Christmas Cookies have a lovely Scandinavian feel to them. But I have found that if the dough is good for rolling it does not taste very nice and if it tastes good it doesn’t roll too well. After years of searching for a good recipe for  have found the perfect one! I know that the list of ingredients is long but it makes a big lump of dough which will last for weeks in the fridge and be there for you to use when you need something to do on a rainy day. The fun part is in the rolling, the cutting and the icing. If the children are impatient to get going, have the dough ready before you start.

125g butter

150g caster sugar

5 Tbs cream

3 Tbs black treacle

1 Tbs ground cinnamon

1 Tbs ground ginger

1 tsp ground cloves

Seeds of 8 cardamom pods ground

Jest of one orange

375g plain flour

½ tsp bread soda

 

Warm butter, sugar, cream, treacle, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and orange zest over a low heat until the butter is melted and the sugar dissolved

Sieve the flour and soda together and add to the pan, stirring to form a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface. It is very soft but firms as it cools

Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 1 hour . I have kept the dough for weeks at this stage.

Bring back to room temperature and roll out to the thickness of a euro coin

Cut into Christmas shapes and

bake on lined trays at 160 for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack

 Before they cool, make a small hole in the top if you will want to hang them up

 When cool decorate with water icing: sieve ½ cup of icing sugar into a bowl. Add a little water and stir. Keep adding water slowly until you get the consistency you want

This year we decided to get our Lavistown programme of courses up on the website in time for Christmas. Vouchers make perfect presents for all those people who do not want any more posessions but love to improve their skills. They are valid for two years after the date of issue and for any amount of money you want to give.

The dates below are provisional.

WINTER BOTANY 27th February

YEAST BREADMAKING 27th March

SPINNING AND DYEING 24th – 25th April

NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY 26th June

COOKING FOR COLLEGE 18th September

FORAGING 25th September

MUSHROOM HUNT 9th  - 10th October

BASKETMAKING 13th 14th November

beautiful day

In these dark November days it is nice to think of spring … blue skies and magnolias and getting back to work in the garden. Because we have limey soil we grow Magnolia wilsonii, M. kobus and M. loebneri. This picture looks through our M. loebneri which is about eight years old.

NEW! NEW!

Specially designed for the actively retired who have free travel

A day out with all the best elements: a little learning, a little eating, a little shopping and no hassle with driving.

Come to Kilkenny by train. We will meet you and transport you to Lavistown. You will spend the morning doing a short course .You’ll stay for lunch then spend the afternoon browsing round Kilkenny before getting the train home.

Short courses on offer Yeast Breadmaking, Growing Herbs, Keeping Hens etc… what would you like?