Cookies and Pastry.

lorietta

Hi,

I'm new to this forum, and I'm a student at university, living on my own for the first time. I would normally ring my mum and ask her these sorts of questions, but she's on holiday, so I was hoping you could help me.

I want to make a pie with some of my mince next week. I know how to make the filling, but need a bit of help on pastry. This is going to sound really stupid but is it just flour, water and butter? How much of each should I use to make a pie for two people to be cooked in a small oven proof dish?

I would also like to make cookies, as they are one of the few things that I can bake that don't require a cake tin. A lot of the recipes I have found online contain loads of ingredients, such as buttermilk, that I wouldn't know where to get, and doubt I can afford. Can anyone recomend a simple cookie recipe, chocolate chip or something involving dried fruit/nuts would be ideal, but I don't want to buy too many ingredients.

Finally, can I use lurpack spreadable stuff for these or would I need proper butter?

Thank you so much.

Butterfly_Brain

SC pastry
500g plain flour
250g butter
water to mix
As for cookies try Twinks Hobnobs they are the beez knees

lorietta

Thank you very much. Those hobnobs sound lush. Do you reckon I could get away with putting honey in instead of syrup, as I have some of that already.

thriftlady_2

lorietta wrote: »

Finally, can I use lurpack spreadable stuff for these or would I need proper butter?

Thank you so much.

Stick to a real fat rather than a fake one. Butter makes it taste lovely and lard makes it crumbly and short. Half of each is what I tend to use.

Easy to remember- half the amount of fat to flour as Butterfly Brain says.

Here's a dead easy recipe for Fork Biscuits

Easy biscuits -just 3 ingredients makes 16

In a bowl beat 4oz of soft butter.
Add 2oz of sugar and beat again.
Add 5oz of self-raising flour, continue beating until it clumps together. Then using your hands form a ball of dough.
Cut the ball in half, and half again, and again so that you have 8 pieces. Divide these into 2 and roll each into a little ball.
Place well apart on a greased baking tray, flatten slightly with your hand and bake at 180c for 20 mins.
Allow to cool for a few minutes on the tray, then remove to a wire rack to crisp up.

Variation -Chocolate biscuits -replace half an oz of the flour with half an oz of cocoa powder.

lorietta

That sounds like an awesome recipe, very easy too. Do you think I could add things such as chocolate chips or cherries to them to make them a little more interesting?

thriftlady_2

lorietta wrote: »

That sounds like an awesome recipe, very easy too. Do you think I could add things such as chocolate chips or cherries to them to make them a little more interesting?

Absolutely

lorietta

I think I will try that then, as it seems so simple. However, if anyone has anymore suggestions I would love to hear them. Also, any ideas other than cookies and biscuits that I could bake on a baking tray?

Lynn11

Today I tried the chocolate biscuit receipe on the www.be-ro.co.uk website and used halloween cutters but they are usually done with circles. They are lovely. My current speciality is spiced rock buns which are easy to make and also made on a baking tray. I am starting to bake again with young daughter -sometimes it can be stressful when you have a toddler helping but the goodies are tasty.

thriftlady_2

This thread might be of use- I'd Like to Start Baking...

lorietta

That thread looks great, and so do the biscuits.

Thank you.

sb44

If you need some cheap pastry cutters to make your cookies try Poundland.

I bought a nice set today.

I have just put a post in the Poundland forum.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=26327607&postcount=830