Stick A Fork In Me: Lemon Meringue Pie

So, I've wanted to do a lot more baking lately and I've also decided to take Food and Nutrition as a GCSE after school. So, I thought I would try some of the things that I wanted to cook for it in the house before I have to do it in school.  

I decided to make a lemon meringue pie and I had no idea what it was going to turn out like but my mam helped me out as well. I decided to do the pastry by hand as well because I just wanted to see how it would go. To be honest, the pastry was probably the most frustrating part of it all. It took a little while to get the right consistency and get it from the counter into the tin without any of the pastry cracking of baking but we eventually got there after numerous filed attempts. 

The meringue and the lemon filling were actually quite fun to make and the meringue was a lot easier than I thought that it was going to be. Personally I don't think it came out looking too shabby.

I'm really hoping that I can cook a lot more, especially with Summer coming up so I'll have a lot more time on my hands and I definitely want to try my hand at a few things in my Hunger Games cookbook! 

Stick A Fork In Me: Chewy Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Recipe: http://minimalistbaker.com/chewy-double-chocolate-peppermint-cookies/

Last weekend I decided that I wanted to try my hand at baking again since it had been a while and wanted it to be a little bit festive. So, after seeing a picture on tumblr, I decided on Friday night that I was going to make chewy double chocolate peppermint cookies. 

I wasn’t really sure how they were going to work out; my family tends to make a lot of cakes but not a lot of biscuits or cookies but in the words of my mother it was going to be trial an error and just see how things go. There weren’t that many ingredients involved, especially if you tend to bake quite frequently.  They were quite easy to get a hold of as well. I did substitute natural peppermint extract for American Peppermint flavouring which did the same trick. 

The recipe is really easy to follow and doesn’t take up too much time if you know what you’re actually doing (which sometimes I didn’t). It’s quick and easy but the results that come out of it are great in the end. It’s the kind of recipe you can involve children in because it’s straight forward and there’s no use of electric whisks or anything like that. Straight forward baking. The taste of peppermint isn’t too strong in it either since 

The cookies really do have a festive theme around them, especially if you’re baking them while listening to some Christmas music. The crushed candy cane on top really ties it all together and brings Christmas that little bit closer.  

I really would recommend this recipe if you’re looking at making some festive treats this season.