Spring Cooking

So rather than make something truly British, like blood pudding, I decided to make some tarts the other day. I was mainly just excited to use my fun mini-muffin tin that I have. So, after deciding that the simplest thing to do was to use a cookie recipe I brought out my ever faithful Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book (don't leave home without it folks!) and started looking up cookie recipes. I finally decided to use one that I knew would already have a sweet filling in it so I knew it wouldn't contrast with the flavors too much. I also wanted one that would hold its own so far as shape and texture went. So I decided on using the dough recipe for the Cranberry-Orange Pinwheels. (the recipe is at the bottom of this post).


After shaping them, I was easily able to fill them with just 1/2 spoonful of jam from the jar (so much easier than making your own) and then baked them. Because they were so small they didn't take nearly the amount of time the regular cookies would. So just remember to keep an eye on them. Top with whipped cream and "le yum" as the French would say.



I then just cut out the rest of the dough into rounds and made a banana type frosting/curd to top them with. They looked kind of bland which disappointed me, but they certainly tasted good. :)


Cookie Dough Recipe

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp finely shredded orange pel
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on med-high speed for 30 seconds.
   
2. Add sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.
   
3. Add eggs and orange peel; beat until combined.
   
4. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour.
   
5. Divide dough in half; cover and chill about 1 hour or till easy to handle. (very important step)

Then I baked the dough in the oven at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Till edges are light brown. They dough is easiest to roll out on a floured surface or wax paper. Roll to about 1/4" thickness before cutting.

Banana Curd

• Bananas, fresh and very ripe
• Sugar as needed
• Butter
• Marshmallows

Sorry I don't have exact measurements, I just made this one up.

1. Melt about 2-3 Tbsp butter in saucepan.
2. Add handful of marshmallows and melt as well.
3. Mash banana very well (blend, puree, whatever you need to - you want a very smooth paste) About four bananas if you're doing a full dough recipe of just cookies.
   
4. Add bananas to marshmallow mixture.
5. Add 1/2-3/4 cup sugar to banana-marshmallow mixture.
6. Stir and keep over heat. As the mixture heats it will start to thicken and will go from cloudy to a clearer state. (you'll understand what I mean when you see it happening). Stir constantly or it will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
   
7. Once it's the same amount of clear all the way through, remove from heat and use to frost cookies. It will set up quickly and become very sticky, so work fast!