'The Art Of Afternoon Tea'

Drawing Courtesy Of 'The Art Of Afternoon Tea'

Alexandra's Aunt's 1950's Shelley 'Regal' trio with Triple Choc Cookies!

So I was searching for a nut-free, 'Jam Drops' recipe the other day, when I came across this exquisite blog.... 'The Art Of Afternoon Tea' by Alexandra Nea.

Drawing Courtesy Of 'The Art Of Afternoon Tea'

Waterford crystal, Wedgewood and Pink Butter Biscuits.

Don't you just love it when you find talent so amazing it stops you in your tracks. 

I have since devoured her whole blog. 

Literally.

Drawing Courtesy Of 'The Art Of Afternoon Tea'

Smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches on vintage lace.

Sigh.

Alexandra is an extremely accomplished Fashion Designer who indulges her artistic talents in her spare time. Her beautiful blog was created to share her loves: drawing, baking, family recipes and all her beautiful treasures that she has collected over the years.... china, teacups, linen and lace.

Drawing Courtesy Of 'The Art Of Afternoon Tea'

Jam Drops on a Royal Doulton coffee cup, on a vintage cotton napkin, on a Donna Hay green glass cake stand!

Alexandra's jam drops and the recipe from Donna Hay that Alexandra sourced:

Ingredients – makes approx 60

180g butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Donna Hay strawberry jam available at the General Store

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line 3 baking trays. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and creamy. Add the egg and beat well to combine. Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix to form a dough. Roll 2 teaspoons of the mixture at a time into balls. Place on the prepared trays leaving room for the biscuits to spread and flatten slightly. Using your finger press a hole halfway into each ball, fill this with jam. Bake for 10-12min until slightly golden. You may need to rotate your trays in the oven. Remove from the oven and add a little more jam to each biscuit whilst still warm. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Today, you might like to take a little break, sip some tea and enjoy the beautiful drawings of Alexandra's afternoon teas. You might find a recipe or two that just needs baking ...sort of.. like.. immediately.

Thank you Alexandra, for the use of your beautiful drawings for this post. They make my blog look so pretty.

Happy Tuesday!


PS. Now I REALLY miss my pretty teacups. They're in a box in the back of the shed.

~♥ It's Love ♥~

I'm thinking this would make a dandy purse for Spring!  It's called Alice in Sittin In a Tree...from Vera Bradley.  I adore Vera Bradley purses...it's the only thing I actually splurge on.

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I'm working on a new post for my baking blog...I'm making Apple Pie Pockets from this book.

Have a wonderul first day of March...spring is just around the corner!

L♥ve, Kim

~♥Friendship Tea♥~

I made this Friendship Tea mix to give as gifts.  It was pretty inexpensive.  I put the mix into pint jars, used paper doilies to cover the lids, put a rubber band to hold it in place, and used ribbon to cover the rubber band.  I made tags that I printed on cardstock.

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Here's the recipe:

• 2 cups instant dry tea mix
• 2 cups orange tang
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 cup lemonade mix
• 2 tsps cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup cinnamon heart candies

Mix together in a large bowl and ladle into glass jars.

For the tags: Stir 2 heaping teaspoons into a mug of steaming hot water.

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Thanks for stopping by!  I always appreciate your visits and your sweet comments :)

♥ Kim

~♥Christmas Cookies♥~

We got a lot of this...

so I did some of this!

If you l♥ve chocolate and peppermint, this cookie gives you the best of both!  These cookies are called "Peppermint Frosted Chocolate Yummies"...I found the recipe in the December 2008 issue of Country Home magazine (I really miss that magazine).  They were created by Amy Struck, of Michigammo, MI.

~♥~♥~♥~

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

2 1-oz squares unsweetened chocolate, melted & cooled

(I used choco bake instead - saves on the melting and cooling)

1 cup all-purpose flour

granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

2-3 T milk

red food coloring

crushed peppermint candies

1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces

2 tsp. shortening

In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on medium to high speed, beat ½ cup butter for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in egg and melted unsweetened chocolate. Beat in flour until combined.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Grease the bottom of a glass and coat with granulated sugar; flatten cookies with sugar-coated glass. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8 minutes or until set. Cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute; transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.

In a medium mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on medium to high speed, beat ¼ cup butter for 30 seconds. Beat in powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and enough milk to make a spreading consistency. If desired, tint pink with food coloring. Spread frosting over each cookie leaving a ¼ inch border around the edge. Sprinkle with candies, if desired.

In a small saucepan heat and stir semisweet pieces and shortening over low heat until melted and smooth. Let cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate over tops of cookies. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Thanks for stopping by!

♥ Kim

~* Fort Days and A Dessert *~

Our local town of Ligonier, PA, has a celebration every year on the second weekend in October called Fort Ligonier Days. It is a three day festival full of music, food, crafts, and history. One of the highlights of the festivities is the parade on Saturday that lasts several hours. I have gone to Fort Days for years (ever since I was a small child) so I decided to take advantage of everyone being at the parade on Saturday to look at the craft booths. The only things I bought were a bag of potpourri and a small basket with pipberries in it. It was a lovely day, but a little on the chilly side when you were in the shade. I wish I would have taken a picture to show you how many people come out for this festival...it is amazing that a small town festival draws so many people.

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Our church is having a meal after church services today so I decided to make "Pumpkin Surprise". I love recipes that are super easy, but taste delicious...this is one of these recipes and I'd like to share it with you. It smells delightful!

~*Pumpkin Surprise*~

Mix together:

1 large can of pumpkin

1 can of evaporated milk

2 cups of sugar

2 beaten eggs

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Pour into an ungreased 13 x 9 baking dish.

Sprinkle the following ingredients on top of the pumpkin mixture in the order listed:

1 box of yellow cake mix

1 cup of chopped pecans

Melt 1 1/2 sticks of butter and drizzle over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

~* Speedy Suppers *~

One of my favorite things to collect is the Gooseberry Patch cookbooks. I'm not sure what it is that makes me like them so. It could be the yummy recipes, the delightful illustrations or the helpful hints. Actually, it's all three! I recently picked up the Speedy Suppers cookbook. As a busy wife and mom, I'm always on the lookout for easy yummy meals for my family. I wanted to share this recipe found on page 34 in the cookbook.

Super-Easy Chicken and Noodles

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed (I used 2 cans of chicken breast meat to save even more time)

1 T. oil (I used Pampered Chef Garlic Infused Canola Oil, which smells delicious)

10 3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup

1/2 c. milk

1/8 tsp. pepper

3 c. cooked medium egg noodles

1/3 grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook chicken in oil for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden. Stir in remaining ingredients; heat through. Makes 4 servings. I added a little parsley for some color. ENJOY!

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Thank you for your kind comments about my newly painted cupboard. I'm hoping that dh will hang it up tonight!