Jumble bumbles - Laws of the Kitchen Turns One!

Today is the first birthday of Laws of the Kitchen - my how time flies when you are having fun. I can't believe that I have now been keeping this blog for a year - especially as it took me two years to actually getting around to doing it.

It has definitely been a fun blogging year! I have a record of many of the things that I have made over the last 12 months, together with miscellaneous ramblings that remind me of certain things. I have also met a bunch of like-minded people who have food blogs and from whom I have learned all sorts of things. Not only have I learned new recipes and cooking techniques, but I have learned about other cultures, lashings of history and some new vocabulary, and had some insight into the lives of some very talented people all around the world. How cool is that??

To celebrate the first birthday of Laws of the Kitchen, I have made spiced biscuits called Jumble Bumbles from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookies book. As well as the letters and numbers photographed above, I used the remaining dough to make biscuits in the shape of scottie dogs, Australia, butterflies, hearts, stars and tulips. They were rather fiddly to make, but the end result is very cute.

To make jumble bumbles, you will need:

125g cubed and softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup golden syrup
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside.Place the butter, sugar and egg in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until well combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the golden syrup, then add the dry ingredients in two batches, stirring to combine and form a soft dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead. Place the kneaded dough between two sheets of baking paper and roll out until it is 5mm thick, then place in the refrigerator for half an hour.

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees Celsius, and line and grease cookie sheets. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator, and cut dough into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place the cookies into the prepared cookie sheets, and bake for about 15 minutes until just turning brown around the edges. Cool the cookies on the cookie sheets.

To decorate the cookies, make a royal icing by combining one lightly beaten egg white, 1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar, 2 teaspoons plain flour and enough lemon juice to make a thick icing. Tint the icing whatever colour you fancy, then ice the cookies, sprinkling with lollies if desired. Enjoy!