ANZAC Biscuits

Tomorrow (the 25th) is a public holiday here in New Zealand (and Australia) as it is ANZAC Day. It is a special ANZAC Day as it marks the 100th Anniversary since the landing of our soldiers at Gallipoli in Turkey.

I thought that today I would share a recipe that has become a very popular biscuit in New Zealand and Australia. The ANZAC Biscuit!! But first I thought that I would share some history behind these biscuits.

First of all this is not my recipe, it is the original recipe and I don't feel as though it is right to change a recipe with such a rich history as these. However it is also illegal to change the recipe and still call them ANZAC biscuits, and are never to be called "cookies". ANZAC biscuits were claimed to have been sent by wives to the soldiers fighting in the First World War, these biscuits were sent because they did not spoil easily and traveled well. As well as being used as a fundraiser to support the war effort.

ANZAC Biscuits: Print

Ingredients:   

125g Flour
150g Sugar
1 Cup Coconut
1 Cup Rolled Oats
100g Butter
1 Tablespoon Golden Syrup
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Tablespoons Boiling Water

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 (350) degrees. Mix together flour, sugar, coconut and rolled oats, set aside.
Melt butter and golden syrup. Dissolve Baking soda in the boiling water and add to butter and golden syrup. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, stir in the liquid. Place spoonfuls on a greased tray or baking mat. Flatten with a fork or the back of a spoon. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden in color.

How are you spending your weekend? Do you have any recipes that are special to you and your family?

Monthly Budget Printable

Managing my budget is something that I feel I have to stay on top of. I am a College Student so working out how much I earn and spend a week is really really important. I talked about my Budget Organizer here.

This printable is a great place to work out your monthly budget and I thought that I would share it with you. However I did have to make some changes to make it more universal, as I have mine with things that only relate to me and others in New Zealand.

So feel free to download and use to your hearts content!!
Download Here

5 Tips to Help with Productivity

It is currently mid-semester break for me, and this means that I have a lot of assignments due as well as a lot of other stuff to catch up on. So I am so sorry for not posting much recently.

I always have goals of how much I am going to study, but life seems to get in the way. Friends come back from other Colleges and you end up hanging out with them or spending time with your family that you didn't really plan on but it happens (or binge-watching way too much TV, anyone else loving Younger, or The Royals as much as me, soo good!).

I guess that's where this post fits in it is really hard with all the distractions to stay focus and achieve those things that you set out to achieve at the start of the break. So this post is about productivity, how to spend your time wisely and get everything finished without feeling stressed (However reading this post is not actually going to do those things for you so this requires a bit of work on your half as well).

 1. My first tip would be to plan, plan everything from when you are going out to when you want to get things done by and every other little thing that is important. Why? Because planning makes you realize how much time you do have to finish things, like when I am really stressing about things I generally like to count the hours that I have left, this makes you see that a week or 168 hours is actually a decent amount of time and it is easier to relax because step by step you can get things finished. My post on Planner Organization can be found here.

2. Next I like to write a list of all the things that I have to get done (color-coded of course). This way I can visualize the things that I need to complete and am able to see results as I tick each one off my list. I like to catch up on readings and everything else in the breaks because this way you start the new term fresh and on a clean slate.

3.  My third tip would be to use my assignment schedule, it is a really great tool for remembering when things are due and also use my assignments and readings printable these really help to map out when things need to be done and when you plan to do them.

4. My fourth tip would be just to get started, you are never going to achieve anything if you never start. I know about procrastination and all that but even if you do a little bit everyday you would be a lot more likely to actually finish it than if you never started.

5. My last tip is to stick to a rhythm, get out of bed at the same time everyday, make your bed, have your coffee. Just do assignments and things that need to get done first therefore the rest of your day can be spend doing things that you enjoy (like binge-watching Gilmore Girls) which is a similar tip to what they say about working out, once you have achieved what you need to in the morning you are not stressing about have to finish it all day. 

How do you combat procrastination? Any tips you find help to keep you productive? Any TV shows you are enjoying right now?

Friday Procrastibaking - April 10th

It is the end of my first week of our term break. I have three assignments due first day back. But I wanted to share with you a recipe I made this week, or last week really.

Yes it is Easter related!! I love Easter it is such a nice relaxing time to catch up with family. However for me it does not symbolize spring, as it is the start of autumn....

So I found a cute idea on (you guessed it) Pinterest. You may have seen it. It was these cute little chick cupcakes. So I thought I could easily whip up something like that for our Easter Sunday lunch. I found the original idea here.

 I made my favourite cupcake recipe which I shared last week, and just tinted the icing yellow and covered the cupcakes. I then dipped them in yellow tinted sugar. I then put chocolate drops on for eyes. Then drew little wings and covered them in sugar too. Remember to tap off the excess. I then added a little bit of red food coloring to the icing to make orange and drew a beak and feet.

I think that they turned out really cute, and everyone loved them!

How did you celebrate Easter? Any special recipes you love to make for Easter?

How I Study

Hi all,

It is getting to the intense part of the semester for me. We are now our half-way break (where did the last six weeks go?) and that means that assignment after assignment are needing to be handed in. So I thought that I would focus today's College Series post on How I study.

I am lucky this semester I only have one exam and one of my courses is mainly taken up with a group project so I don't have many assignments. But I do like to stay on top of all of my work and studying.

I called this post How I Study because it is just that, it works for me but you may find that it doesn't for you, so... 

I always make sure that my desk is tidy, this helps me feel like I want to use it as well as being able to use it. Therefore when I do sit down and do some study I don't need to move like three thousand things out of the way and get distracted (it would happen every time). I shared what my desk set up looks like here.

 I find that setting aside time to study really helps me in actually getting it done. So for every class that I have I set aside an hour of study before the next class. This way I get everything done before it needs to be done and things like readings done before the next class.

I also like to have a set amount of time that I like to do certain tasks. So if I do get off task I can move on and do the next thing. This way I am not wasting time and get on with other things.

I like to make sure that I have a snack and a drink of water when studying. Because I find that if I have everything I need then there is less distraction and I can focus on the things that I need to do.

As soon as assignments are released I like to print the instructions out and put them in date order at the back of my folder. This ensures that I have the instructions and can get started straight away when I study. I also like to keep my assignment schedule at the front of this folder, so I know when things are due.

How do you like to study? Are there any techniques that you use to study? Any special ways that you use to stay on track?

Friday Procrastibaking - 3rd April

Happy Easter everyone! I am the first to admit that when I have a lot of things that I need to get done I tend to not do it. Instead I prefer to clean, organize and bake. So I decided to start this new feature of what I like to call "Procrastibaking". What is it you ask, well, it is simple it is just how I describe how I bake while procrastinating.

Because I have no lectures on Fridays I tend to think that I have three days to get this stuff done, I will make a cake/ some cupcakes/ a pie/ whatever I see on pinterest that looks really really good.

So this weekly feature will show the things that I made, which will not always be my own recipes but I feel are really great that I should share them and you should try them.

Anyways, this week I made cupcakes, cute little cupcakes with pink icing and sprinkles or 100s and 1000s as I call them (must have been feeling really girly this week), so here are the pictures (sorry were taken with my phone...):

 These cupcakes were absolutely perfect, super fluffy and the icing was so good (like lick the bowl good). I got inspiration from a photo on Pinterest which linked to here. And I also think that I fell in love with everything on this blog.

 I made my standard vanilla cupcake and butter-cream recipe. I iced the cupcakes with a number 30 Tala icing tip.

So here is the recipe:

Vanilla Cupcakes With Butter-cream Icing: Print

 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Softened Butter
• 2/3 Cup Sugar
• 3 Large Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 Cup Milk

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line 12 muffin cups with cases
2. In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.
3. In a small bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt together.
4. With the mixer on low, add a cup of the flour mixture and mix until combined, then the milk until combined, followed by the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until well combined and when the mixture has a mousse like texture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 17-20 minutes or until just set and a toothpick inserted into them comes out clean. Remove from oven, and allow to cool in tin for 10 minutes. Then place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled ice with buttercream.

Buttercream:

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Confectioners Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Softened Butter
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tablespoons Milk
• pink food colouring

Method:

1. In an electric mixer beat together the butter for 2-3 minutes until soft and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and beat on medium until well combined.
2.  Increase the mixer speed to medium and add the vanilla and milk. Beat for 3 minutes until everything is nice and creamy, but stiff enough to pipe.
3. Add the food colouring and mix until well dispersed.