Curious Cooking with Lucy Zirins
So it’s that time of year again… Valentines! Whilst you could treat your other half (or yourselves singletons!) to the supermarket delights of tacky teddies and overpriced chocolates… there is another option. Now before you scream – “I’m busy, I don’t have time to makes things! I’m skint! I don’t do homemade gifts!” – I promise you these will make you change your mind. If you want to do something easy, inexpensive, thoughtful and little bit different, you could make my peppermint creams. Homemade and delicious – they’re the perfect hand wrapped gift for your loved one!
Perfectly Passionate Peppermint Pieces (Peppermint Creams)
Ingredients:
· 1 egg white
· 1 – 2 tbsp lemon juice
· 1 tsp peppermint flavouring
· 425g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting your work surface, rolling pin, etc…
Method:
· Whisk the egg white in a bowl using an electric whisk until stiff peaks form (you can tsll the texture is right when you can turn the bowl upside down and it stays put)
· Next whisk in the lemon juice, peppermint and icing sugar to a stiff paste. Do this slowly or risk getting the mixture everywhere! If it won’t come together, remove the whisk and use your hands to mould into a ball. If the mixture becomes too sticky, add a little extra icing sugar until it firms up.
- Put the ball of peppermint mixture onto a work surface dusted with icing sugar and roll out thinly. Be sure to dust the rolling pin too or it will stick to the mixture as you roll it out.
· 1 egg white
· 1 – 2 tbsp lemon juice
· 1 tsp peppermint flavouring
· 425g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting your work surface, rolling pin, etc…
Method:
· Whisk the egg white in a bowl using an electric whisk until stiff peaks form (you can tsll the texture is right when you can turn the bowl upside down and it stays put)
· Next whisk in the lemon juice, peppermint and icing sugar to a stiff paste. Do this slowly or risk getting the mixture everywhere! If it won’t come together, remove the whisk and use your hands to mould into a ball. If the mixture becomes too sticky, add a little extra icing sugar until it firms up.
- Put the ball of peppermint mixture onto a work surface dusted with icing sugar and roll out thinly. Be sure to dust the rolling pin too or it will stick to the mixture as you roll it out.
· Use a cutter of your choice to cut out the creams (I used a heart shape for Valentines) and place them onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Leave to chill for 1 – 2 hours in the fridge or somewhere cool. You can also dip these in melted chocolate once set and leave to dry again.
· Give a special touch by wrapping the peppermint creams in cellophane (available at most craft shops and supermarkets) and a tie off with a pretty ribbon.
· Give a special touch by wrapping the peppermint creams in cellophane (available at most craft shops and supermarkets) and a tie off with a pretty ribbon.
TOP TIP: as well as being a yummy breath freshener for all that kissing you’re going to do, these treats should keep well in a sealed tub and cool environment for a few weeks. Not a fan of mint? Try using strawberry essence or rum flavouring for a twist! (Available in the baking section)
Lucy Zirins
Photo (C) Mike Green
My name is Lucy Zirins. I’m a musician from Burnley, Lancashire, and one of my greatest passions apart from playing and writing music is cooking and baking. Food for me is one of life’s best bits. There is nothing like the heaven of a homemade cake; the crumble of a cookie still warm when you bite into it; the sumptious smell of a meal you know was cooked by your own fair hands.
Before I became a full time musician I worked for a café which indulged some of my interest in food, but from childhood I was fascinated. Supervised by my Master Chef Mother I used to bake with my sister, standing on a chair stolen from the dining room to reach the kitchen surface. Baking with my sister nearly always resulted in a fight over who got to eat the left over cake batter and lick the spoon! I guess I was always a diva from being a kid! But I always remember feeling so proud when I got to show off what I’d made, and being so satisfied when I finally got a taste! I still get that feeling of childhood eagerness and impatience when I put something in the oven to bake; the anticipation of the final delicious product is palpable – almost the moment I put it in I want to take it back out and see it finished and ready to eat!
Before I became a full time musician I worked for a café which indulged some of my interest in food, but from childhood I was fascinated. Supervised by my Master Chef Mother I used to bake with my sister, standing on a chair stolen from the dining room to reach the kitchen surface. Baking with my sister nearly always resulted in a fight over who got to eat the left over cake batter and lick the spoon! I guess I was always a diva from being a kid! But I always remember feeling so proud when I got to show off what I’d made, and being so satisfied when I finally got a taste! I still get that feeling of childhood eagerness and impatience when I put something in the oven to bake; the anticipation of the final delicious product is palpable – almost the moment I put it in I want to take it back out and see it finished and ready to eat!