Speck bread dumplings

400 g  cubed,dried white rolls or bread
300 g smoked bacon
1        onion
2/3     eggs -depending on size
250ml milk approx
parsley
salt

Chop bacon and onion and fry briefly in a little fat.
Mix all the ingredients and leave for at least an hour for the bread to soften.
Form dumplings.
Steam over boiling water for approx 25 mins depending.
Enjoy  :-)

Ps. can also be made using cheese or spinach or liver

vanilla half moons

300g/10oz plain flour
100g/4oz ground almonds
70g/21/2 oz castor sugar
1pkt/2oz vanilla sugar or few drops vanilla extract
pinch salt
250g/8oz butter or margarine

to dust
150g/4oz sifted icing sugar
1pkt vanilla sugar

heat oven to gas 2    120 degrees C

knead all ingredients together quickly to make a dough.  Chill for 30 mins.  Roll into small walnut sized balls then roll out (like little sausages) and shape into crescent moons.  Bake 20-25 mins (they should stay pale).  Whilst still warm dust with the icing sugar and vanilla sugar mix ( can just be icing sugar)

Then gobble them all up before Amy or Antoinette find them!!

Here is a recipe for using up left over gammon from Margeruite

Courgette, mushroom and gammon lasagne

(and not a tomato in sight!)

• Make about 600ml of white sauce and add 50g of strong cheddar
• slice about 3/4 courgettes lengthwise using a peeler to get really thin long strips, chargrill these in a griddle pan
• slice your choice of mushrooms - about half a punnet and fry off gently
• slice your gammon as thinly as possible
• starting with a thin layer of white sauce layer your ingredients:
• white sauce
• lasagne
• courgettes
• mushrooms
• gammon
• lasagne
• back to white sauce
• finish with lasagne and the last of the white sauce 
• sprinkle with more cheddar and parmesan
• bake 20-30 mins in hot oven (180-200)

This is tasty and not too rich or heavy for a supper

So Margeruite here, having made all of Lorraine's biscuits I thought I would share with you some of the other biscuits I also make.

Cinnamon Stars  -  fiddly but delicious

2 egg whites

6oz (175g) sifted icing sugar

1 level teaspoon cinnamon

8oz (250g) ground almonds

2-3 tspns lemon juice

star cutter

oiled baking sheets

Whisk egg whites until stiff.  fold in cinnamon and sugar, whisk to a dropping consistency.

Remove 8 tblspns of mixture and reserve in a covered bowl.  Continue to whisk remaining mixture until stiff peaks form.  Add almonds and lemon juice, Mix to a smooth paste.  Wrap in cling film and chill for 1 hour.  Set oven to Gas 6 (180-200) roll out paste between sheets of non stick paper to 5mm.  cut out stars and place on baking sheet.  bake 7 - 8 mins remove and reduce heat to very cool.  paint reserved meringue mix carefully on the biscuits making sure the surface is smooth.  Return to oven and allow meringue to harden without browning - 15-20 mins.  Cool on a wire rack.

Triple Nut Chews - I made these for the first time this year.  They are very very nutty and only just hold together.  When I make them again I will probably reduce the amount of nuts.

1 1/2 cups of chopped brazil nuts

1 cup of chopped hazelnuts (filberts)

1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans (I used almonds)

8oz (1 1/4 cups) chopped dates

1 1/4 cups copped dried apricots

1/4 cups candied copped peel (optional - I didn't use this)

1 !/4 cups plain (all purpose) lour

1/2 tspn baking soda

1/2 tspn baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tspn salt

1/2 cup room temp butter

1/4 light brown soft sugar

1 egg

mix nuts and fruits with 1/4 cup of the flour and set aside.  In another bowl stir together remaining flour with baking soda, making powder, cinnamon and salt.  In a mixing bowl beat butter and brown sugar until light and creamy.  Beat in egg.  Add dry ingredients mixing until smooth.  Minx in fruit and nut mixture.  Drop rounded teaspoons onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 180 (350) for 10-12 mins or until lightly browned.  Cool on wire rack.

Cheeselets - just delicious  (you can vary the cheeses and the seeds)

115g/(4oz)/1 cup plain flour

2.5ml/1/2 tspn salt

2.5ml/1/2 tspn cayenne pepper

2.5ml/ 11/2 tsp dry mustard

115g/4oz/1 cup butter

50g/2oz/1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

50g/2oz/1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese

1 egg white

15g/1 tblspn sesame seeds

preheat oven to 220/425/Gas 7  Line baking sheets with nonstick baking paper.

Sift the flour salt cayenne pepper and mustard into a mixing bowl.  Cut the buyer into pieces and rub into the flour mixture.  Divide the mixture in half, add the cheddar to one half and the gruyere to the other.  Using a fork or your fingertips, work each mixture into a soft dough and knead on a floured surface until smooth.

Roll our both pieces of dough very thinly and cut into 2.5cm/1inch squares.  Transfer to the linked baking sheets.  Brush the squares with beaten egg white, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 5-6 mins or until slightly puffed up and pale gold in colour.  Cool on the baking sheets.

Hi Lorraine here with another biscuit recipe.

Nougat Biscuits

280 g Flour(plain)
180 g Butter
80 g   Icing sugar (sieved)
a pinch of salt
1 packet of vanilla sugar (8g)
2  egg yolks
250 g nougat
50 g Chocolate

Rub in the flour with the butter,add sugar, salt, vanilla sugar and egg yolks and knead to a dough.
Put in the fridge to cool for 1 hour.
Roll out and cut out small rounds with the cookie cutters (approx 3cm)
Bake for 7 minutes at  -- 200° electric
                                        gas mark 6
Melt the nougat over steam and spread it onto half of the biscuits.Set the other half on top.
Melt the chocolate over steam and then pipe an 'N'on each biscuit.

Enjoy :-)

Margeruite here,  Hope you don't mind Lorraine - I couldn't cope with the dag so I've updated it to grams!

Lorraine again

to avoid confusion  10 dag is 100 grams