Easter Egg Cookies
You will need:
1 1/2 cups
powdered sugar
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Granulated sugar
Frosting (See recipes following instructions)
Mix powdered sugar, margarine, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Divide dough into halves. Roll each half 1/8 inch thick. Cut with egg-shaped cutter made by bending and shaping round cookie cutter. Bake as directed and decorate with Easy Creamy Icing or another frosting. (See below)
Easy
Creamy Icing
Mix 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon
salt. Beat in 1 to 2 tablespoons half and half until smooth and
of spreading consistency. Add food coloring to color as desired.
Or try the next recipe!
Easy Cream
Cheese Frosting
Mix 1 cup cream cheese, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon salt,
and 3/4 cup powdered sugar. Blend powdered sugar and cream cheese
well until lumps are gone. Add vanilla and salt, blend again for
one minute. Color with food dye if desired.
Hot Cross Buns
you will need:
1/2 pint (280g)
milk
1 ounce (30g) fresh bakers yeast
1 pound 2 ounces (500g) strong plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons mixed sweet spices
2 ounces (60g) soft light brown sugar
2 ounces (60g) softened butter
2 eggs
4 ounces (125g) currants
2 tablespoons caster sugar
Reserve 2
tablespoons milk for glaze.
Warm remaining milk to blood heat (until it feels just tepid).
Cream yeast with a little of the milk.
Place flour, salt, spices and brown sugar in a large warmed bowl.
Stir well. Make a well in the center of the bowl. Add softened
butter and pour in the yeast. Stir in the eggs one at a time and
enough of the milk to make the mixture soft but not sticky. Add
currants and mix well. Cover bowl with cling film and leave the
rise in warm place for 1 - 2 hours or until at least double in
size.
Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead well. Break off
spoonfuls of dough and shape into buns. Place on an oiled baking
sheet and leave in a warm place for another 15 minutes until buns
are well rounded. Make a deep cross cut ine ach bun with the back
of a knife. Leave for another 10 minutes .
Bake in pre heated oven, 400°F, 200°C, Gas 6, for 15 -20
minutes until well rounded and golden brown. Just before the buns
are ready to come out of the oven, make a glaze by boiling the
reserved 2 tablespoons milk and caster sugar in a small saucepan
until it is bubbling and syrupy. Brush the buns with the glaze
while they are still hot to give them a shiny finish.
Traditional Easter Biscuits
you will need:
8 ounces (240g)
self raising flour
4 ounces (120g) butter
4 ounces (120g) caster sugar
a little grated lemon rind
1 egg
2 ounces (60g) currants
1 teaspoon sweet mixed spice
Rub the
butter into the flour, add sugar, lemon rind, currants and spices.
Stir, add the beaten egg.
Roll out 1/4 inch thick and cut into biscuits with a round fluted
cutter. Place on a greased baking tray. Bake in a pre heated
oven, 350°F, 180°C, Gas 4, for 20minutes until golden brown.
Sprinkle with caster sugar as soon as removed from the oven.
Simnel Cake
you will need:
6 ounces (175g)
self raising flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) ground ginger
1 teaspoon (5ml) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (5ml) ground mixed spice
6 ounces (175g) butter
6 ounces (175g) brown sugar
3 eggs
8 ounces (225g) mixed dried fruit
4 ounces (125g) apricot jam (jelly)
ALMOND
PASTE / MARZIPAN
1 pound (450g) ground almonds
1 pound (450g) icing sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) almond essence
1 tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice
2 egg yolks
1 egg white, beaten
Sift together
the flour, salt and spices. Cream the butter and sugar together
until fluffy. beat in the eggs, then fold in the flour and fruit.
Line two 8 inch (20 cm) sandwich tins with a double thickness of
greased greaseproof paper. Divide the batter equally between the
tins. Bake in a pre heated oven 350°F, 170°C, Gas 3 for 45
minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool in tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool
completely. Spread the top and sides with apricot jam.
Meanwhile make the almond paste.
Beat the almonds and icing sugar together, beat in the essences,
lemon juice and egg yolks until a stiff paste is formed. (If the
mixture is too wet work in more icing sugar, if too dry, beat in
more lemon juice.) Divide the paste into three. Lightly roll out
two of the pieces on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar,
to 8 inch (20cm) circles. Top one cake layer with a paste circle,
then the remaining cake and the second paste circle. Form the
remaining paste into 12 small balls and arrange them around the
top edge of the cake. Lightly glaze the top with the egg white
and put the cake on a baking sheet. Bake in a pre heated oven 450°F,
230°C, Gas 8 for 5 minutes to glaze the top.
Jelly Eggs
you will need:
4 large
eggs
135g packet jelly (jello)
Using a pin
make several small holes close together in the broad end of each
egg, then break away the shell to give a hole about 1/2 inch (1cm)
across. Shake out the egg, using a skewer to break the egg yolk
and help pull out the egg. (Use the insides of the eggs to make
scrambled eggs, omelettes or cakes.) Rinse shells with warm
water, then cold, and place in an egg box with the holes pointing
upwards.
Make the jelly up to 1/2 pint (300ml) with boiling water and stir
to disolve. Pour into the eggshells.
For stripy eggs, make up some of the jelly with milk instead of
water and then pour alternate layers of colour into the
eggshells, allowing each layer to set before adding the next.
Place the eggs in the fridge overnight to set. then dip the eggs
briefly in hot water before cracking and peeling away the shell.
Easter Nests
you will need:
1 block of
cooking chocolate
cornflakes
small candy eggs
paper cake cases
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Add enough cornflakes to coat thoroughly , absorbing all the melted chocolate. Spoon into paper cake cases and flatten slightly in the middle. Place candy eggs in the middle. Leave to set / go cold.
Pancakes
you will need:
4 ounces (120g)
flour
a pinch of salt
1 egg
1/2 pint (300ml) milk or milk and water
lard for frying
Mix the flour
and salt. Make a well in the centre and break in the egg. Add
half the liquid and beat the mixture till it is smooth. Add the
remaining liquid gradually and beat until well mixed.
Heat a little lard in a frying pan until really hot, running uis
round to coat the sides of the pan. Pour off any surplus. Pour or
spoon in just enough batter to cover the base of the pan thinly
and cook quickly until golden brown underneath. Turn with a
palette knife or by tossing and cook the second side until golden.
Turn out on to a plate, sprinkle with sugar and a squeeze of
lemon, roll up, and serve at once.
If you are cooking large numbers of pancakes, keep them warm by putting them as they are made, between 2 plates in a warm oven.