The Gingerbread Gazette │ Issue 8

ISSUE 8

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PG.

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our love of mothers & grandmothers WHITE CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD COOKIES

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CONTENTS PG.

PG.

PG.

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MEMORIES OF YOU: oh how we love our mothers & grandmothers

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RECEIPE OF THE ISSUE:

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THE PERFECT MOTHER’S DAY GIFT

WHITE CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD COOKIES

HELLO! Well, hello there Gingerbread Gazette readers! We are once again excited to be sharing some delicious content with you this month. Some of us have celebrated Valentine’s Day, whilst some of us have celebrated Single’s Day this month; nevertheless it’s been a great month of love during this fine month we call February. We’ve also experienced snow and lots of it, which has made us all resort to our comfies and a cuppa! So, in this edition we talk about our mothers and grandmothers; what do they mean to us and why? Mothering Sunday is quickly approaching, so it’s the perfect time to reflect. For those of you who like to get your hands dirty, be sure to try out this month’s White Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies! As Mother’s Day quickly approaches, we also delve into our delicious range of gingerbread biscuits, baked to perfection and packaged to fill your mothers’ and grandmothers’ hearts with complete joy! Happy reading, folks!

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MEMORIES OF YOU!

Oh how we love our mothers, grandmothers and mother figures! Where on earth would we be without them?

On the 14th March, the sun will rise earlier than previous days, weeks and months as we all open the curtains and welcome a day dedicated to our mothers, grandmothers and mother figures.

Now, we know that these beautiful human beings who have helped us grow deserve a Mother’s Day everyday, but this specific day does make us sit and reflect that little bit harder. In this extract, we talk about the fond memories associated with our mothers and grandmothers…

To our mums...

We don’t particularly remember the day you birthed us, but we do know the challenges that carrying us for nine months may have brought.

We appreciate you for being the strong woman that you are and for bringing us into this world.

You cherished us and loved us unconditionally, even if we produced horrible smells; threw food across the room during the weaning process; caused sleepless nights; cried and threw tantrums. We are thankful for your patience through our young months and years - for nurturing us, ensuring that we were always safe and well cared for. We salute you for tolerating our paddies and having the audacity to never play up for our fathers! Oh mum, we really do appreciate you and your patience, your love and affection from the very beginning.

Vivid memories like our morning routines; we’d hurry downstairs for breakfast that you’d made so perfectly; you’d wipe our mouths from the mess we created; you’d pat our bottoms to hurry upstairs to get ready for school; you’d brush our hair and soon after watch us whilst we brush our teeth; we’d head downstairs as you hand over our backpacks filled with notebooks and tupperware filled with food. We will never forget the time, the effort and the ongoing dedication you gave us, Mum. As we’d watch the clocks tick, we’d wait to see your face as school came to an end; we couldn’t wait for you to hear about our fun filled day. Memories of you taking the time to listen to our bizarre stories, nodding, smiling, rolling your eyes - we will never forget.

bowls and spoons! You watching over us as we run riot across the house after consuming too much sugar - moments we will never forget.

And when we grew older and wiser, we began to realise the significance of motherhood as we carried and birthed our own. We brought life into a world and understood the pain, the joy, the challenges, the laughter, the learning and more. So, mum, we thank you for doing all that you can, for going above and beyond, for loving us until your heart combusts. We thank you for your caring nature, your strength and your positivity that has aided our growth. Finally, mum, we are so very proud of you and promise to continue to make you smile, cry happy tears and of course tut at our silly behaviour… because after all, we will always be your children and you will always be our mum.

When the weekends approached, we’d look forward to spending some quality time with you; a walk into town, a stroll down the park, a pit stop at the local bakery and sometimes we’d pick up a toy from the toy shop on our way home.

Sundays were always quite special as you’d plan an entire day of baking and cooking - baking was our ultimate favourite; especially licking the

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MEMORIES OF YOU! To our grandmother’s...

Now, where do we start with you? Our first memories include our frequent visits to your humble abode; walking into your home that you made us call our own, smelling like sweet scents of cake, biscuits galore! We particularly remember during the weekends your own child, our mother, chasing us around the house to brush our teeths and hair before setting off on our travels to yours. As we sat in the back of the car, we’d sing songs and wish that mum would put her foot down, just so that we could see your face. That first hello, that first hug and that first kiss - moments that we will never forget, moments that we will cherish forever.

You’d sit on your chair, designed perfectly for you (none of us would ever dare sit on that chair!), in your tranquil and calm mindframe, smiling away and laughing at us causing complete chaos for Grandpa. You’d never really tell us off, you’d leave that to Grandpa and when he did, we’d all burst into laughter because who could ever take Grandpa too seriously? Sometimes you’d even encourage us to scurry behind him, tap him on his waist (because we couldn’t reach his shoulders) and run away; because the smallest of things, used to wind him up like a bobbin!

your own little way, being the amazing superstar that you are.

We’re not quite grandparents yet, but as we grew with age and grew taller, we started to appreciate our time with you more than ever.

People always say that your grandparents should be cherished forever and protected at all costs; now we know why. You are the rock; you are the woman behind our strong mums; you allowed our mums to bring us into the world and gave her the courage and confidence to be… our mum.

Grandma, you really are a shining star; your aura and your warmth will never leave our minds. We will always feel your hugs, kisses, strokes of our hair. We will always remember that contagious smile and laughter. So, Grandma, we will keep our ice cream secrets between us for now, but we ask you one thing, please don’t forget that it’s a 99 with a flake for us…

We wish all mums, grandmothers and mother figures a very special mother’s day this year.

Afternoons would be spent walking across to the village park, feeding the ducks, you pushing us on the swings and us tugging your jacket asking ‘please may we have an ice cream Grandma?’

You’d look down to us (because we were so tiny compared to you!) and respond with a smile like you’d never seen before, quickly followed by a ‘let’s not tell your mum about this.’ As we’d stroll back to your cottage with ice cream dripping down our hands, we’d hear you humming the same tunes as mum used to when hanging the washing on the line, tidying the house and washing up. We’d hum along too and wonder why you were so out of tune - but, now we look back and after comments from friends, family and strangers too, maybe it was us who were out of tune! Often we’d challenge you to a race once reaching your road, very often you’d say ‘not today, I ran this morning,’ even though we knew that you hadn’t run a day in your life! Oh Grandma, you were so unapologetically funny, in

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Love your gingerbread!

I have to ration myself or I’ll be the size of a bus! My parents, grandparents and friends who live remotely all love it too when I send as gifts!

Gingerbread Fan

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White Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies A hybrid of two of the tastiest flavours out there!

Ingredients

Method

(Serves 24)

1. Beat together the butter with 200g sugar in a mixing bowl until the mixture is smooth, and stir in beaten egg and treacle.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, bicarb, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt; stir the flour mixture into the treacle mixture bit-by-bit. Stir in the white chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.

175g butter 200g caster sugar 1 beaten egg 4 tablespoons treacle 250g plain flour 2 teaspoons bicarb of soda 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt 340g white chocolate chips 100g caster sugar, for rolling

DO YOU HAVE A RECIPE THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US AND OUR MONTHLY READERS? IF SO, PLEASE DO SEND THEM THROUGH TO ALASTAIR@HAWENKSGINGERBREAD.COM!

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2. Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas 4.

3. Scoop up a generous spoonful of dough, and roll it into a ball. Roll the ball in caster sugar, place onto an ungreased baking tray, and flatten slightly. Sprinkle a little extra sugar onto the cookie, if desired.

Repeat for the rest of the cookies.

4. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes.

Allow to cool on the baking tray for about 1 minute before removing to finish cooling on racks.

alastair@hawkensgingerbread.com

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The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift Because they deserve the very best!

As much as we love baking and love to see our gingerbread fans baking, we simply will not allow any mother to bake during Mothers’ Day! You have to leave that with us (mainly because it’s what we do best and we’ve got an award to prove it)!

We are yet to come across a person who dislikes gingerbread, so we think that gifting your mother a serving of our handmade, artisan, delicious gingerbread is the perfect way to her heart. People say ‘food is the way to a man’s heart,’ but we’ve found that this also applies to women, believe it or not…

Grantham Gingerbread anyone? Now, these bitesize delights are the ideal pick-me-up for those who love the lighter things in life. Lush and made with love, these golden Grantham Gingerbread biscuits comprise a subtle hint of gingerbread spice, a buttery but sweet taste and a gorgeous melt-in-the-mouth moment. If these beautifully crafted and packaged gingerbread don’t produce beaming smiles from your mums, then we will be very surprised!

Perhaps your mother or grandmother may fancy a handsome gingerbread man or two?

Our twin packs are indeed a hit for many gingerbread fans across the world, but it never fails to surprise us when gingerbread lovers opt for our baker’s dozen. A box filled with 13 of our twin pack assorted flavoured gingerbread

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men, ready to be devoured by a well deserved recipient - our mums and grandmothers.

From our original gingerbread flavour, our chocolate orange flavour to our Italian lemon flavour; we can assure you that your mums and grandmothers will be spoilt for choice and taste testing all three! Each gingerbread man is baked with tender loving care and you bet we package them to ensure they make for the best mother’s day gift for your loved ones.

And then there’s the latest edition to the Hawkens Gingerbread family; the Hawkens Gingernuts. Not quite gingerbread, but definitely gingernuts. The perfect crunch and the perfect bite; these bite size scrumptious ginger biscuits are the ideal present for all of those mums and grandmothers who love a cuppa. Traditionally, gingernuts were best served with a cup of tea as they are known as the biscuit for dunking.

Not much has changed nowadays; so, let the dunking commence!

Whatever their tastes, we are happily here baking away to ensure your mothers, grandmothers and mother figures are blessed with a delicious serving of Hawkens Gingerbread. And… if you’re lucky enough, they may share their gingerbread biscuits with you!

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Artisan Gingerbread

Handcrafted for All Taste Buds Creating magical melt-in-the-mouth moments 01476 501 740 alastair@hawkensgingerbread.com Shop online at hawkensgingerbread.com U SE GAZ E TTE2 0 TO R EC EI V E 20% OF F 01476 501 740

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