Barcelona is full of Xmas decorations these days, but with 19ºC and blue skies I fell like I overslept the winter.
To get into Xmas mood I made some cinnamon cookies based on a traditional german cinnamon star cookie recipe.
Hope you like my smiley heart interpretation

Cinnamon heart cookies
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Ingredients: 

*100g ground hazelnut
*2 egg whites
*a pinch of salt
*1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
*125g white sugar
*1 sachet vanilla bourbon sugar
*2 teaspoons of cinnamon
*125g ground almond

*some powdered sugar for the cookie cutter

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Beat the egg ,salt and lemon juice until stiff, then add the white sugar slowly and beat well.
Remove 3 tablespoons of the egg white mix and set aside.

Add vanilla bourbon sugar, cinnamon, hazelnuts and almonds to the batter and stir until evenly mixed.
Cover and set aside, letting the mixture rest for 2 hours in a cool place.

After 2 hours place the dough in between 2 sheets of baking paper, to roll out. ( the dough is very sticky and believe me you want to avoid the mess). Roll out to approx.2cm thickness.
Preheat the oven @150ºC
Then make the cut-outs using your favourite cookie cutter, dipped in powdered sugar.
Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Take the remaining egg white and add some drops of water.
Spread some egg white on each cookie ( I recommend using your fingers – it works best)
Bake the cookies in the lower part of the oven for 15-17mins and let cool before enjoying

 

Being a bit over saturated by Halloween posts and sweets all over the internet, I’ve been hearing old Cardigans records, stumbling through swedish blogs, retouching pictures from my last trip to Stockholm and baking a delicious Swedish visiting cake. I found this super easy and quick recipe here and adapted it. Smaklig måltid

Swedish visting cake
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Ingredients for a 22cm diameter cake

*200g sugar
*grated zest of 1 lemon
*2 large eggs
*1 teaspoon baking powder
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon almond or rum extract
*120 all purpose flour
*120 g unsalted butter, melted

For the topping
*40g sliced almonds
*2 tablespoons sugar mixed with some cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger

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Preheat the oven @175ºC and butter and line ( baking paper) a 22cm diameter cake pan.
In a medium bowl mix the sugar with the lemon zest and stir with your fingertips until the sugar is moist.
Whisk in the eggs one at a time until well blended and add the salt, vanilla and almond extract.
Stir in flour with baking powder and mix well, then fold in the melted butter.
Place in the baking pan and sprinkle the almonds on top. Then sprinkle the sugar mix on top of the almonds.
Let bake for ca 30-35 min until golden on the outside ( make the toothpick test ).
After removing the pan from the oven let cool for 10 minutes, before you enjoy the cake warm or cold

El Costurero is a lovely craft  magazine from Spain, filled with lots of cute surprises.
One of them is that I am part of it this time – such an honor :)
Here’s a little preview – please have a look at the blog or buy the little goodie

This is a simple ” It’s bank holiday, I have a nearly empty fridge and I am craving for a sweet breakfast” recipe.
I adapted this recipe for Streusel Scones from Cynthia Barcomi and loved it, while watching the lastest Autumn/Winter Fall Runway shows on Style.com.
Have a great week

Streusel Scones ( for 8-10 Scones)
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( recipe adapted from Cynthia Barcomi)

Ingredients:

Streusel:
*30 laminated almonds
*40g all purpose flour
*25g sugar
*a hint of salt
*a hint of cinnamon
*a hint of nutmeg
*30g cold butter, cut in to little pieces

*1 egg yolk mixed with 1/2 teaspoon water

Scones:
*280g all purpose flour
*60g sugar
*2 teaspoons of baking powder
*a hint of salt
*60g cold butter, cut in to little pieces
*100g cold marzipan, cut into pieces
*80ml cold milk
*1 egg

Filling:

*Raspberry jam

Preheat the oven@ 200ºC.
Mix all the ingredients for the Streusels ( except the egg yolk mix) and knead the butter with your fingertips into the batter.
Then in another bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and marzipan and knead with your fingertips. Add the milk and egg and knead well until evenly mixed.

Place the batter on a floured working space and knead. Then roll the batter to approx. 1cm thickness.
Make 16-20 round cutouts, using a glass or round cookie cutter ( approx 6cm diameter) and place half of the cutouts on a baking tray, covered with baking paper.
Place some raspberry jam ( approx 1 teaspoon) in the center of each cutout and place the additional cutouts on top of each, pressing carefully around the corners.
Now brush the eggyolk/water mix on top and spread the Streusel ( approx 1 Tablespoon per scone) .
Bake for 17-20 minutes and let cool for 10 minutes before eating.
I hope you love them as much as I did

I know it has been far too long since I last posted a recipe. But believe me – it was worth waiting. These cherry and marzipan muffins are delicious and juicy. I just enjoyed 2 of them with a caramel soya milk iced coffee on my little balcony, smelling the summer breeze here in Barcelona

Cherry & Marzipan Muffins
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Ingredients:

*200g Marzipan
*1 jar of cherries ( ca 360g drain weight)
*100g white sugar
*15og butter, softened
*1 sachet vanilla sugar
*2 eggs
*hint of salt
*170 all purpose flour
*1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
*some drops of almond extract or rum

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Preheat the oven @ 155ºC( air circulation).
Grate 100 marzipan and set aside. Drain the cherries.
Mix (electric mixer) softened butter, sugar, vanilla sugar, salt and almond extract until foamy.
Add the marzipan. Add eggs – one by one – and stir well. Mix the flour with the baking powder and add to the batter. Mix well.
Add the cherries and stir with a spoon.
Place 12 muffin paper cups in a muffin pan and divide the batter equally between the cups.
Now cut the remaining marzipan in little cubes and place on top of the muffin batter.
Bake for ca 20 minutes.
Enjoy

Last week, flicking through Lula Magazine , I saw this pretty , black and white editorial, where the Vanessa Paradis look-alike model eats a Brezel.
Since then I am craving for Brezels  – but no friends are visting from Germany these weeks and I still couldn’t find a place in Barcelona, where they sell them.  So I tried this easy German recipe of Brezel Muffins  – and they taste deliciously like home

Brezel Muffins  – 12 pieces
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Ingredients:

* 22g fresh yeast
*1 tablespoon softened butter
*400g flour
*1 teaspoon sugar
*1 teaspoon salt
*50g sodium carbonate ( E500)
*some sea salt for decoration
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Add sugar and crumbled yeast  into 250g warm water and stir until well dissolved.
Add flour, salt and softened butter and knead with an electric mixer ( dough hook) until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover the dough and let rise for 15 minutes at warm roomtemperature.

After 15 minutes, knead the dough well with your hands and divide into 12 equal dough balls. Cover them up and let rise again for 30 SECONDS.

Grease a 12 unit muffin pan and preheat the oven @ 220ºC.

Then add the sodium carbonate to 1 liter water and let come to boil. ( I recommend not to use an aluminium pot, as it might react with the sodium carbonate). Then one by one add the dough balls to the water and leave for approx.30 minutes, then lift out with a sifter, skimmer etc and let drip on a kitchen towel.

Place the dough balls into the muffin pan and sprinkle some sea salt on them.
Put in the oven and let bake for 15 minutes.  Take out of the oven and let them cool for 10minutes before you take them out of the pan.

The Brezel muffins taste delicious just with butter. But you can eat them also wether as a salty snack ( with cheese and tomatoes etc) or sweet with butter and marmelade or honey. Enjoy

Baking Sunday, no flour at home and no chance I am leaving my warm apartment for the cold humid street…
Nothing easier and tastier than these Oreo cup cheesecakes, which I was enjoying with a Caramel tea, while looking back at the amazing Suede concert, I’ve been to this weekend

Oreo cup cheesecakes
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(recipe adapted from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients for 12 cakes

* 12  whole Oreo cookies
* 8 chopped Oreo cookies
* 450g cream cheese
* 100g sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bourbon extract
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 120g sour cream
* pinch of salt
*1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven @ 150ºC and line a muffin pan with 12 muffin paper cups.

Place 1 Oreo cookie in each cup.
Mix the cream cheese with the electric mixer and add the sugar and the vanilla.
Pour in the eggs slowly and mix – then add the sour cream, salt and baking powder.
Combine well, then add the cookie crumbs by hand and stir with a spoon. Divide the batter among the cups, filling them completely.
Bake the cakes for 25 minutes, but rotate the muffin pan halfway through to make sure the cakes bake evenly.
Let cool down and refrigerate the cakes in the pan at least 3 hours before eating. Enjoy

Sunny Saturday morning, with a nearly empty fridge and hunger for something sweet. I made this really easy cinnamon soy milk waffles and ate them on my sunny, little balcony while reading the new Monki Magazine I just found in my mailbox.  Hope you hade a good weekend start, too

Cinnamon Soy Waffles
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Ingredients:

Dry ingredients :
*280g flour
*1 tablespoon baking powder
*1 sachet vanilla sugar (ca 10g)+ 30g brown sugar
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ( or more if you love cinnamon like me:)

Liquid ingredients:
*2 eggs, beaten
*250ml soy milk ( I used Alpro soy milk)
*45g melted butter ( or sunflower oil)

mix dry ingredients and liquid ingredients separated – then fold together.
Heat a waffle maker (no need to grease) and place 2 tablespoons dough in the center. Bake for ca 2min ( not too long, other less it gets a bit dry). Enjoy with apple sauce

Hot, hot weekend in Barcelona. Nothing better than a fresh homemade lemonade to sweeten up my Sunday, while watching the “When you are strange” – The doors documentary and planing my holidays in Tuscany

Pink lemonade

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900ml cold water

220ml freshly pressed lemon juice ( 4 big lemons)

120ml cranberry juice

100g white sugar

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Combine all ingredients and stir well to dissolve the sugar. Add some lemon slices and serve over ice

Today I was invited to  Dotti’s virtual coffee party together with some lovely bloggers who joined from all over Europe. It has been a  pleasure, ladies