Baking season is officially opened

[wiseheart]

Today, I've made my first batch of Christmas cookies: light little almond biscuits called "Demel's Stars". Demel was apparently a famous Italian pastry cook or whatnot - never heard of them. But the biscuits are truly delicious. I've stored them in a tin box, hoping that they will hold - cookies with nuts or almonds usually do. Unless we ate them before Advent starts, that is... they are dangerously tasty. Ah, well, I'll bake a new batch, then, and all good intentions be damned. *g*

Accidentally, my internet provider (UPC) decided that I was paying too much for my cable access. They called me and offered a new contract, with faster connection and lower prices. The catch is, of course, that I'll have to stay with them for a full year now, but since I have been with them for the last five or six or more years, that isn't a true hardship. Clearly, they were losing clients because their outrageous prices - but it's all right with me. I'd have stayed with them anyway, because the connection is reliable, problems are rare, and the access is fast. So, almost the same sum I'm about to lose starting January, as the district (that finances our school) chose *not* to pay our monthly extra sums for healthcare, I'll win back thank UPC. Nice, ain't it?

Comments

[songfire3.livejournal.com]

Good news are always welcome ;)

If you want the cookies to last longer, I've found that wrapping them in baking paper (before putting them in the tin box) helps...

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Interesting. We use paper napkins for the same purpose, but I'll have to try out the baking paper version. Thanks for the suggestion.

[artemis10002000]

Sounds delicious! Have fun baking, I'll be baking tomorrow, too.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Yay! Rhade! Long time not seen!

Actually, I've already baked three different things today and will be baking two other things tomorrow. What will you be baking?

I wonder what kind of cakes Niets would like? Except of Tyr's tiramisu that he laced with strichnin for an employer who didn't pay him. ;)

[artemis10002000]

I don't have a clue yet what cookies I'll bake. Just got started on the cakes I have to bake for someone else, so maybe I won't even get around to baking cookies today. Probably Kokosmakrönchen, though, since they're easy and quick to bake.

I really want to do Zimtsterne, Anisplätzchen and Schwarz-Weiß-Gebäck, but next weekend, I guess.

That's a good question, what cakes Niets like! I don't have a clue, to be honest :D

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I always wanted to try my hands on Schwarz-Weiß-Gebäck but never had the courage to. Not very Nietzschean of me, I guess. *g*

So far, I've produced Demel-Sterne, Maronistangerln, Orangenherzen, Lebkuchenfiguren and Vanillekipferln, the trial run of Wiener Stangerln and Haselnußplätzchen not counted, as I'll have to do them again. It was a *very* successful trial run. ;)

Mein Zuckerguß ist allerdings wieder in die Hose gegangen - das ist einer der Dinge ich bin einfach unfähig hinzukriegen. Meine armen Lebkuchenfiguren sehen recht unappetitlich aus, mit dem zerflossenen Guß. :((

[artemis10002000]

Schwarz-Weiß is easy, though messy. You make three sheets of dough, two white and one chocolate and glue them together with egg white, then you roll the dough up and cut slices. It's worth the mess, the cookies taste soooo good!

Woah, these sound delicious! And you're amazingly productive. I didn't get around to making any cookies last weekend.

Do you mix the icing yourself with powdered sugar and water or buy icing? I use home-made icing and half the time, it runs, too.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I've tried all possible versions - and some of the impossible ones - and neither worked. For Lebkuchenfiguren, you need the version made of powdered sugar and egg white, as it is supposed to last... unless I'm the one to prepare it.

As for Schwarz-Weiß, the mess is exactly what intimidates me, so that I never try my hand. I prefer my cookies to be easily made. *g*

[ithilwen.livejournal.com]

Faster connection AND lower prices? Isn't that a violation of their obligation to rip off their customers?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Not if their customers leave them en masse because their prices are too high. I'm sure they'll raise the prices again soon enough, but until then, I'll enjoy the bargain.