Monday, December 13, 2010

Day 13 and bits and bobs

Today I planned an easy Advent Activity, because of tennis and tap after school.  So we all wore Christmas coloured clothes, and Cherub also wore his Santa hat all day at school.

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Today was also the day the kids found out their new teachers for next year, as well as their classmates.  In awesome news,  Cherub is still in with his 2 besties although I don't really know much about his teacher-to-be.  She looks lovely though, with a kind, smiling face.  And Climber, after a couple of difficult years, is in a class with nice kids and the absolutely gorgeous woman who was Cherub's adorable Prep Teacher.  Even better, neither child is in the same class as the Threatener Dad's family of horrors.  I had been fretting about that slightly.

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I did a bit of Christmas baking today as well, so as to have something small to give the tennis teacher and the cleaning lady.  Fixit tested them for me, he said they melted in his mouth, and that I could make more for him any day.  Then her remembered about how he's trying to lose weight and not exacerbate the cholesterol and said, slightly forlornly, I suppose they're full of stuff that's bad for me?  to which I had to say yes.

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RICH SHORTBREAD (from the Women's Weekly Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits)

250g butter
1 tspn vanilla essence
1/3 cup (55g) icing sugar
1 cup (150g) cornflour
3/4 cup (110g) plain flour

Beat butter, essence and sifted icing sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until smooth. Add sifted flours, beat until combined.

The recipe says to pipe wibbly shapes onto the baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, but I made a sticky pancake of the dough on some floured greaseproof paper and used a floured Christmas tree cutter to make shapes. (Also the recipe calls for icing sugar mixture, but I always just use pure icing sugar because that icing sugar mixture stuff has a funny taste / texture in my opinion.)

Bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes, cool on a wire rack. I also like to lightly dust with sifted icing sugar for extra prettiness.

3 comments:

  1. No rice flour? Good. I don't like the grittiness that leaves when I make them.

    I hope your new teachers are all you would hope them to be! :)

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  2. And...BREEEEEAAAATTTTHHHE. Thank ye Gods for nice teachers and non-threatener classmates.

    Poor Fixit.

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  3. Icing mixtures is a TRAVESTY. You are correct in scorning it. Also watch out for cornflour made from wheat - you need to specify corn corn flour. No wonder my baking never comes out perfect (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it).

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