Burnt butter biscuits

Burnt butter biscuits.  Sounds as though something went terribly wrong in the kitchen, doesn't it?  Not so.  These are lovely, buttery biscuits just perfect with a cup of coffee and a good book on rainy afternoons.  

The recipe was given to me by my sister and I have been intending to make these biscuits for a while.   Looks like today is the day.  My niece (of the red quilt) made a batch for their local agricultural show.  I'm very pleased and proud to say that she won a prize.  Not sure which one, however these biscuits are so delicious, I'm sure it must have been first prize.

Here is the recipe - in old money but pretty easy to convert the amounts to metric if you prefer.

Burnt butter biscuits - makes at least 2 dozen

1/4 pound butter

1/4 pound sugar

1 egg (I used a medium egg)

5 ounces of self raising flour

Melt the butter in a saucepan until it turns nut brown in colour.  Don't let it get too dark or it will taste bitter.  That would not be good.

Cool slightly (you want it to be cool enough that you can touch the sides of the pan) and then beat in the sugar.   

Add the egg,  mix well and then add the flour.
Stir until combined.

Roll into balls about the size of a walnut and flatten them slightly on the baking tray.  Leave some room between them as they spread when baking.

Pop half a glace cherry (my favourite!) or piece of blanched almond on top of each biscuit.

Bake in a moderate oven (180C or 160C for fan ovens) for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown.   

Allow to cool on a wire rack and store in a tin.

Don't have a tin?  Not a problem.  These biscuits will be gone long before you need worry about a tin! 

Enjoy!

The making of a quilt

A handmade quilt is such a personal thing.  This is the story behind the making of this one. 

It started with the backing fabric, a gorgeous fabric by Cosmo Cricket from their Odds and Ends collection.  I loved it and I knew my niece, who is a big fan of inspirational quotes, would love it too. 

During a recent visit, I took my niece into the local quilting shop and asked her to choose five fabrics for her quilt.  As she lives in Australia and I live in England I don't get to see her nearly as often as I would like.  Our trip to the quilt shop was therefore a great opportunity to spend time together and for me to get to know more of her likes and dislikes.  

So, I learnt that red is her favourite colour, that she doesn’t like overly flowery fabrics and prefers more quirky designs.   After much deliberation, these are the fabrics she chose and I think they look great. 

Fabrics (left to right): Perch by Timeless Treasures, Rural jardin by French General (Moda), Lost and found red stripe by Riley Blake, Folk tale birdcage by Riley Blake, Velo fleurs by Timeless Treasures.

A few days later I went back to the shop without my niece and, with the help of Merrilyn from Threadneedle Craft, chose a further four fabrics.  This is the final fabric selection, just right for a young teenage girl.

Fabrics (top row left to right): Lost and found red dot by Riley Blake, Perch by Timeless Treasures, Red stripe by Sweetwater (Moda) (middle row left to right): Rural jardin by French General (Moda), Lost and found red stripe by Riley Blake, Folk tale birdcage by Riley Blake and (Bottom row left to right): Daisy (maker not known), Velo fleurs by Timeless Treasures, Folk tale fairy by Riley Blake.

Back home and it was time to get cutting.  For the quilt top, I used a random arrangement of strips eight inches wide, varying in depth between two and four inches.  I first laid out the strips to check that I was happy with the flow of the colours and designs before sewing, rather than relying on chance that the strips would work well when sewn together haphazardly.

The final step, basting and quilting, was expertly done by a local long-arm quilter.  I chose an overall quilting pattern featuring stars as it reflects my niece’s name.

My niece now has a quilt that she loves and uses every day.  She sleeps with it at night, snuggles into it when watching tv and uses the quotes to inspire and encourage her.  Her quilt is soft and warm and lovely.  And it is a true reflection of her.  She can use it throughout her life and have something beautiful to pass on to future generations.  And what could be better than that?