Biscoff Christmas chocolates

Biscoff 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!

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Gingerbread house for Christmas

gingerbread house
gingerbread house
gingerbread house
gingerbread house
gingerbread house

gingerbread house
gingerbread house
gingerbread house

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.

gingerbread house
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There was a snowstorm called 2020!

christmas postcards
christmas postcards
christmas postcards

This has been a snowstorm! 

2020 has bean a heck of a year for the whole world.  I still remember thinking about my dreams for it, about this time last year. We always expect a new year to be “the one”. We don’t expect it to be foggy, windy, like a snowstorm that blind us.
From the fires in Australia, to the American elections. From the outbreaks against racism that I simply not understand in the context of the 21st century. Going through a global pandemic that will still have repercussions from now on, 2020 is the year that we will all remember. For the best and worst reasons, 2020 was an intense year.
The one thing that has helped me most to control some anxiety that comes from all these situations (I think we all know what that is at the moment) was to minimize everything. Minimize to the essential in all aspects of my daily life. Even 2020 Christmas will be under the “less is more” mood. From events to gifts, from decorations to advent calendars. At my home, everything is reduced to things with greater meaning. It is sad… but at the same time very, very pertinent.
That is why my 2020 Christmas postcards could not better represent the simplicity and, at the same time, this sensation of snowstorm that we have all felt recently. This year, more than ever, these cards unite hearts: mine and those with whom I will not be able to meet in person.

christmas postcards

christmas postcards

christmas postcards

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This Christmas, I donated my hair

 
 
 
 
 
 
(scroll for the English version)
 

 

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!
 

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