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    Home » recipes » baking

    By Amanda Smyth 14 Comments

    flying rum monkeys + slapdashery

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    I really don't have much to show for my week. The days have evaporated between driving to swimming lessons that hadn't yet resumed and leaving the packing for our trip until the very last minute for maximum angst and anxiety. Luckily, I embraced underachievement a few years back.

    My affection for "that'll do" is perhaps the reason that I love Sarah from Slapdash Mama's blog so much. She's on my mediocre wavelength.

    Sarah was the winner of my Vignettes for the Unfashionable competition. Her hair accessory adorned fruit bowl could honestly be on my kitchen bench. Such is our connection.

    The winning entry.

    When I started to think about which biscuits to bake for her, I knew instantly that rum monkeys would be the go. If Sarah was having a day like mine, any method of ingesting intoxicating liquor before the socially accepted time of five o'clock would be a bonus. If one can do it whilst sipping a cup of tea, all the better. O

    rum monkeys

    Ingredients:

    250g self-raising flour
    1 egg
    1 dessert spoon cinnamon
    155g butter
    155g sugar
    1 teaspoon nutmeg
    1 teaspoon ground ginger
    2 tbs currants
    3 tbs sultanas
    3 tbs raisins
    1 tbs lemon zest
    2 teaspoon spiced rum

    Method:

    Cream butter and sugar, add egg and beat well. Sift flour with spices added. Add flour to the butter mixture and work to a dough (you may need to add additional flour if the mixture is too wet). Roll the dough out thinly, cut into two sizes of rounds, one a little smaller than the other.

    For the filling: combine dried fruit, lemon zest, rum and cinnamon/spice to taste. Put a teaspoon of filling on each of the larger rounds, place a smaller round on top, press the edges together. Bake at 180C for 25 minutes. You could decorate the top of each biscuit with an almond or something similar. I had totally intended decorating mine, but only remembered the plan after my rum monkeys were already in the oven.

    Rum monkeys

    After a little taste test, there was nothing to do but pack them as snuggly as possible and book them a first class ticket* to Sarah's house.

    'fess up. what's your slapdash secret?

    what treasures are hiding in your fruit bowl?

    *The monkeys probably didn't fly first class. They more likely rode in the back of the Australia Post truck.

     

     

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    « angels, sweethearts, jackets + pseudonyms
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jay @ Moodie Foodie (@moodiefoodiejay) says

      July 15, 2013 at 5:58 pm

      Can we put more rum in? Or maybe I just need to have a glass while I'm cooking....

      Reply
      • Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says

        July 15, 2013 at 6:26 pm

        The more the merrier Jay! 😉

        Reply
    2. Sarah @ Slapdash Mama says

      July 15, 2013 at 10:28 pm

      They were delicious! Delicious i tell you! And I am a high achiever in the mediocrity stakes! Or is that an oxymoron?

      Reply
      • The Tunnel says

        July 16, 2013 at 12:37 pm

        I love it that cookies are allowed on both your websites. Hopefully, Sarah, there will be some left for weekend visitors?

        Reply
    3. Have a laugh on me says

      July 16, 2013 at 2:17 pm

      Sounds like the perfect fare for the lovely Sarah - and that fruit bowl is totally impressive that's for sure 🙂

      Reply
    4. Kim says

      July 16, 2013 at 5:04 pm

      Would it be wrong to swig from the bottle while cooking these? Just found out I missed out in a much-wanted job. Or, perhaps, more appropriate to drink a Bloody Mary, to match my mood. These biscuits look fantasmsgorical. Sarah is one lucky slappy dashy lady. 😉

      Reply
    5. Sam Stone says

      July 19, 2013 at 3:24 pm

      Yum, love the look of those biscuits.
      I had to get rid of our fruit bowl because it held everything else but fruit!

      Reply
      • Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says

        July 19, 2013 at 3:28 pm

        We have more than one fruit bowl Sam - only one of which contains fruit! 😛

        Reply
    6. Author Bek Mugridge (@bekmugridge) says

      July 19, 2013 at 4:40 pm

      Those biccies look fabulous! Loving their name too.
      There is three girls in my house, 2 under 8 so these fruit bowls are hilarious and close to home for me too 🙂

      Reply
    7. Lisa@RandomActsOfZen says

      July 19, 2013 at 5:23 pm

      Why is it always the fruit bowl?? I think I need these biccies for breakfast some days x

      Reply
      • Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says

        July 19, 2013 at 6:13 pm

        Only one thing better than biscuits for breakfast Lisa, and that's rum and biscuits for breakfast!

        Reply
    8. carmen@musingnmayhem (@Sp3llB1nd3r) says

      July 19, 2013 at 5:59 pm

      Hopefully bananas and avocados this week. Yes, I'll admit to being rather umm... boring. Oops!
      😉 xxx

      Reply
      • Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says

        July 19, 2013 at 6:11 pm

        Oh, you're one of those tidy types. I've heard about people like you Carmen! 😉

        Reply
    9. NewLifeOnTheRoad (@NewLifeOnRoad) says

      July 21, 2013 at 5:29 pm

      Oh those look so yummy and sound so easy to make 🙂

      Reply

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