Monthly Archives: November 2011

Sugar Sugar Cookies

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Tomorrow, Kaia has her first bake sale at school this year. I always send with her cookies. They are easy to prepare, firm enough to transport and the students love them.

She loves helping, she rolls the dough skillfully and found out on her own that it’s better to dip the cookie cutter in flour before making shapes. My little munchkin has great tips to give away!!

This recipe is great for cookies coated with icing or decorated with sprinkles. Deliciousness in every single bite! I think that tiny pinch of salt added, changes all the taste and makes it a show-stopper for everyone.

If you use chilled butter your dough should come out firm. If it happens that it’s soft, chill the dough for half an hour before start working with it.

You might like to sprinkle crystal sugar or colored sugar before baking the cookies, to add a sparkle. Easiest cookies recipe ever!

And this is how I make it.

Makes around 30 pieces.

Ingredients

  • 200g / (2 sticks) unsalted butter, diced
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla
  • 2 ¾ cups all-purpose-flour, sifted twice
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt

Preparation

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C / 350°F, and place rack in the center of the oven. Line baking trays with parchment paper.
  2. Cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy.
  3. Beat in egg and vanilla.
  4. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until a dough is formed.
  5. Divide dough into 2 balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball to an approximate thickness of 1/4 inch (6 mm). Dip cookie cutter in flour before cutting out shapes and transfer to baking sheets.
  6. Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes (depending on size) or until edges are firm and cookies are dry to the touch. Do not let cookies color.
  7. Cool on sheets 1 minute; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: If you’re using large cookie cutters, place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies inside the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to chill. This will prevent the dough from spreading and loosing shape while cooking.

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Rocca, Halloumi and Pine Nuts Salad

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The last couple of weeks passed by insanely fast. Hectic is not enough to say! Between photoshoots, home duties and my daughter’s homework, I haven’t had enough time to enjoy in my darling kitchen.

Salads were the most convenient to prepare, in the little time I found to spend in the kitchen. I prepared many salads this week, all containing 2 to 4 kinds of green leaves, 1 type of nut and 1 source of protein (cheese, cold cut, etc.). I used the words “this is the easiest salad ever” for every recipe I did:)

Thank God Serge loves it when I fix a light dinner! A crisp, fresh salad always draws a smile on his face (and mine). We both workout a lot every morning, we don’t want to waste that eating a lot of carbs in the eve.

Ingredients

  • 1 head of Red Oak Leaf Lettuce, shredded
  • 10 leaves Iceberg lettuce, shredded
  • 1 pack Rockets leaves, clean and picked
  • Handful of Pine Nuts, toasted
  • 200g Halloumi, sliced (8mm to 10mm thick)

Vinaigrette

  • ¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • ½ tsp Dijon Mustard
  • 1 tsp Honey
  • ¾ cup Olive Oil
  • Sprinkle of Dried Mint (optional)

Preparation

Place in a non-stick pan the Halloumi slices and cook on both sides for about 5mn or until it becomes brown and soft.

Mix together rocket leaves, lettuce and iceberg and sprinkle with salt. Add the pine nuts. Garnish with the grilled cheese.

To make the sauce, whisk together vinegar, salt, mustard until salt is dissolved. Add the honey, then the olive oil in a slow stream and keep whisking. Sprinkle with dried herbs if desired. Drizzle over the salad and serve.