

Sew along all the sides.

Don't sew the ears yet!

Once you have stitched the bottom together, fold one half of its ears back

Then you're just going to do a zigzag stitch along its ears. 

You're doing this to stop any unravelling of the fabric.

Turn right side out.

You can see where I zigzagged the ears.

Time to Fill :)

You can use these for a cute gift with treats inside or 

If they are going to be used for display, you can stuff them using a plastic grocery bag.

Tie together with some bright ribbon.

Baby Burlap Bunny Bags. 

How cute do they look with their Mama Burlap Bunny

How to make the Mama Burlap Sack -HERE

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Strawberry Victoria Sponge Heart Cake & Cupcakes

Happy Valentines Day 

So I posted a day ago how to make your own Cake Stands -- see that post HERE -- and I mentioned in that I was going to use one to display a cake that I was going to make for Valentines Day, well here they are displaying my yummy cakes and cupcakes.

I also wanted to make a traditional Victoria Sponge Cake, which I learned how to do in school during my cooking classes. I actually made an orange and lemon one for part of my final cooking exam (which, may I add passed with flying colors) It has been quite a long time since I made this sponge cake, but when I sat down to eat a slice.... Oh my!! Memories came flooding back of my childhood and being at my grandmothers for tea and out would come the homemade Victoria sponge cake, although it didn't have all that cream and chocolate and fresh strawberries, all over it like mine does, but in those days it was just sponge filled with a jam and dusted sugar, if you were richer - it was powered sugar. And my cookery teacher would be quite proud of me - I still remember how to make the cake & use wax paper to make piping bags!!

I will say, when you eat this cake, it is not like the cakes you get from Costco, or the store bought cakes, all full of puff and air and you look at ALL the ingredients listed!!! WOW -- this cake is simple and yes, you can read all the ingredients too. 

It's light and moist and can I say yummy!!

Yep, I can - it's YUMMY!!

So without further ado, here's what you need to make this Victoria Sponge Cake.

I have to apologize - its nor in cups - this is my recipe from school in Wales.

CAKE

• 10 Oz unsalted butter, softened
• 10 Oz caster sugar
• 5 medium eggs, beaten
• 12 Oz all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, sifted
  lis
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 to 3 Tbsp milk
• Creme Mousseline
• 3 medium eggs
• 4 Oz caster sugar
• 1 Oz flour
• 8 1/2 Oz milk
• 4 1/2 Oz unsalted butter
• 1 tsp kirsch or 1 tsp strawberry flavoring
• 2 drops vanilla extract

Line the tins you want to use with parchment paper.

Mix the butter and sugar together until fluffy, then one at a time add the eggs and whisk. Add vanilla essence last.

Add all your dry ingredients  and milk and fold the mixture using a wooden spoon.

Divide the mix between your tins and pop in the oven. Now for the cupcakes, they will only need about 15 mins - the smaller hearts took about 20 minutes and the larger heart took 45 mins.

To test press down lightly and if the cake bounces up they are done or push a toothpick down into the center and if it comes out clean it's done.

Now, while the cake is baking, time to make Creme Mousseline

Put eggs, milk, flour and sugar into a pan and heat, whisking as you go, until it thickens

Whisk, whisk, whisk.....whisk, then it starts to thicken yeah!! 

Add half of the butter and whisk, then let it cool.

Once cooled, add the strawberry flavor and the rest of the butter and whisk well till it's fluffy.

Now my camera, died, so I had to charge it and don't have a pic of the finished creme.

Leave to chill in the fridge, until our ready to use it. 

Now to make quick strawberry Jam.

1 punnet of strawberries

1 juice of a Lemon

2/3 Cup Sugar

Place in a pan and cook on a slow heat for about 25 minutes, once cooked empty into a dish and leave to completely cool in the fridge.

Now my smaller hearts are done and cupcakes. Turn out the cakes and peel off the parchment paper and toss away. Leave to cool.

Next was to melt chocolate and dip strawberries!!

And make some chocolate hearts. Pop them into the fridge to set.

Cream Cheese Marshmallow Frosting next.

1- 8 Oz packet of Cream Cheese

1 cup of whipped Heavy Cream

3 1/2 Oz of Marshmallow Fluff

Whip up the cream.

Whisk the cream cheese

Next, add the cream cheese and whipped cream and whisk well. 

Next, add the marshmallow and whisk well.

Nice and creamy. Leave in fridge till you need it.

TIME TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKES!

So for the smaller heart, I sliced a little of one of its top as I wanted it to lay flat.

Then on the top half I cut out a heart shape - keep the cut out heart for later.

I did the same for the cupcakes

I filled some of the cupcakes with the Creme Mousseline, popping a heart inside.

So with both of the heart cakes, Take the strawberry jam you made and spread over the bottom layer of the cake. Oh sorry I forgot to mention, I sliced the larger heart cake in half.

The smaller heart cake I dolloped the Cream cheese frosting over the strawberries.

For the Larger heart cake, I dolloped the Creme Mousseline over the strawberries.

For the smaller heart - remember the heart, I cut off the top - I filled it with the creme mousseline, then piped over it with the Cream Cheese frosting. 

For the larger heart, I just piped the Cream Cheese Frosting over it.

Then, using the chocolate decorations and chocolate strawberries, I decorated the cakes.

Strawberry Victoria Sponge Heart Cake & Cupcakes

Oh Yummy

SCRUMPDILLYUMPTOIUS!!!!

The smaller Heart Cake we gave to our Neighbors and wished them 

A

Happy

Valentines

Day

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