Kirby Amber - Delicious gifts: give, love, bake

Absolute Press An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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www.bloomsbury.com This electronic edition published in 2017 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc ABSOLUTE PRESS and the A. logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in the UK in 2017 by Absolute Press Robert Kirby, 2017 Photography Jodi Hinds, 2017 Robert Kirby has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work. All rights reserved
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Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication data has been applied for. ISBN: 978-1-4729-3008-8 (HB) ISBN: 978-1-4729-3009-5 (eBook) ISBN: 978-1-4729-3010-1 (ePDF) Bloomsbury Publishing Plc makes every effort to ensure that the papers used in the manufacture of our books are natural, recyclable products made from wood grown in well-managed forests. Our manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. To find out more about our authors and their books please visit www.bloomsbury.com where you will find extracts, author interviews and details of forthcoming events, and to be the first to hear about latest releases and special offers, sign up for our newsletters. Publisher Jon Croft Commissioning Editor Meg Avent Art Direction Kim Musgrove and Matt Inwood Designers Kim Musgrove and Allison Curtis Project Editor Emily North Recipe Editor Gillian Haslam Photographer Jodi Hinds Food Stylist Katie Cecil Proofreader Margaret Haynes Indexer Zoe Ross Contents Introduction Hello and welcome to Delicious Gifts. This book was a natural follow on from my previous books, Cook with Kids and The Family Kitchen which included a chapter called The Gift Shop.

This chapter was very popular and generated the most interest and created the biggest buzz from the press and general public alike. My wife Amber and I have made many bespoke foody presents for family and friends over the years, so this seemed an obvious thing to share. I have cooked for over 30 years and hope you enjoy these tried and trusted recipes. Amber and I both styled, designed and wrapped each recipe with some fun and quirky twists. We also scoured the world for props and original labels, jars, tins, boxes and bags, searching websites from Europe, Asia and America which was lots of fun and gave each gift bespoke identity. We hope this book inspires you to take some time out of the fast-paced, time-shy lifestyle we all seem to be leading these days.

Show someone you really care by investing a little of your time, energy and creativity in hand-making the perfect and authentic delicious gift. Enjoy, good luck, but most of all, have fun and let those creative juices flow! Love Rob Chapter One: Cookie Love Here are eight of our favourite, crunchy, chewy, soft and sweet biscuits. Everybody loves biscuits, making them the perfect gift for any celebration. The Slice and Bake Sweet and Savoury Biscuit Tubes can be made ahead and stored in the freezer, ready to grab, slice and bake when you have guests and want to impress. Have lots of fun and giggles making the Family Funny Face Cookies to give to your loved ones and hope they still talk to you afterwards! Last but not least, its not an official biscuit but the very retro Coconut Macaroon had to sneak into this scrummy, yummy chapter. Package your bakes in pots, jars, boxes or bags.

All these biscuits will keep well for a week stored in a tight sealed container if they last that long! Slice and Bake Sweet and Savoury Biscuit Tubes These will go down a storm with your friends! And the best bit is you can freeze ahead if you feel like getting your bake on one day and making a few batches so you can always have ready supplies. EACH TUBE MAKES 25 BISCUITS FOR THE HONEY PECAN BISCUIT TUBES 225g unsalted butter 75g caster sugar 1 egg yolk 1 tablespoon clear honey 250g plain flour, sifted 75g broken pecans FOR THE SAVOURY CHEESY TUBES 100g Gruyre cheese, grated 100g Parmesan cheese, grated 200g butter 300g plain flour, sifted teaspoon cayenne pepper for a fuller flavour (for a milder warmth, use teaspoon) teaspoon English mustard powder 50g sesame seeds To make the honey pecan biscuit tubes, cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl, then add the egg yolk, honey and flour to form a dough. Finally, add the pecan nuts and stir to make sure they are evenly distributed. Flour a work surface and roll the dough into a tube measuring roughly 5cm in diameter and 25cm in length. Wrap and roll this in baking parchment, or in muslin cloth, twisting the ends so that it looks like a cracker. Tie the cracker with string and label with the following instructions: Slice with a hot knife into 5mm-thick circles, place on a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 180C/160C Fan/Gas Mark 4 for 10 minutes until golden brown. Next, to make the savoury cheesy tubes, cream both cheeses and butter together in a bowl.

Fold in the flour, cayenne pepper and mustard powder, then mix to form a firm dough. Flour a work surface and roll the dough into a tube measuring roughly 5cm in diameter and 25cm in length, then roll in the sesame seeds. Wrap and roll this in baking parchment, or in muslin cloth, twisting the ends so that it looks like a cracker. Tie the cracker with string and label with the following instructions: Slice with a hot knife into 5mm-thick circles, place on a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 180C/160C Fan/Gas Mark 4 for 10 minutes until golden brown.