I love cookbooks and have quite the little library going on at our house. Amongst all the books are a couple of kids ones which keira loves to flick through. So I jumped at the chance to review a new kids cooking book that is being released next month, Little Kitchen Around the World by Sabrina Parrini. And it’s easy to love this book.
The recipes are a little different to the usual ham and pineapple pizza or chicken nuggets that you tend to find in kids cookbooks. Chai cupcakes, pad thai, moussaka, lemon biscotti, valencia cake or sticky lime cupcakes anyone? Not your usual recipes for little people to cook that’s for sure. And the good news is my kids have loved everything I’ve made so far from this book. This book is easy to read, has lots of funky photos and food styling and recipes that are a little different but not too out there that the little ones won’t want to make and eat.
The page layout is easy to read, recipes are categorised by level of difficulty with cute little faces and show the country where the recipe originated and how many serves each recipe makes. I also like that the steps are detailed and all equipment that is required like baking tray etc are listed underneath the ingredients so that the kids can get out everything they need ahead of time. Whether they clean up the chaos afterwards and put everything back is another thing. Let’s not go there. Whilst the book is targeted at 8-12 year olds, Keira who is 5 was all over this book reading out the recipes and picking what she was going to make. We settled on the lemon biscotti and orange cake.
I loved the recipe so much I asked if I could share it so here is the lemon biscotti recipe. Trust me you won’t be disappointed. Even Finn who isn’t into cookies or cake ate 4 in a row and kept helping himself from the tray. And because I love my thermomix so much I’ve also converted it to the thermomix for you too.
1 Tbsp butter for greasing
130g unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups self raising flour
150g sour cream
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp bicarb soda
1/2 cup icing sugar
Grease baking trays with the tablespoon of butter using some scrunched up baking paper. Put the unsalted butter in a small saucepan and melt over medium heat. Set aside. Combine the remaining ingredients except the icing sugar in a large mixing bowl then pour in the butter. Mix well with a wooden spoon – you should get a firm dough. **Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.
Remove the dough from the fridge and roll tablespoonfulls into balls. When you have used all of the dough, spread icing sugar on a large plate and roll the balls, a few at a time in the sugar so generously coated. Place 5cm apart on baking trays.
Bake biscuits on middle and bottom shelves of oven for 8-10 minutes or unitl just lightly golden. Carefully remove trays from the oven using oven mitts. Cool for a couple of minutes then remove the biscuits from the trays with an egg flip and palce them on wire racks to cool completely. Or eat them straight out of the oven which is what I did. They are light, ‘lemony’ and beautifully soft the next day.
In the thermomix place the rind of 1/2 a lemon and sugar and process for 10 seconds on speed 9. Set aside. Place butter (cubed) into your TM bowl and melt for 2 minutes on 100 degrees and speed 1. Set aside. Return sugar and lemon mixture to bowl and add in the remaining ingredients except for the icing sugar. Process for 15 seconds on speed 3. Scrape down bowl and process for 30 seconds on closed lid setting and the knead setting. Place in a bowl and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Follow from **.
Enjoy! I hope you enjoyed my first ever cookbook review! Thank you Hardie Grant, I had a lot of fun doing it. I would definitely buy this book as a present or for my own little ones especially if they love cooking and masterchef. Plus you’ll get dinner made for you – just make sure you train them to do the dishes and wipe down benches!
It sounds like a fab book. You had me at Moussaka. I love it!
If Keira can handle then, then I think Caden can certainly give it a go. I will add it to my ever growing list of books to buy!
Yum indeed Corrie!
When our kids begin high school they contribute to the family meals by cooking one evening meal/week….guess what, they love it!
Not only are they building a repertoire of simple meals that will sustain them when they finally flee the coop but a whole range of life skills and a deeper appreciation of a dish prepared by someone else.
Thanks for sharing this title, I’ll keep my eye out for its release.
Happy day Lovely!
xx Felicity
Corrie you have just made my day! I am sitting at the table writing my shopping list for the week and wondering what to cook. My dear friend has given me a bag full of lemons from her tree and I am forever searching for new lemony recipes. Guess what I’ll be cooking this afternoon! Thank you! : )
Yumm – will be popping these in the oven before the weekend is out.
It’s Saturday afternoon and I have just pulled these little delights from my oven. I have stopped continuously consuming them long enough to tell you that they are absolutely delicious! If this is my introduction to that cookbook, I am buying it for sure!! Thanks for sharing the recipe early, you’ve made my weekend : ))
Saw this post on Friday morning, made them with my 11-year-old son on Friday night to give to his former teacher the next day. The best part was having dough-ball battles in the icing sugar arena. They are delicious and they will definitely be going into our regular bikkie rotation. Thanks, Retromummy, for a great recipe.