Twas The Week Before Christmas - Guest Post - Day1

Today is the first of my guest bloggers as part of my 'Twas The Week Before Christmas' feature. 

I would like to welcome the lovely Gemma from Musings Of A Gem you can visit her beautiful blog here.  You will find that myself and Gemma have far more in common than just our name.  She has a wonderful blog full of lots of baking and homemade goodies.  Check out what she has to share with you all this Christmas.

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 I’m Gemma from Musings of a Gem. I use my little corner of the web to document the memorable and day to day things that happen in my life. I like to share recipes of food I love ( I am a foodie!), the things I make (I am pro handmade) and my recent new love of ‘growing my own’ in the Summer.

Like Gem, I just love Christmas. I try and savour every little bit of it and celebrate it all through December until the big day arrives. Simple things like fairy lights, family traditions, circling programmes in the Radio times, wrapping presents and listening to Christmas Classics really makes me feel festive.

One of the things I love to bake at this time of year is shortbread. The smell of fresh buttery biscuits is such a welcoming and cosy smell and sums up how anyone wants to feel at Christmas time. They are great to give as a gift or just to snack on...it is Christmas after all!!

You will need:

•  125g (4oz) Butter
• 50g (2oz) Caster Sugar (Plus some for sprinkling on top)
• 175g (6oz) Plain Flour

Method:

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the flour and stir until the mixture binds together.

Turn onto a lightly floured board and kneed until smooth.

Put the dough into the fridge for 30 - 1 hour (an hour is perfect).

Roll out till about 1cm / 1/2 inch thick.

Use Chrismassy cookie cutters  (which is great for when giving the cookies as a gift) or you can use a round glass.

Place on a greased baking tray, sprinkle lightly with sugar and bake in a preheated oven (160c , 550f , Gas mark 3) for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on then after 10 minutes as they can brown VERY quickly!!

If giving them as a gift you could use a clear cellophane bag and a pretty ribbon..lovely!

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I hope you enjoy the recipe. Come and say hi to me on my blog!

Thanks for having me !

Gemma x

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Yummy how good do they look?  Thanks so much for sharing Gemma, it has been lovely having you.  come back again soon :)

Love Gem x x x x