Creation of Bells

Easter has now passed and biscuits were taken away with it. Now, remains only some chocolates and decorations that have not had the chance to be used. But there will be a good opportunity for them. There is always room for a little color. Therefore, the few following messages will be devoted to preparations for Easter's feast.

Taken by my enthusiasm with Alphabaked!, with which I only bake cookies at the moment, I wanted to offer a wide range of variations around the same recipe. I know a lot of people want to have a good choice of sweets, but that doesn't mean they are ready to cook a dozen of receipe. So the basis is simple. They are crispy, but lightweight, allowing you to eat a few without filling too full. What is added on top, however, I can not promise you it won't affect anyone. When I try to get a particular form, I usually stop thinking about calories or the size of the biscuit. And when I decide to do something special, I don't want it to look restrained. Moreover, it's always better for photos. And you know, I'm always surprised when I notice it's often the ugliest or most excessive ones that people prefer. Let me tell you, there are no stereotypes in the kitchen. It is the permanent dilemma between taste buds and eyeballs.

For this first Easter message, I will focus on Bells. When you try to represent the most famous images of a special occasion, you must go through the classics. What changes is the way you'll be presenting them.

First, here is the recipe that will be used for Easter biscuits (unless I tell otherwise). For the Bells, I added a gold glaze in tube and sugar silver pearls. Both come from the supermarket. So you will not have too much problem finding them. And now you have a whole year ahead of you.

Recipe for having fun enough with different shapes an average thirty cookies:

150g icing sugar

1 egg

125g butter, softened

3 tbsp golden syrup

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 / 2 teaspoon baking powder

200g flour

100g cornflour

In a bowl, break the egg and pour the icing sugar. With a whisk, start by mixing very gently until the sugar is incorporated. It is the only challenge with icing sugar. It's so light that you can quickly find yourself with a cloud of dust. Whisk for a further minute until the mixture is light. Add softened butter and whisk again until you get a frothy cream. Finish with the syrup and stir.

Sift together flour, cornflour, baking soda and baking powder, then add them to the above mixture, pouring in small portions. If dough becomes too stiff for the whip, interact with a fork and finish by hand. The dough should thicken and harden but remain flexible. Since you have to let it cool an hour in the fridge, it will harden and be easy to work by hand. Cover it with plastic film and then put in the fridge. If you are not sure to bake everything, cut the dough into several balls to keep them quite hard in the fridge, or put what you don't want in the freezer.

Preheat oven to 180 ° C.

Take your dough from the fridge. On a floured work surface, spread a layer of about five millimeters and cut out desired shapes with a sharp knife, a punch or anything that will cut as you want. Place biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake 8 to 10 minutes. The best is to observe. When the edges begin to golden, it's good!

The more difficult with the Bells is to find a recognizable shape, even without any detail. I tried to make bells like those we hang round animals necks, but even I didn't managed to tell what it was supposed to look like after cooking.

The pictures were all taken in my garden. I was desperate to have a bit of sunshine these days, and obviously he arrived the next day. To get the most light possible, I played with a large mirror. There is no retouching. These are just optical illusions. It almost looks like the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, don't you think? "The creation of Bells". No, really… The most similar detail is the whiteness of the sky. See for yourself.

Detail from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, and picturing the Hand of God giving life to Adam. Creation of Adam, 1508-1512.