Free An Unexpected Cookbook: The Unofficial Book of Hobbit Cookery by Chris-Rachael Oseland Page B

you don’t plan to add any extras, you can either shape it into a log for easy cutting or go ahead and bake it now.
     
    If you want to use a cookie cutter for fun shapes, let your dough come back to room temperature and roll it out to ½ inch / 1.25 cm thickness. If you’re not particular about shapes, rolling it into a log and simply slicing off coins certainly saves time. Either way, the shortbreads will taste great.
     
    Arrange your shortbreads 1 inch / 2.5 cm apart on a heavily buttered glass cake pan. The extra butter makes them release even faster.
     
    Bake at 325F / 160C for 18-20 minutes, or until the shortbreads turn a rich golden brown. Don’t over bake them or else they’ll turn a sickly grey-brown. To preserve the texture, store them in a room temperature an airtight container.



Country Gingersnaps
    Rumor has it Queen Elizabeth I would give visiting dignitaries gold gilded gingerbread versions of themselves around the holidays. Whether or not this is true, crunchy gingersnaps date back to the crusades and were still hugely popular in Tolkien's day. The molasses that makes the cookies so distinctive not only used to be cheaper than sugar, but its strong flavor also helped cover up impurities in cheaper, coarser grinds of flour, making these a common country tea biscuit.
     
    1 c / 225 g butter
    3/4 c / 150 g sugar
    1 1/4 c / 254 g molasses (black treacle)
    1 egg
    2 c / 250 g white flour
    2 c / 260 g whole wheat flour
    1 tsp baking powder
    zest and juice of 1 lemon
    3 tbsp cinnamon
    1 ½ tbsp ginger
    ½ tsp cloves
    ½ tsp salt
     
    Preheat your oven to 350F / 180C.
     
    Cream together the butter, sugar, molasses, and egg. Add the zest and juice of one lemon.
     
    In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt.
     
    Such delicious ingredients shouldn’t be kept apart. Mix the spicy flour blend into the creamy butter and keep stirring until the mix is free of lumps.
     
    Generously lubricate a baking sheet with butter.
     
    Roll 1 inch / 2.5 cm balls of dough between your hands. Arrange them 2 inches / 5 cm apart on the cookie sheet. Pierce the tops with a fork.
     
    Bake at 350F / 180 C for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are dark brown.
     
    Leave them on a rack to cool completely. Once cool, they should be crunchy all the way through. If kept in a dark, airtight container, they can stay crunchy and delicious for a couple of weeks, if the batch lasts that long.



Bannocks
    Bannocks can mean anything from an uncut circle of scones to a fluffy fruit cake to these dense, wholesome, country oatcakes. While wealthy households might limit their tea time treats to pastries and delicate sandwiches made from fine white flour, hearty oat Bannocks were more of a working man’s alternative - something solid enough to tide you over until dinner but not so sweet or heavy it would ruin your appetite, with just enough spice to highlight a good cup of tea.
     
    1 c /140 g whole wheat flour
    3 tbsp baking powder
    1 tbsp salt
    ½ c / 100 g sugar
    2 tbsp cinnamon
    1 tbsp allspice
    ½ tbsp nutmeg
    ½ tbsp cloves
    1 c / 85 g rolled oats
    1 c / 240 ml whole fat milk or almond milk for vegans
    butter for frying
     
    Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Make sure the baking powder is evenly distributed in the salt or else you’ll end up with unevenly cooked bannocks.
     
    Now add the sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix in the sugar and spices until everything is well blended. Next add in the oats and give them a good mix.
     
    Get it all wet by adding the milk. Stir it just enough to make the lumps disappear. You don’t need to over work this batter.
     
    Heat a large cast iron skillet or griddle to a medium heat. You want to cook these low and slow to avoid burning. Smear the bottom with a generous coat of butter. Honestly, the easiest method is to just rub the stick across the surface of your hot pan.
     
    Ladle in ¼ - ⅓ cup of batter. You can make