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Biscoff Christmas chocolates
Before Christmas goes, I wanted to share with you a quick recipe for Biscoff chocolates. I made them just yesterday because I needed to wait to make them as fresh as I could before I gifted them. After tasting these Biscoff chocolates I though I couldn’t wait to share it with you. It’s the perfect Christmas card for you right on Christmas Eve!
This year…
This year, my major efforts during Christmas time have been preparing a handmade home for our coming baby. Because of that, I didn’t share many ideas for Christmas gifts. But you can find a lot of Christmas crafts here. Lately I have been making efforts to offer consumable handmade Christmas. A baked good or other type of handmade goodie is the best idea for that!
Biscoff chocolates recipe
I adapted my recipe from the one from Madeleine although I didn’t use vegan chocolate. If you use vegan chocolate, this Biscoff chocolates are 100% vegan since both biscoff biscuits and the spread are vegan.
I followed all her instructions, but just adapted a little bit the ingredients and the quantities. For my recipe I used:
– 250g Biscoff biscuits (it is an easier amount since it corresponds to a whole package of Biscoff biscuits)
– 200g plus 10-50g of Biscoff spread. You can go further and add as much as 250g of spread but I find that the best idea is to add the last 50g carefully to adjust the dough to the right consistency. I find that, here in Portugal, the best result is around 220g of Spread in winter. In the summer I will just add 200-210g. This prevents the chocolates to melt too much after coming out of the fridge. The important thing is that the dough is moldable by hand. That is the sweet spot!
– 200g of good dark chocolate. I used culinary chocolate because we do have one or two good culinary chocolate brands here in Portugal. If I am not able to find one of those, I will opt for a the best dark regular chocolate I can find. If you want to make this Biscoff chocolates vegan just use vegan chocolate.
Then I followed Madeleine’s instructions and voila! The easiest chocolates in the world that are soft and spicy. A very festive recipe to try and to gift.
I hope you have the best Christmas in 2022! Thanks for keep following!
Gingerbread house for Christmas
This Christmas I decided to try out my first gingerbread house.
I’ve done so many Christmas projects! A pom-pom wreath for the door, the decorations for the Christmas tree, advent calendars, there are a series of handmade Christmas adventures on the blog that you can check out and try. Right now I don’t really need anything else for my home since we spent so much time inside doors this year, I really wanted a handmade adventure to bring me the Christmas spirit that I usually absorb from these projects.So this Christmas I decided to try out my very first gingerbread house.
The myths
My intention was to make a small house. But when I started making it, I realized that this will be a proper sized one!
To tell you the truth, this little experiment has dispelled many myths! The gingerbread house dough is very resistant and the gingerbread house icing, if done properly, is a very strong cement. It also is a decorative forgiving plaster that goes very well into the hands of an humble apprentice. Both make gingerbread houses much more resilient than you think!
Gingerbread house frosting
As I am not a fan of gingerbread houses full of candy and strong colors, I opted for the “basic” gingerbread house decorations. I just used icing that gives it a somewhat minimalist look. At least I did not want to venture into big juggling right on my first try … ah, but the maternal grandfather’s genetics that I preserve inside me (fantasy enthusiast) couldn’t resist adding at least a few windows glass using gelatin sheets… just to keep the cold outside!
Overall I am very proud if it and I assume that I will make more in the following years.
I wish you a different but merry Christmas, with the light that is missing in the streets emanating, this time, from the inside out.
This Christmas, I donated my hair
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Sim, eu doei o meu cabelo.
Este ano deixei o meu cabelo crescer mais do que o habitual para poder cortá-lo e doar um bom comprimento. Infelizmente há um grande número de motivos para que muitas mulheres e meninas percam o seu cabelo em momentos difíceis. É transversal o sentimento de impotência face a tantas condições médicas e ultrapassa-nos a total compreensão das suas consequências. Durante anos a fio cortei o meu cabelo como um acto de cuidado pessoal. O cuidado com aquela que queria que fosse a minha imagem e por respeito a mim própria. Por mais difícil que nos pareça compreender: cuidar de nós é a melhor maneira de cuidar bem dos outros. Contudo, embora consciente do cuidado que dava ao cabelo que trazia comigo, sempre me desprendi da sorte daquele que ficava caído no chão do cabeleireiro. Nunca pensei muito nisso. Ao longo da vida, já devo ter cortado alguns metros de cabelo… Este ano, permiti-me esmerá-lo com um cuidado especial para que crescesse saudável por mais alguns centímetros. Hoje está a caminho das mãos empenhadas de artesãos e, em conjunto com o de outros dadores, fará, gratuitamente, mais claros o tempos difíceis de uma qualquer pequena princesa que dele precisar! Afinal, eu ia cuidá-lo e cortá-lo de qualquer forma, mais cedo ou mais tarde… Mas dei por mim mais presa ao meu cabelo do que nunca. Concedo-o neste Natal, representando um pouco do melhor de mim. Feliz Natal!
Yes, I donated my hair.
This year I let my hair grow longer than usual so I could cut it and donate a proper length. Unfortunately there are a number of reasons why many women and girls lose their hair in such difficult times. The feeling of powerlessness regarding so many medical conditions is transversal to us all, and its consequences are beyond our full comprehension. For years I cut my hair as an act of personal care for what I wanted my image to be and out of respect for myself. As hard as it may seem to us to understand: taking care of ourselves is the best way to take good care of others. However, although I was aware of the care should give to the hair I bring with me, I wasn’t aware of the fate of the one lying on the hairdresser’s floor. I never thought much about it . In the course of my life, I must have cut a few feet of hair… This year, I allowed myself to take care of it with a special care so that it grew healthy for a few more inches. Today it is on its way to the committed hands of artisans and, together with other donotaions, will bring some joy to any little princess in need of a wig! After all, I was going to take care of my hair it and cut it anyway, sooner or later… But I found myself more attached to my hair than ever. I am deeply happy to share a little bit of my best this Christmas. Merry Christmas!
Plastic free christmas wrapping!
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Estamos nas vésperas de Natal e é dia de embrulhar os últimos presentes! Desde o ano passado que eu não compro mais papel de embrulho. Tenho gasto os restos que ainda tenho e, sempre que preciso de algo novo, uso o meu rolo de papel para criar algo único com os meus carimbos. Este ano ofereceram-me um carimbo com um pequeno floco de neve que usei para carimbar todo o meu papel. Como disse aqui, ainda não me sentia absolutamente satisfeita com os meus embrulhos de Natal e por isso tenho pensado em formas de melhorar. Este ano, para além do meu papel de embrulho versátil, feito à mão e sem químicos nem plásticos, aboli também a tradicional fita-cola. Porque não é reciclável e existem opções bem mais sustentáveis. Optei por uma fita cola de papel kraft (livre de solventes e ecológica). Disse não aos laços de fita de plástico e optei ou por fio twine ou por fio “do norte”, um fio de linho 100% natural e biodigradável. Acrescentei uma pequena porção de pinheiro (também ela biodegradável) para dar vida, e uma etiqueta de papel reciclado em vez de uma plastificada e autocolante. Na verdade, à parte a fita de papel Kraft eu não comprei nada para embrulhar os meus presentes o que me deixou muito contente e me poupou algum dinheiro. E eu acho que os meus presentes estão fabulosos!
Aqui estão mais 4 opções zero plástico para embrulhar presentes de Natal para acrescentar às minhas 52 experiências sem plástico! As restantes ficam para o início do novo ano!!
It’s almost Christmas eve and it’s time to wrap all the presents! I never bought any wrapping paper again… I’ve spent the remains I still have and whenever I need something new, I simply use my blank roll of paper to create something unique with my stamps. This year I was offered a snow flake stamp which I used to stamp all my wrapping paper for christmas. As I said before, I still did not feel absolutely satisfied with my Christmas wrapping and so I’ve been thinking of ways to improve it. This year, in addition to my versatile, hand-made and chemical and plastic free wrapping paper, I also abolished the traditional plastic tape. This thing is not recyclable and there are much more sustainable options. I opted for a kraft paper tape (solvent-free and eco-friendly). I also said no to traditional plastic ribbons and I chose either twine or a 100% natural and biodegradable linen yarn. I added a small portion of pine (also biodegradable) to give some joy to my presents, and a label of recycled paper instead of a laminated sticker. Actually, besides the kraft paper tape I didn’t buy anything to wrap any of my Christmas presents which made me very happy and saved my a lot of money. And I think my presents are absolutely stunning!
Here are 4 more plastic free Christmas wrapping swaps to add to my 52 challenge! I will share the rest on the first days of 2020!