Gingerbread Muffins

In my last post I mentioned that Miss R wanted me to make Gingerbread muffins over the weekend.

I'm happy to report that one batch has been made but as there's not many left then I'll probably be making another batch on Christmas Eve.

This year we're having muffins and fruit for breakfast as I really like to start the day with as little fuss as possible. 

 As well as the Gingerbread muffins, I'll also make a batch of savoury cheese muffins to balance things out a bit.  Both kinds of muffins freeze really well and are great popped into the microwave for 30 or 40 seconds for a yummy breaky or snack at any time.

I usually ice my gingerbread muffins with a cream cheese icing although the traditional lemon icing would be beautiful too.  Master M doesn't like lemon or cream cheese icing but he loves the muffins plain so I always leave some un-iced just for him.

The mixture itself is quite liquid so don't panic if you think you've missed an ingredient.  It also fills 12 muffin cases up nearly to the top.  In the past I've used smaller cases and made around 20 or so muffins which is a nice little bite full but this time I've made them the normal size.

Gingerbread Muffins

1 cup of boiling water

1/4 cup of Golden Syrup *

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

2 eggs

1 cup caster sugar

2 cups plain flour (all purpose)

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon of baking powder

pinch of salt

* (I think you use Corn Syrup in the USA or you could substitute maple syrup but I've never tried it with this).

Pour the boiling water into a bowl.  Add the syrup and bicarbonate soda and mix well then allow to cool slightly (I usually leave it about 5 minutes while I get the other ingredients ready).

Add the oil and eggs and mix until combined, then stir in the sugar.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir until combined.  I usually use a whisk to get rid of any lumps.

Pour into 12 muffin tins lined with cases and bake at 180 C (375F) for approximately 20 minutes.

Once cooled top with icing if you wish.

Cream Cheese Icing

250g block of cream cheese, softened (e.g Philadelphia brand)

2/3 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)

Beat the cream cheese and icing sugar together with an electric mixer until well combined and creamy.  It only needs a couple of minutes.

Enjoy!

xx Susan

Celebration Day!

I can't believe that it's now over a week since Master M finished Primary school.  It's certainly the end of an era because my kids were 5th generation at that school and you don't hear or see that in many places anymore.

They have a bit of a tradition at the school that the graduating class gets to enjoy a special Celebration Day to finish of the year and as a fun farewell day before they head off to High school.

It's always held at Kings Beach in Caloundra and they get to play some games on the grassy areas, play in the fountains and swim in the pool.

The day was hot and sunny, but then that's about all it's been around here for months now.  Hats and sunscreen were a must and the kids had a great time being out of the classroom with their mates.

I think the pool was the most popular activity for the kids, followed closely by playing in the fountains as it gave them a chance to cool off.

I looked on with envy as they all enjoyed the pool but didn't have my togs with me.

Luckily the other fun part of the day is a special lunch at the Surf Club that the school organises every year.

The air conditioning was perfect and the view from my chair was pretty good too.....

There were also class parties to be enjoyed and cupcakes were requested as the dish of choice.  I really don't enjoy decorating cakes so I try to make things look as festive as possible with as little effort as possible.

I believe they were all inhaled relatively quickly :)

It's also been the only baking I've done in the lead up to Christmas so far.  It's been too hot and I really haven't felt like doing much in the kitchen at all but Miss R is nagging regularly requesting me to make the gingerbread muffins with cream cheese icing that I've been making the last few years so I believe I may be making some over the weekend.

I might make a double batch as they freeze really well and I can get the baking done on one day then put my feet up in front of the air conditioner while watching cricket and scoffing muffins.  Sounds like a plan!

I hope you are all enjoying a calm lead up to the holidays or you are at least able to find some calm in the frazzled moments.

Enjoy!

xx Susan

Tree Day 2019

The annual Tree Day occurred at my sister's late last week.

For those that haven't read my blog over the last few years I'll give you a quick recap.

Since my brother's and my children were very young, we go over to my sister's house in early December each year and they decorate her Christmas tree and her house.

It's become a tradition that they all love and receive their first gift of the season which is a new decoration from my sister.  Often it's a special one from her travels like the gold plated maple leaf from Canada or the kilt wearing piper from Scotland.

As usual the morning started with the gifting of their new decoration.

Then they're given their boxes full of their decorations from previous years.  As they're getting older it's wonderful to hear them get excited about a special one they remember receiving.

Then it's time to decorate the tree and it's on this day each year when you realise just how much the kids are growing and how tall they're getting!  I remember when they were all little and the decorations were clustered around the bottom of the tree because that's as far as they could reach!

Sophie is always on hand to supervise and gets so excited to have all the kids there.  You can hear the poor old thing's joints creak as she tries to join in but she loves being with her kids too.

So Tree Day is over for another year and it's on with the preparations for Christmas which all of a sudden is hurtling towards us at great speed.

Hubby will be home in a few days and then we'll have him until just before New Years which is wonderful.  He was supposed to work Christmas this year but was able to wrangle the time off so we're looking forward to having him here.

What traditions do you all have with your family, whether for Christmas or for another occasion you celebrate?

xx Susan

This year's advent

Each year I like to do my own special advent celebration that doesn't involve chocolate and lollies.  Usually I'll burn an advent candle but I've found that I get side tracked and it often burns down two or three days at one time.

Last year I found an advent calendar at Kmart that had a different scented tea light candle in it for each day.  That ended up being the perfect calendar for me and this year I wanted to do the same kind of thing.

I didn't find one already made up, but then I didn't really look either.  I just decided that I would burn one special tea light candle each day for my own little celebration.  I ended up buying a pack of berry scented candles at Ikea which fit the bill perfectly and fill my house with a really subtle berry smell.

I also ended up buying a larger berry scented candle and a vanilla one for if I decide to burn one for awhile at night after the 'kitchen's closed'.

I only ever burn candles on my kitchen hotplate as our whole house is wood and I hate the thought of candles burning in bedrooms or even our lounge room.  The kitchen's the hub of our house so one candle burning there is quite comforting.

It's also a practical bonus for our summer when the power often goes out, especially if there's a storm.  Then it's usually Uno or a board game by candlelight until either the power comes back on or it's time for bed.

The kids have had a felt advent calendar for about the past 10 years too.  There's a little felted present attached which gets moved to the next pocket each day and they love this little one.  They also love their chocolate (Master M) and candy (Miss R) calendar that they get each year too.  I think there would be a mutiny if they didn't have one of those!

There have also been some yummy treats made at school.  Master M made a gingerbread house although there's no gingerbread in sight.  It was made out of different kinds of biscuits and lollies and plastered together with icing.

Miss R made a pretty scrumptious caramel and custard tart at school too.  I was good and only indulged in half of one as they both brought these treats home on the same day and I was being forced to sample both of them!

I hope the weeks are being good to you and that you're coping with this endless horrible heat if you're in my part of the world.  I can't believe it's going to be 40 degrees celsius for the next couple of days and that we've hardly had a day under 30 celsius in the last month.  That's a Queensland summer for you though I suppose.

For my northern hemisphere readers where it is cold, misty, snowy or raining, please prepare a spare bed as I may end up moving in soon! :) 

xx Susan