Earlier this week I had a sudden urge to bake cookies. This desire for biscuits happened to coincide with an unexpected bout of maternal guilt regarding time spent with the children after school. Too much sticking them in front of a DVD while I get on with something else, that sort of thing.
So, I decided to kill two birds with one stone as it were, and pick out some biscuits we could bake together as soon as school shoes had been kicked off and book bags abandoned in the hallway.
These were simple to make and the children enjoyed trying to say the word ‘snickerdoodle’ over and over again at great speed. They taste good too, with a texture like oven-baked doughnuts, all cinnamony and delicious.
I baked a second batch earlier today while Jesse was sleeping. If a recipe holds my attention long enough for me to want to bake it twice in one week it must be good! As ever, the original can be found in Nigella’s How To Be A Domestic Goddess on page 58.
You will need:
250g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
125g butter, at room temperature
100g plus 2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1-2 baking sheets, lined or greased {or neither if you invest in an incredible non-stick one like me}
1. Preheat oven to 180C/ gas mark 4.
2. Combine the flour, nutmeg, baking powder and salt, and set aside for a moment.
3. Cream the butter with the 100g of sugar until light in texture and pale in colour, then beat in the egg and vanilla.
4. Stir in the dry ingredients until you have a smooth coherent mixture.
5. Spoon the remaining sugar onto a plate and mix with the cinnamon. Then, with your fingers, squidge out pieces of dough and roll between the palms of your hands to form walnut-sized balls. Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar and arrange on your prepared baking sheets.
6. Bake for around 15 minutes, by which time they should be turning golden-brown. Remove from the oven and leave to rest on the baking sheets for 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
I warn you, Nigella wasn’t kidding when she described these as ‘very, very more-ish’. I demolished most of our first batch in under 30 minutes. They were perfect with a cup of tea in a peaceful kitchen while the children occupied themselves elsewhere. They were probably zombie-like in front of a DVD. Oh well.
Tempted ladies? What have you been baking lately?
Loveaudrey xxx
These look sooo good! Definitely going to have to give them a try next week, plus Nigella is a genius, even if everything is made with sugar.
My baking last week consisted of a victoria sponge & pina colada macaroons from the ‘Best of the Great British Bake Off’ recipe book. Everything got demolished by the family pretty fast!
Steph @ stephie-in-wonderland.blogspot.com
x
Pina colada macaroons?! They sound AMAZING 🙂 I’ve always been a little scared to attempt macaroons, they seem so complex and precise. I think I need to be brave and give them a whirl.
And yes, Nigella is most certainly a genius!
xxx
They look really lovely – have always wondered what snickerdoodles are. I think you sound like a great mum, you shouldn’t knock yourself for having to shove a DVD in sometimes.
Nicki xx
PS Did you mean to say ‘coherent’ mixture in point 4?! 😉 xx
You know, that line is actually exactly as it’s written in the book. Who are we to question the great and powerful Nigella hey?! I guess the word can mean consistent so maybe that’s where she’s going with that one…
Thank you for the words of encouragement re. motherhood. My husband always tells me one of my greatest talents is giving myself a hard time!
xxx
Mmm these sound amazing! Will have to try them- love the name too. Have baked chocolate muffins and flapjacks today- pretty basic but can’t go wrong 🙂 xx
I have been baking absolutely bugger all recently! Not even cheating out of the box mixtures! I have gone off sweet things for some ridiculous and unknown reason, apart from chocolate readybrek.
Saying that, the mothership is arriving for the day tomorrow and I reckon I may need some other action other than her rattling on about wedding plans (I sound mean, I am not, promise) so perhaps this will be a good distraction!
Hope you have a wonderful first married mothers day! xxx
Ours went do wrong when we made them, did you see the picture?! Will try these again today! xxx
wow a new job isnt that cool? i love you m from … 🙂
Wow these looks so yummy! I hope you enjoyed them! Very tempted to make some now! XxxX http://thesecondhandrose.blogspot.co.uk/