Raspberry & Cream Roly Polys

Thanks everyone for your nice emails and messages after last week entry. They really comforted me. The surgery went very well, the staff was unbelievably nice and friendly and it didn't hurt that badly (little voice in my head saying “I told you”).

However, I'm a wimpy person, and I busted into tears as soon as the nurse said my name. At least they didn't ask me to wear one of those foul hospital gowns. Thanks NHS for that!

I now have a sore leg and a not-too-bad scar with 4 stitches on it. Eek.

I'll have the stitches removed next week, which hopefully will be quick.

The worst thing is the wait until the results for the biopsy are back. That will take a month or so. But I'm trying to stay positive and not to think much about it. And because of that, I'm now concentrating all my energies in preparing The Tiny Marmalade 2nd Birthday next week. Yay!!!!

There is a massive give-away going on our Facebook page, I'm planning a complete makeover of our online shop, and I'm about to start a brand new range of jams and marmalade with a luscious ingredient in common.

Watch this space!

This week’s recipe is something I prepared for myself as a treat for being a brave girl. They are cute. They are pink. They are absolutely delicious. They are the ultimate the ultimate cutsie wootsie cookies, pinkie promise!!

WHAT YOU NEED

20gr Freeze Dried Raspberries
140gr Salted Butter at room temperature
250gr Plain Flour
100gr Icing Sugar
1tps Vanilla Extract
2tbsp Double Cream
1 Egg Yolk
Pink Food Colouring

Ice Lolly Wooden Sticks

WHAT YOU DO

Put the freeze-dried raspberries into a food processor and whizz to a powder. Reserve.

In a big bowl, mix the cubbed butter, flour and salt until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the icing sugar and mix again.

In a small bowl, mix the vanilla, egg yolk and cream. Add to the flour and butter and mix until the all the small crumbs have been worked into the dough.

Divide the mixture in two. Shape one into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill.

Add the strawberry powder and a few drops of the food colouring to the remaining dough and mix until evenly coloured and combined. Tip: if it looks to bright and pink, don´t worry, colour will fade once baked. Shape into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill for around 30 minutes.

Remove both pieces of dough from the fridge 10-15 minutes before you want to roll them. Dust the work surface with some flour and unwrap the doughs. With a rolling pin, roll both doughs separately into a rectangle until they have roughly the same size. 

Put one rectangle on top of the other and roll the dough into a tight coil. Wrap the roll in cling film and chill for 1 additional hour.

About 10 minutes before you are ready to bake the biscuits, preheat the oven to 180C.

When the dough is firm, slice into discs about 1cm thick, discarding the end pieces. Line oven proof trays with baking paper. Put a lolly stick in the middle and lay the biscuits baking trays spaced a little apart. 

Bake for 15-17 minutes, turning the biscuits carefully over halfway through cooking.  Leave to cool on the trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Tip: be careful as the biscuits can be soft and breakable while they are still hot.

Serve and enjoy!