The Tingle Factor Box

Turning An Old Bottle Into A Jar

How to convert vinegar and similar shaped bottles into jam jars. Make a ring of strong wire large enough to slip over the neck of the bottle. Make the ring red hot, slip it over the bottle and let it rest just where you wish to cut the glass. Immerse the bottle in cold water and the top will immediately snap off, leaving an evenly cut jar.

(Women's Missionary Association of the Presbyterian Church of New South Wales, Cookery Book of Good and Tried Receipts, circa 1910)

 

Roy Creates Delicious Chocolate Mint Sandwich Cookies

This week, Roy was looking for something deliciously tasty and not too difficult to make. He had promised to make a batch of cookies for a friend to take to a work party and he wanted to make somethingdelicious, but not too time consuming. I suggested we try out some chocolate sugar cookies we had found the recipe for, and the results were quite tasty - a plain chocolate biscuit with a good chocolatey hit. Roy wanted them to be more spectacular though, and decided they would be even better with some minty icing between them. The results were amazing, and well received by all who tried them. So this week, Roy Creates Delicious Chocolate Mint Sandwich Cookies. 

You Will Need:

• 125 grams of dark chocolate
• 185 grams of butter or margarine (softened)
• ¾ of a cup of firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 2 cups of plain flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• White sugar for dusting
• Mint flavoured icing (add the mint flavour to regular icing a drop at a time and taste as you go until it is just the right flavour)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line biscuit trays with baking paper
• Melt the chocolate and cool it off slightly
• While the chocolate is cooling, sift together the flour and baking powder and set it aside
• Using electric beaters, beat together the brown sugar, egg, vanilla and butter
• Add the melted chocolate and beat until smooth and creamy
• Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mix and stir until it has combined.
• If needed, chill the dough until it is easy to handle
• Roll teaspoons of dough into balls and place on the trays. Roy placed 9 to a tray to give them plenty of room to spread
• Dip the flat bottom of a glass into the white sugar and use the glass to press each biscuit flat. Sprinkle with a little extra sugar if you like
• Bake the biscuits for about 10 minutes, or until cooked
• Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack to cool
• When cold, sandwich biscuits together with mint icing
• Keep in an airtight container and enjoy!