Saturday, December 15, 2012

Pinolates

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These are my favourite ever biscuit. Big call, right? Crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside. They are super easy to make it's almost not worth putting on an apron...but I still do (I may have a teeny collection of Anthropologie aprons). And the uncooked mixture keeps for up to a month in the fridge so you can bake them fresh when friends pop in. Yet another reason to love them so.

Or, like me, you can make a batch mid-December and bake them the night before you see your friends and present them wrapped in tea towels or popped in jars for Christmas gifts.

I snipped the recipe from a Karen Martini column in the Sunday magazine years ago, when I lived in a beautiful art deco building in Elizabeth Bay with my dearest friend. I think of that wonderful year in our shoebox apartment with the window boxes that overlooking Rushcutters Bay and the miniscule kitchen with standing room for one, when the breakfast table was always set and tea was brewed with mint leaves, late night runs for coconut gelato and sunrises spent on the lawns of Elizabeth Bay House in last night's clothes. I had known K for many years, but it was in that apartment that we were brought together again, and I fell in love. 

Isn't it magic that just the making of these biscuits has set about a little montage of my past to play out in my mind? 

*I was going to type out the recipe from my book, but I found the recipe online here - with some clever modifications to lower the sugar content. 
**Don't you think an uncooked batch would make a handy little present to a new mama with an endless stream of visitors?

11 comments:

  1. looks so yummy! i want some, but have to stop eating so many damn sweets :)

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    1. ...but you could argue with so many nuts in them they are healthy, no?
      ;)
      x

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  2. Oh hello, deliciousness! I need to make these sometime soon... finding that one perfect biscuit recipe is such a great feeling, isn't it?

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    1. These, some honey and cinnamon love cookies, and biscotti are about the only ones I bake...I should try something new sometime soon! x

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  3. They sound yummy - I love biscuits that can be prepared and then baked fresh... they always taste so much better and leave your home smelling delightful. Thanks for the link to the recipe x

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    1. I think it's the mix that keeps on giving that I love the most! x

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  4. Thank you so much for posting this Claire! I love your little trip down memory lane - I never knew you lived in Sydney. I looked at the recipe - they do look very easy to make! I will be making these on one of my slow days over the Christmas/New Year period :) x

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    1. I lived in that beautiful apartment for about a year - did some of my teaching studies up there and worked at a private journalism college. J and I had such a fun time setting up our little home and exploring the cafes of that area. I look back on that time so fondly...Hope you enjoy the biscuits. I can't imagine that you'll find them too offensive ;) x

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  5. Love the bics, love the recipe and LOVE the Liz Bay story. I've spent a bit of time in that part of Sydney and your description of the kitchen and view were very evocative. And yes, what a beautiful idea for a new mum.

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    1. Oh Twirling B, I ADORED Lizzie Bay - some of the best times of my life right there. J and I were like little country folk in the big smoke - Jackie O would walk her dog past us and we'd nudge each other like crazy, yummy mummies would stroll past us dripping with bling and we'd scoff, and we'd sit in the Victoria Rooms pretending to be part of the scene. Dags. Hope you have lovely memories of your time there too x

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  6. Oh these look yum, will have to try out the recipe. And I love the memories that go with the bickies :) But.. you can't mention an Anthropologie apron collection without showing us!

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