Monday 16th April
Hello All!
I thought I'd do a quick post before I shoot off to the Post Office - yes, another sale! I feel very pleased with how things are going, with my little business. I'm never going to be IBM or any of those other multi business companies based in a million countries, but frankly, let's be grateful for that as we have plenty enough of those to be going on with. Actually, I must say that I think the world would be a little better off to have a few more people making and selling their own items, be it ironwork, jewellery, or foods. The personal touch is where it's at, as far as I'm concerned.
I have to say, for those of you who know me, nope, I'm not back at work yet. It's a pain, not just a pain in the back. I so want to get back to work!!! I saw a nice locum doctor the other day, who was very sympathetic, but what I really want is less sympathy and a bit more action. Still only another two weeks until I get my first physio appointment, and then I'll really be suffering! And also hopefully, a wee bit more mobile.
I made some fabulous biscuits over the weekend. Since I posted my recipe for the Walnut Cookies, I thought I'd add these in - they're very similar, but a bit different, and these spread whilst your cooking. They go very crisp on the cooling tray too, and are extremely yummy.
Peanut Cookies
Set the oven to 190/200 degrees C. (sorry can't do the translations into Farenheit, but it's a medium to hot oven.)
In a large bowl, cream together a tablespoon of smooth peanut butter with an equal quantity of butter, and a tablespoon and a half of icing sugar. Cream until it's light and moderately fluffy - best to start with warm ingrediants here, at least at room temperature, or you could be at this for a while.
When you're happy, add in a couple of the same size tablespoons full of cornflour. This is a bit of a tricky stage, you'll have to start off with the spoon and then maybe start breadcrumbing it after a while. Cornflour is so fine, that it becomes a very sticky mix. Then add a good same size tablespoon or two of ordinary plain flour. Get all of your mix off your spoon, and get in there with the fingers, rubbing it between your finger and thumb to make breadcrumbs - just as if you're making crumble topping. When you've got a bowlful of reasonably fine crumbs, add a couple of handfuls of ordinary roast peanuts, yes, the one's with the salt. I find it a good idea to give them a bit of a shake in the sieve before adding them to get rid of excess salt, but the few grains that cling to the nut itself are great - it makes for a wonderful taste contrast between the sweet biscuit and salty nut. I also added in another tablespoon of caster sugar. Give it a good stir to mix.
Add a tablespoonful of water to the mix. Now I always get my water in a glass and have it by the bowl, if you put the bowl under the tap you risk getting too much water in there. Add enough water to make a sticky mix, but use you're judgement here, you're not looking for cake mix. The correct mix is when you've reached the point that if you put a clean utensil in there, the mixture would stick - but cling to the utensil, not drip off like a cake mix would.
Divide into small dessert spoons full onto a non stick baking tray. From this amount of mixture I got 18 biscuits. I didn't flatten them at all, but I sprinkled more caster sugar over the top of each biscuit. These went into the oven for about 15 minutes, but keep a close eye on them - you're aiming for golden brown, not burnt sienna! And do remember when you take them out, there will be hot sugar, which is incredibly painful if you get it on your fingers. Nuts will burn quickly, so do watch over them. The biscuits will flatten and spread whilst cooking, and you'll need a spatula to take them off the baking sheets - put them on a rack to cool and they'll crisp up wonderfully. And don't be tempted to try them before they're cool - they will be very hot indeed.
So there you go - Peanut Cookies. I used Whole Earth Organic peanut butter, which is ideal for this sort of biscuit. These aren't at all good for you - about the best that can be said is there's a good deal of fibre in these biscuits, but oh it's nice to have a bit of a treat with a cup of tea and the football results. And alas, there aren't going to be that many more Saturdays with football results until we get to September, so make the most of the remains of this season. As an Aston Villa supporter, let me say it was a very good weekend!
Later this week, I'll be doing a project on a twisted wire bangle, that doesn't need any other equipment except wire, beads, and perhaps a pair of pliers to twist the wire armature together. That's ordinary household pliers if you don't have the jewellery kind. I've made one already, but I'll be doing another to photograph as I go along - here's a quick photo of the one that I've already made:
