A 'Not-Quite-A-Gingerbread' House

Here ya go...my attempt at a gingerbread house.

Okay, it's actually a sugar cookie house...because we don't have all the ingredients to make gingerbread.

And somehow it turned out looking more like a church.

Okay, so...here's a 'sugar cookie church.'

I apologize for all the smooshed-fingerprint spots on it, by the way.

We also don't have cream of tartar - the good ol' stuff that makes royal icing harden quickly - so I spent quite of bit of time holding this thing together as it dried ever-so-slowly.

Oh and isn't it nice how I took the time to clear off the counter to take some nice photos?

I just thought you might enjoy seeing all our peanut butter and spices and cutting boards, etc. in the background?

Thanks to the Madre and Padre for sending me the wonderful package of Christmas sprinkles, which provided the inspiration for some fun Christmas baking! I love you guys!

Happy Birthday, Lyle!

While the rain may have thwarted our plans to have a birthday cookout, we, at least, had a whole variety of bake goods to console us.

Happy birthday, Lyle!

JOHN & HOLLY

Let me tell you what...I am very much looking forward to this coming May 12!

On that day, two people I love very much will be getting married.

Congratulations, John and Holly!

BROWNIE GOODNESS

For a while now I've been looking for the perfect chocolate cookie recipes.

Of course, it had to taste delicious and hold it's shape.

That last part is very important when decorating cookies - if the cookies have too much rising agent, they'll spread while baking and what should have been a cute elephant cookie will turn into a big shapeless blog.

I came across this 'brownie roll-out' recipes on Smitten Kitchen.

I can tell you this recipe has definite potential...the cookies came out with a great brownie-delicious taste.

Next time, I'll roll out the brownies a little thicker and I think they'll be that perfect combination of brownie-goodness and decorated-cookie-delight!

Once I give this recipe another go and add my own touches to it, I'll be sure to post it.

A FEW MORE FLOWERS

BIRTHDAY CAKE

To celebrate Rachel, my co-Fellow here in Mokhotlong, and her big 27th birthday, I made a "cookie cake."

I know, it's a bit of a sad stand-in for a real cake...

Hmmm...well, we do what we can here in Lesotho.

Plus, I had to stay up to the wee hours of the morning to make sure these cookies were a surprise.

But what does it matter?! 

She had a lovely birthday despite the lack of a real cake.

BLUE & WHITE

INDIAN INSPIRATION

There are many fabulous cookie artists out there who create some really amazing cookies.

I've been particularly intrigued by the henna-inspired designs I've been seeing, so I though I'd give it a try!

(Side note: our teeny tiny kitchen is the only room that seem to stay even remotely warm as the cold African winter descends upon us...that is it stays warm if we have the oven cranked all the way up.

Clearly that means we need to sit in the kitchen and bake all day!)

While I'm fairly happy with how these turned out, I'm exciting to keep working on this new technique!

P.S.  If you'd like to read a bit more about my time in Lesotho, you can peek at my other blog Wander With Me.

PIE TIME!

One of my favorite things to bake at home are these little pies.

They're so quick and easy.

But I'll admit I've always used store-bought crust.

Making pie crust has always scared me.

Every time I've tried, it's been a miserable failure.

But I thought I'd give it another go here.

I mean I really don't think I'd be able to go a whole year without apple pie!

Would you?!

Well, I don't know what I did differently this time...

but the pie crust came together so easily.

And it was delicious!

These little pies were so yummy I ate half of the batch before I got around to taking pictures!

SUMMER FLOWERS

Y'all are starting to see more flowers right now, no?

Lucky!

It's just starting to snow here!

Snowing...

...in Africa!

So, I made some bright flowers to bring a little bit of summer to our cold, cold days.

African Swirls

African sugar cookies...check!

Before arriving in Lesotho, I had no intention of baking any sugar cookies while I was away.

I just didn't think I'd have any of the ingredients...or an oven that worked...

or numerous other obstacles.

Well, it turns out most of these obstacles existed...but I made cookies anyway!

The Madre was kind enough to send me cookies cutters, frosting bags, 

and tips all the way form Washington!

Once I had those, I was good to go!

Cinco de Mayo!

There's not always a lot going on around here in Mokhotlong.

So we do what we can to make our own fun!

This weekend, that fun came in the form of a Cinco de Mayo party!

I made these DELICIOUS Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies!

Did I mention they were DELICIOUS?!

I've always loved the chocolate/chili combo!

Mmmm, mmm, mmm.

I used Martha's recipe and couldn't help but add some dark chocolate chunks.

You'll never convince me that everything isn't a little better with a little dark chocolate!

And it begins!

In my first oh-so-humble attempt to bake here in Lesotho,

I decided to bake the easiest thing I could think of:

banana bread.

I needed something simple to start with...

to work out all the quirks of baking here.

the altitude...

an oven that...

-has no temperature settings 

-only gets to about 250 degrees

-is much hotter on one side

the fact that you can't buy any baking ingredients in our little town...

the bananas here are, well, different...

Well, I have to say, it turned out delicious!

A good start to baking in Africa, if I do say so myself.