Christmas equals an abundance of food. It’s tradition in my family to eat two suppers on Christmas Day. A cold meat tea, followed by an inordinate amount of cakes and puddings. The contestants of the Great British Bake Off don’t even come close to my family’s ability to produce cake.
My baking skills, unfortunately, pale into insignificance by comparison. Mix into the equation a toddler helping me with all my cooking and you have a recipe for disaster. That said, this year I have been determined to do some Christmas baking. Thankfully Laura Ashley have some great Christmas shaped cookie cutters, so I can keep it simple and make some fail proof shortbread. Apparently it’s a great activity to do with kids.
The cookies come in a big glass jar, which is useful as then they don’t roll around messing up the cutlery drawer. There are twelve cookie cutters in all, including a snowflake, star, Christmas tree and heart. The shapes are simple without any fiddly bits, which made it easy for my daughter to participate.
Cooking with a 2 yr old is always a messy business, so I made sure an apron and several tea towels were on hand. To get us in the spirit I opted for the 12 Days of Christmas apron. The artwork, depicting characters from the song, is delightfully nostalgic. True to form, Laura Ashley’s tea towels are exceptional quality, functional and pretty. I love the embroidered pheasant.
To add a little zen to the proceedings, I lit a candle. The English Apple & Mint scent is wonderfully fresh, a perfect antidote to cooking smells. Fire is the one thing my daughter, Daisy, has learnt you don’t play with.
So how did it go? Well judging by how little my daughter ate for lunch, I imagine more raw shortbread went into her mouth than in the oven. But the biscuits got a thumbs up from my husband, and Daisy’s flour covered bottom had us all in stitches.
A Novice’s Guide to Shortbread
- 125g butter
- 55g golden caster sugar
- 180g plain flour
- Laura Ashley Cookie Cutters
- Heat the Oven to 180 degrees
- Grease a couple of baking trays
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixer
- Then mix in the flour
- Roll out and create your beautiful biscuits.
- Sprinkle with extra sugar
- EAT!
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Cookie Cutters* | Laura Ashley
Apron* | Laura Ashley – sold out
Tea Towels* | Laura Ashley
Candle* | Laura Ashley
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Shot on a Nikon 35mm f/1.8G
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This post was produced in association with Laura Ashley would kindly gifted the product featured, all opinions are my own.