#@holiday

[graceentertainment]

From Rajjo to Noor – Fierce Characters played by birthday girl Sonakshi Sinha.

[glutenfree-student]

Pepernoten - Spiced Festive Cookie Bits

To start off my first recipe, let me give you a short history of this treat. In Holland, we celebrate Sinterklaas on December 5th. It’s a holiday kind of similar to Christmas, in the sense that it revolves around presents, treats, and the presence of an old, friendly guy. Sinterklaas visits all children in Holland on this magical December evening and grants all their wishes (present-wise). But, besides all the presents, another important factor is the treats and snacks. The most important one being pepernoten. Pepernoten can best be described as spiced bits of cookie. They are made up of spiced dough, cut up and rolled as little balls, and baked in the oven (however, most people just buy them in the store). 

Since I’ve only recently been diagnosed with Celiac disease, I’ve had the chance to enjoy these treats for over 20 years. Now, I can’t have the real deal anymore, so I decided to make and bake them myself, and boy was it easy. Below you will find my first glutenfree recipe for pepernoten. Enjoy.

Pepernoten

Ingredients:

150 grams of glutenfree flour (I used buckwheat flour, but any white basic flour will work)

brown/dark casterd sugar (You can use however much you prefer, I like mine with less sugar, but the guideline is around 75 grams)

90 grams of butter (Margarine is fine too)

10 grams of speculaas spices (Finding this outside of Holland might be tricky, but there are some good recipes for this mix online too)

2 tablespoons of milk or water (I used almond milk for this one)

Optional: a dash of vanilla essence, the liquid kind (It makes the dough a tiny bit stickier and sweeter)

The Procedure:

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly until a smooth dough is formed. Use your hands for this, I tried using a machine for this once and the dough stayed too lumpy. Take a baking tray and cover it with baking paper. Make small balls by taking bits of dough and rolling them. Try to keep the balls small, otherwise the center of the ball with not bake thoroughly in the oven and you want them to become crunchy in the end. I added a picture of the rolling process in the end of this recipe, so you can get an idea of the size of the balls. (Side note: you could even make them a dash tinier, these are a bit on the big side.) Put all the balls on the baking tray with a bit of space between them, they might expand a little while baking and you don’t want them to stick together in the end. Pre-heat the oven at 150 or 160 degrees Celsius (300-320 degrees Fahrenheit). Put the baking tray in the oven and leave it in for around 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the balls. When done, take out the tray and put the bits on a plate UPSIDE DOWN. This is because the bottom of the bits is usually a bit moist still and you want it to become crunchy through and though. Leave the bits to cool completely. 

And that’s it! This recipe is very easy to make and the bits will remain tasty until the next day or two. The glutenfree variant of this treat is a little more crumbly and brittle than the original, but it’s very tasty nonetheless. I like mine more spicy than sweet, and that’s the fun thing about this recipe: you can decide for yourself how sweet you want them to be. 

[corporatemagicshow]

back on the paypal debts

don't even have money to go make money this weekend

[buildbetterdays-blog]

[fatcatsfashion]

Favorite Things Day 2

The Luna Wrap Bracelet from Stella & Dot.  

I recently received a very large order of new treasures from this fantastic company, so many of my current faves are probably going to be from their line.  I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d love this bracelet, because I’m sort of a simple & delicate jewelry kind of girl and I thought it might be a little much for what I like.  But, the minute I put it on my wrist I fell in love!  And then, like an unexpected gift, I realized I could style this in so many other ways! So it was like getting at least 3 pieces for the price of one!  Bracelet, simple and elegant necklace or even a beautiful, sparkly headband….the sky’s the limit with this amazingly versatile piece!  How many more ways can you think of to style it?  Want to get it for yourself or give it as a holiday gift?  Look no further!  www.stelladot.com/melaniemm  And from now until 31 Dec, you can earn $25 back in Dot Dollars for every $50 you spend, to be redeemed in January when the new 2014 line debuts.  Not sure about you, but I NEVER turn down a chance to earn money for shopping! :)