Thursday 28 April 2011

Royal Wedding? Just another excuse for biscuits


Just a quick post, I need to dig out my tiara and decide whether a veil is a little de trop. Yes, I'm off to a tea party tomorrow to watch the nuptials of Wills n' Kate - a televisual extraveganza which promises to be an unholy alliance of Pantene advert and Songs of Praise. I asked if I should bring booze, but was informed that a 10am start rendered champagne unnecessary. However, it did present an opportunity to use my rather fabulous giant crown cookie cutter from Cox and Cox, which normally resides on my kitchen wall.

                         


The smallest boy and I made a load of gingerbread dough, and then spent a satisfying few minutes pulverizing boiled sweets in my electric mini chopper.


                         

Coo - Cath K colours and Union Jacks?
Do not adjust your set. You're still at Faith Hope and Charity Shopping

I hadn't made 'stained glass' effect biscuits before, but they came out ok after a bit of trial and error. The methods I looked up all suggested cooking for 5 minutes, but there was no way that would be long enough for my gingerbread recipe. Instead I cooked the dough for 10 minutes at 160 degrees, then filled in the 'jewel' spaces with the crushed sweets, before putting it back in the oven for a further 10 minutes. This melted the sweets nicely, without them burning.

If you try these, make sure you line your baking tray with oiled greaseproof paper first - learn from my mistakes and save yourself the blood, sweat, tears and broken spatula. Also, lovely as the crown cutter is, it's an absolute bugger to move the dough from your surface to the tray. It's really large and also full of weak points from the holes - the little heart biscuits were far easier. I'm definitely going to do those for Valentine's day, and some star shaped ones for Christmas.


                          

Ta-dah!

Have a fabulous bank holiday weekend all!

Lakota x


23 comments:

  1. That crown biscuit should be by royal appointment, it's fit for a future king/queen. Good skills, enjoy the day!!

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  2. good tips, Lakota!! love the giant crown cookies and the heart shape ones! yummy!! enjoy your tea party tomorrow, i'm so excited to watch the royal wedding! x

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  3. Well aint you the cleverest? I LOVE this bisquits!! :)

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  4. I can't believe champagne was deemed unnecessary...you might have to have your own little party when you get home!
    That crown biscuit cutter must be massive, and your biscuits are rather impressive too...very Queen of Heartish.
    I hope you have fun Lakota...even without the bubbly x

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  5. Ooh, great minds think alike, but your regal biccies put mine to shame!

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  6. Go with the champagne anyway -- it can only make the wedding more fun! I'm very excited about the big day and have my alarm set for 4 AM so I don't miss anything.

    I LOVE that crown cutter!!! We don't have anything like that in the states.

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  7. woman! what an unusual take on one royal wedding. i'm steering well clear of the excitement, it'll be on the radio enough...
    so glad to see in pictures what the boiled sweets'etc' are really all about and the effect in the oven. thank you for the enlightenment!
    also three cheers for you, for following. you have made the right choice, i dare say.
    but, hey? ENJOY today, that's what being a brit is all about...
    i'm watching masterchef finals today (yep, a little late i am, all the more excited)...
    n♥

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  8. Love the biscuits, we made cupcakes in rather a hurry! Personally I think it's never to early for Champagne, but maybe that's just me xo

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  9. Booze is always necessary! Those biscuits are a triumph and I love how you've described today as a Pantent advert crossed with Songs of Praise, hilarious. xxx

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  10. Amazing cutter! Hope you had fun x

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  11. The biscuits look fab! I've not been brave enough to try the boiled sweet method but now I want to seeing your efforts,

    Victoria xx

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  12. I AM impressed. After years of trying, I never quite manage to pull off the boiled sweet biscuit challenge. I promise myself every Christmas that I'll make up a hamper with home made treats such as these for everyone, but fail. Your perseverance really paid off. Hope you had a great day.

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  13. Hello:
    If we were ever to go into a kitchen, which we do not anticipate happening in the near, or not so near, future, then the crown shaped gingerbread biscuit would not be our starting point! Lovely as it looks, delicious as we are sure it must taste, to us it represents work and the Royals, both of which we try to avoid.

    As for Brighton based PP, we suspect, not having a television, that she is the same in real life as on the screen. No acting there!

    We have enjoyed reading your blog and have Followed!

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  14. I am mightily impressed at those gorgeous treats! Really enjoyed the wedding, they all looked fabulous xxxx

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  15. Ooh Lakota, I hope you had an utterly fab time at your Royal Wedding tea party! I'm betting those biscuits went down an absolute storm, they look fabulous! :-) I've made the stained glass as a heart shaped biscuit before but not as a crown, you've got the cogs turning now!

    Champagne unnecessary? You've got to be kidding! :-P

    Jem xXx

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  16. So impressive! The biscuits turned out beautifully! If I tried something like that I'd go down in flames (sometimes literally). I hope you had a lovely time at the party =D

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  17. Lolz @ antlers comment on my post. Poor Beatrice. It was all so Lady Gaga. Did you see Tara Palmer Tomkinson's smurftastic affair? Wedding outfits are a nightmare!!!

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  18. Thanks for visiting and following! Love your cookies! I've never done the stained glass cookies..hum maybe will have to try them!

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  19. Love these cookies. They are so pretty. And I agree with previous commenters -- never too early for champagne, perhaps you can add orange juice. :)

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  20. Genius! I'm impressed, even if they were a pain (oh I hate food that render kitchen wear evil to wash up, can imagine your misery washing up! I remember washing up aluminium pans from Potato dauphinoise for 160 people! Literally had to chip the residue off with a chisel! Distinctly remember tears being involved!

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  21. 10 am is not too early for champagne! Especially if a wedding is involved! haha! Following you back from the Homemaker on a Dime Party. Thanks for stopping by.

    Your "About Me" made me laugh. Probably because I love bargains, cake, and booze too :)

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