Cinnamon Buns

These are perfect for breakfast on Christmas morning.  You can make them in advance and have hassle free breakfast hot and sticky just in time for opening stockings!  They are also pretty good at any time of day and at any time of year...

1lb 6oz/630g strong white bread flour

3.5tsp quick dried yeast

4oz/100g granulated sugar

pinch salt

2 eggs, beaten

1tsp vanilla extract

10floz/300ml milk

6floz/180ml hot water

4.5oz/110g soft butter

Filling

4.5oz/110g soft butter

5oz/125g soft light brown sugar

3tbsp ground cinnamon

optional - chopped nuts, raisins

Mix together dry ingredients.  In a small bowl mix the water and milk and add to the flour mixture along with the eggs and vanilla essence.

Stir briefly, then add the butter cut into cubes.

  Turn out onto a surface and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is soft and stretchy.

Lightly flour the surface and bring the dough together into a smooth ball.

Place in the bowl, cover with oiled cling film or a tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1.5-2 hours, until doubled in size.

To make the filling, in a small bowl beat the butter together with the sugar and cinnamon.  The softer the better so you might want to place the bowl briefly in a dish of hot water or microwave for a few seconds.

When the dough is risen, turn out onto a surface, knead for a minute and divide into two.

Roll one piece into a rectangle about 8"x14".

Spread with half the cinnamon mixture, going right up to the edges except on one of the longest sides

Roll up along the long edge.

Flatten the un-cinnamon-y edge and brush with a little water, then pinch it all along to seal the spiral.

Slice into nine and place in a tray with a couple of cm around each one.  I used silicone moulds, but if you use a metal baking tray you'll need to grease and line with baking parchment.

OPTIONS:

1) To bake straight away - leave for an hour somewhere warm.

2) To eat the next morning for breakfast - leave in the fridge overnight (having made them in the evening).

3) Can be frozen for up to a month, remove from the freezer the night before, leave at room temperature overnight.  (If you fancy them Christmas morning, this is probably the best and least stressful option - make them now and put them in the freezer, then get them out Christmas eve before going to bed)

Bake for half an hour in a pre-heated oven at 170C/gas mark 3.

Leave to cool for 5 minutes in the tin before removing to a cooling rack.  I've found the easiest way to do this is to place a flat tray on top of the buns and turn upside down.

Place the cooling rack on top and flip round the right way up.

Hot, soft, sticky, cinnamon-y, bread-y heaven...enjoy!

{Optional frosting

If you really want to pull all the stops out...

4oz/100g soft butter

6oz/150g icing sugar

12oz/300g cream cheese

0.25tsp vanilla essence

Beat together butter, icing sugar and vanilla essence until pale and creamy.  Carefully fold in the cream cheese.  Spread on top of the buns (warm or cold)...yikes.}

Christmas Dress

I've had the idea for this dress in my head for ages, and so a couple of months ago decided that I would actually get on and make it.  The fabric is a very fine woven wool which I found in a remnant bin for seven dollars when we went to America a couple of years ago.  It's gorgeously drapey, but annoyingly wasn't quite big enough for what I wanted to do, so as usual I went ahead and made it anyway, and with a bit of bidging and bodging it all worked out ok in the end.

The collar is made from a vintage men's shirt and the cotton has a lovely slubby-ness about it.  The ribbon adds a bit of detail to what would otherwise be a very plain dress and more importantly, hides the bits where I had to stitch extra panels on to make up for the lack of fabric.  (Several of the panels had to have extra bits sewn on at the bottom and the sleeves are made in two halves.)  It doesn't even show and I am rather pleased with myself for getting the whole dress out of about a metre and a half of fabric!  There are mere whisps of scraps leftover which is also nice.

This is also the most terrible photo of all time, sorry, better photos when I am in it - I think I will save its first outing for Christmas day, it's always nice to have a new dress for Christmas!

A Little Smug Moment....

I am, for the first time ever, alarmingly ready for Christmas.

In fact this post has been in the planning (with all the jobs done) for almost a week and so that makes me feel even more organised-er.  I have to relish these small moments...they don't happen often.

The tree is up and decorated and I have managed to find lights and some vintage baubles on Ebay to plump out our rather measly collection of decorations.

The tree is a plastic one donated to us by my parents who were donated it by someone else, who had had it in their loft for goodness knows how long and does a fabulous job considering it's age!  Not sure it particularly enjoyed the move however, it did need quite a lot of resuscitation to get it looking perky....

We went to Totnes on Saturday and had a lovely afternoon moseying about, enjoying the toasty bright glow of shops relative to the cold blowy drizzle outside.  Every year I look for one new decoration to add to the tree; it's so nice getting them out each Christmas and remembering where we were when I bought it, even after only 3 years!  I hope in time I will have a lovely tree full of memories, this year's addition is a sweet little porcelain dove from Totnes.  Shops visited, feet damp and hair decidedly hedge-ish, we went for tea and cake before facing the weather once again to return home.

All the presents are sorted and wrapped, and sitting snugly under the tree and the Christmas cards have been designed, printed and sent.

I made a panettone the other day which was absolutely delicious and has been providing Christmassy breakfasts over the weekend.  I replaced the raisins with chopped dark chocolate for extra deliciousness.

Now I have a batch of mince pies to make to send to work with Edward and a few things to prepare for all our visits to friends and family next week.  I'm also hoping to have time to get things ready for a couple of something-to-fiddle-with-while-watching-the-telly projects, which I will hopefully be able to blog about and inspire you to make your own too...

Good luck with all your last minute Christmas jobs!

Grissini

As we approach the festive season it is safe to say there will be parties, soirees and gatherings a plenty.  First priority must be enticing things to eat (swiftly followed by delectable drinks of course).  Grissini are an easy way to provide tasty but economic nibbly things for people to nibble on.

12oz/300g strong white bread flour

2tsp fast acting dried yeast

0.5 tsp salt

ground black pepper

2floz/60ml milk

5floz/150ml warm water

3tbsp oil

Optional additions:

15 black olives, finely sliced and squeezed in a paper towel to remove excess liquid

pinch cayenne pepper and 3tbsp grated parmesan

herbs or spices

sun dried tomato
chopped walnuts

Pretty much anything will be delicious I am sure!

Mix together the dry ingredients and any herbs or spices you're using.

Add the liquid and knead for five minutes (see here for guidance on kneading).





Add the olives or parmesan and knead for a further five minutes.





Form into a smooth ball and place back in the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel or some oiled clingfilm and leave to rise until doubled in size.







Pre-heat the oven to 190C/gas mark 5.  Turn the dough out of the bowl and knead for one minute.  Split into three, and cover two pieces with a tea towel.  Roll the other piece out to form a rectangle 3-4 mm thick.



It's easier if there isn't too much flour on the work surface, this stops the dough just sliding about as you roll, but remember to keep moving it so that it doesn't completely stick!  Cut into thin strips about 5mm wide, place on a greased tray, repeat with the other two pieces of dough and bake for 15 - 20 mins until golden.





They should be brittle and crisp, with a delicious crunch to them.  Cool on a rack and store in an airtight tin.

Serve with some form of delicious dip, humous or salsa!