HOW TO MAKE BUTTER BISCUITS AND THE KID WHO

As you might remember I'm collaborating with the fab independent store The Kid Who to showcase some of their super gifts for kids and last month I focused on all things school related. Well with Halloween creeping up I've picked out some fun products that I thought would inspire our spooky side and creative play.

One of my favourite things to do with F is create biscuit recipes – you can see some of our favourites here and here. So as soon as we found these Halloween cookie cutters I knew we'd spend a morning baking at home, and what better way to display our Butter BOO Biscuits then on these cool Fox and Wolf plates by Helen Dardik! With such a huge range of fun characters to choose from you can make any meal time fun.

We made Gluten Free biscuits due to Paul's intolerance and they are so super easy to make with only three ingredients needed!

To make your Gluten Free Butter Boo Biscuits you'll need:
• 225g Gluten free white bread flour
• 85g Caster sugar
• 170g Organic unsalted butter

To make:
1. Sift your flour into a bowl and add in the sugar and soft butter. Mix together until combined – you might need to get your hands stuck in to make a good dough.
2. Roll into a ball, wrap in cling film and pop it in the fridge for 20 minutes.
3. Take your dough out the fridge and roll onto a floured surface and cut your spooky shapes.
4. Place your biscuits shapes on a grease proof baking tray and into a pre-heated oven at 180°C.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden and remove. Allow to cool before getting stuck in!

As well as making spooky biscuits F loves wearing temporary tattoos and picked out some fun Fruit & Vegetable tatts. I'm not sure why he thinks this is a spooky carrot but anythin that helps get stuck into fruit is a great idea in my mind.

This next product has provided a perfect solution for a storage issue we've been having in F's room. This boy loves LOVES dressing up and has a huge amount of costumes to choose from, as you can see they're starting to spill out of his storage basket. With Halloween coming up and a Frankenstein outfit joining the collection I thought this Kolor Paper Bag would be perfect for keeping the clothes contained.

The reinforced paper bag is printed in neon and can be shaped to create a sculpture like storage solution in your room, plus you can choose from paper, stuff and toys depending on what you're using it for. I love the cool scandi style feel to this bag and how it hides all the clutter.

The last item we chose was Endless City New York, this fab game engages your child's imagination by creating a different street scene depending on the order of the cards. In fact we love this so much we have the Endless City London edition. The New York version is atmospheric showing the characterful NYC at night. We both take turns to make a street scene and explore it by making our hands take a walk. F loves this version saying it's fun to be out at late at night, just like trick or treating and I'm secretly hoping to take him there next year for a stateside adventure!

What fun things do you have planned for Halloween? Are you going out Trick or Treating or staying cosy at home?

*A huge thanks for The Kid Who to ask me to collaborate with them over the next six months as a Gift & Interior Advisor and sending me these wonderful products in exchange for a review.

POPPYSEED AND GINGERBREAD FESTIVE COOKIES

I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to festive biscuits, give me a reindeer shaped cookie and I'm a happy girl. So when thinking of traditions to call our own, I loved the idea of collecting a new cookie cutter each Christmas and making biscuits to give out to friends and family. Who doesn't love a good biscuit right?! 

You'll need:

Cookie Cutter
1/2 tsp Grated Nutmeg
1/2tsp Ground Cinnamon
2tsp Ground Ginger
300g Plain Flour
1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1-2 tbsp Poppyseed's
125g of Organic Unsalted Butter
3 tbsp of Golden Syrup
100g of Soft Brown Sugar

To make:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/Gas mark 4 and line two trays with greaseproof paper ready for your biscuits.
2. In a large bowl sift the plain flour and add in the Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Ginger and Bicarbonate of Soda. Mix well to combine the ingredients.
3. In a pan slowly melt the butter on a low heat and add the golden syrup and sugar, stirring until it has all dissolved.
4. Transfer the butter mixture off the heat into the bowl of flour, add the poppy seeds and stir until it forms to a stiff dough, get stuck in with your hands if you need to.
5. Flour a clean surface and roll out half your dough until it's around the thickness of a pound coin (5mm).
6. Press your cutter into the dough and slowly ease away the excess before placing onto your greaseproof paper, then repeat. Be sure to leave a gap of about 2cm between each biscuit.
7. Once you've filled your trays, bake in the oven for about 8-10 minutes. You want it to be a golden colour and watch it doesn't burn.
8. Carefully remove from over and leave to cool.

Et voila! Once cool you can decorate, store or get stuck in! Enjoy.

COCONUT AND SEA SALT COOKIES RECIPE

The other day F asked if we could bake some cookies, and not one to disappoint I quickly gathered some ingredients while trying to decide what to bake. Fortunately I had a packet of desiccated coconut in the cupboard which reminded me of my Nanna's one cup cookie recipe I used to bake as a child.

I had also been itching for an excuse to don our new personalised aprons c/o Getting Personal, me with my personalised Jamie Oliver Denim apron with its many pockets and industrial feel, and F with his Kids Doodle Apron which you can draw in with washable felt tip pens.

What you need:

A cup for measuring - the most important tool as it allows your child to do most of the cooking

1 Cup of self raising flour
1 Cup of desiccated coconut
1 Cup of sugar
½ tsp of himalayan salt or rock salt
½ a cup of melted soya butter
1 Egg

How to make:

1. Take one excitable child and one mixing bowl and arm them with a cup.
2. Pre-heat oven to 180c and grease a baking tray or baking parchment.
3. Sift the cup of self raising flour into a bowl and add the cup of sugar and coconut.
4. Carefully measure and melt half a cup of soya butter and add into the mix.
5. Lightly beat the egg and add into the mixing bowl.
6. Grate/add ½ teaspoon of Himalayan Rock Salt into bowl and mix all together with a spoon.
7. At this point you might find it easier to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in, mixing it together by hand.
8. Using a small spoon or fingers, take a piece of the mixture and roll into a ball, place on the tray and repeat.
9. When placing them on the tray, space them out slightly as the cookies will spread.
10. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes or until golden.
11. Allow to cool and enjoy with a cuppa!

F loved baking these biscuits and eagerly sat by the oven waiting for the timer to ding and reap his rewards. I always find that cooking in the kitchen with little ones is a great way to spend time bonding and teaching them about patience.

What have you been cooking recently?

* We would like to thank Getting Personal  for providing us with our wonderful aprons and this fab Jaime Oliver Personalised Antipasta Serving Board which is great for parties and serving delicious bites on. 

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