Posts Tagged : ‘biscuits’

June 26, 2017

Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread // Blind Foundation Bikkie Day

I try to hit a balance here on PlanetBakeLife of personal stories but not too personal in case my particular brand of crazy drives you off. Today, however, I’m putting that aside because my friends over at the Blind Foundation asked me to do a post for their annual Bikkie Day. While that means you get an amazing shortbread recipe, it also means you get a story. So I suggest you make these biscuits and a cup of tea and settle yourself down.
Firstly, let’s talk about the Blind Foundation. They’re a great organisation that get no government funding. They count on the good nature of others so they can provide help and support to blind and partially sighted members of the community. A previous boss of mine is part of the Blind Foundation with only 14% vision in one eye. To see how independent and mobile he is thanks to the support The Blind Foundation offers is really quite touching. He doesn’t have a guide dog but personally I think this is one of the most amazing services that is offered. Guide dogs are not just service dogs, they become companions, they are part of the family. 

blind foundation, new zealand, bikkie day, guide dog

biscuits gravy sausage Planetbakelife brunch breakfast
June 5, 2017

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

We were in America in 2009 and 2011. It took us all of 5 seconds to realise that biscuits are a big deal over there.
If you don’t know, an American biscuit is basically a savoury scone but it’s laminated (when the dough is folded in on itself to create layers within the dough) so that its fluffy and tall. They’re heaven on a plate and biscuits are often served with gravy in the States. This was something that I found incredibly intriguing. I normally don’t eat gravy as I have a few issues with the store bought stuff but I had tons of my homemade stock leftover so I decided to give it a go from scratch. It was surprisingly easy.

biscuits gravy sausage Planetbakelife brunch breakfast

PlanetBakeLife Cheese and Pesto Buttermilk Scones
March 22, 2016

Pesto and Cheese Buttermilk Scones

My friend and co-worker moved into his new flat with his girlfriend. Whoo! It looks lovely and they desperately needed a place of their own. No one wants to live with other people forever so it’s nice to finally find somewhere to call your own.
As a housewarming gift I gave them a jar of my Spicy Plum Chutney and a batch of these Pesto and Cheese Scones.
My co-worker likes the Pesto and Cheese Scones from the cafe across from our office so I thought a batch of his favourite snack would go down well in their new home. Apparently they didn’t last past the first evening and were merely crumbs by the morning. Oh well! 

PlanetBakeLife Cheese and Pesto Buttermilk Scones

These are super easy to make and a little unique from other scones. These scones are actually an American Biscuit recipe that I have. It requires the scones to be folded in thirds which gives them a layered effect and makes them fluffier than the standard scone. The technique is actually super easy to master. It’s a good one to have under your belt as it’ll carry through if you’re making pastry at some point too.

December 10, 2015

Gingerbread People – Mason Jar Gifting

Christmas is just around the corner and that means that it’s time to start panicking if you haven’t got all of your gifts already. But don’t fear too much as I’ve got a great last minute baking project to save you from trying to fight your way through Farmer’s on Christmas Eve.
This little DIY is easy to do in a pinch but also great to make in bulk and save for the whole season. Gift these gingerbread people to people at work, school or within the family. Your neighbours will love the smell and you can dress them up or down. I popped my gingerbread people into a mason jar but you can just as easily use another airtight container. Personally I love ginger and I don’t like adding icing to these gingerbread people but that doesn’t mean you can’t.

gingerbread people mason jar gift

If you like this Christmas DIY then you can head over to Amanda or Christel’s posts to see what creative things they pop into a mason jar!

If you wanted to include a small bag of icing sugar, some food colouring and couple of different sweets then these would be great for kids.
Alternatively you could add some dark chocolate buttons and white icing for a grown up feel for your gingerbread people.
My favourite would be adding a bit of cocoa powder to your icing sugar and covering these delicious morsels with sprinkles for a lovely crunch.

Recent Posts

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
June 5, 2017