kitchen catch.

Wooden cutting boards from mouta design firm.

images via: mouta

on my christmas table.

My very favourite Christmas Cookies are simple and easy... and I have them almost every year!

Frosted Sugar Cookies - Perfect to bake with friends, and especially fun for little people to decorate.

Add a little lime for the perfect finishing touch...

Merry Christmas and God Jul!

Frosted Lime Sugar Cookies

you will need:

for cookies:

250 g flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

113 g butter

200 g granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 tablespoons lime juice

for frosting:

460 g confectioners’ sugar

2 egg whites (***note pregnant women or very young children should avoid raw egg whites. Meringue powder can be substituted here.)

water

cookies:

Preheat oven to 165 degrees (or 325 degrees for my Canadian and American friends) and prepare baking pan.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.

In a separate bowl with an electric mixer, cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add flour mixture to bowl and stir on low speed until combined. Cover dough and chill for 30 minutes.

On a floured surface, roll out dough to and cut into desired shapes. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges just begin to brown. Cool on a wire rack and prepare frosting.

frosting:

Sift confectioners’ sugar into a large bowl and add egg whites. With an electric mixer, combine ingredients. Slowly add water, a little bit at a time, until desired consistency is reached.

*makes about one dozen cookies

*Tip:

Let shapes dry overnight so that icing sets completely before packaging.

Food and Styling: Tara Ballantyne

Photography: Trine Thorsen

sweets anyone?

This week I have been outside of Oslo to shoot some yummy cupcake recipes at a lovely old farmhouse from 1928 - being renovated by photographer Trine Thorsen.

We baked and photographed…and styled and shot with Trines brand new camera... and in the evenings sat around the Christmas tree and wood fire to end the day.

It was a great adventure… using some old family recipes and experimenting and perfecting a few new ones. Elegant cupcakes are back!

Above is an image from the current issue of Norwegian magazine Maison Mat & Vin (see the credits list to find it!)...

Look for the new recipes and images in the upcoming issue of Maison Mat & Vin!

Styling and baking: Tara Ballantyne

Photography: Trine Thorsen

hang it.

Herman Miller Select 2010 Edition Walnut Hang-it-All

for your december hot chocolate.

Chocolate Dusted Meringues.

You will need:

2 large organic egg whites

3 ml (1/2 tsp.) white vinegar

3 ml (1/2 tsp.) water

3 ml (1/2 tsp.) best quality vanilla

1 g (1/4 tsp.) baking powder

pinch of finely ground sea salt

150 g granulated sugar

cocoa powder for dusting

Method:

With an electric mixer, beat together egg whites, vinegar, vanilla, water, baking powder and salt. Beat until mixture is stiff and forms peaks, but is not dry. Add sugar 50 g at a time, beating constantly.

Grease a cookie sheet. Place mixture into piping bag and squeeze out meringue into circles the size of 25 cents.

Bake in 120 degree oven until firm, approximately 15 minutes.

Dust with cocoa powder before serving.

Makes: 3-4 dozen small-medium sized meringues

*tip: serve with coffee or hot chocolate, and float in mug instead of sugar!

Food and Styling: Tara Ballantyne

Photography: Birgit Fauske

hand made.

This weekend I was at the Julemarket here in Oslo meeting some very fantastic and interesting people! It was wonderful to see everyone on the weekend - browsing with friends and family and getting ready for the holidays.

Such a relaxed and warm environment to show my line of jewellery.

As always, I was amazed by the superior level of items hand made right here in Norway - and of course I couldn't pass up the opportunity to squeeze in some shopping of my own!

A big thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello… and to the fantastic customers who will give some of my work a great new home!

Enjoy and God Jul!

Necklace : Tara Ballantyne

Photography : Annette Ørvelid

currently loving.

Paper + Craft - 25 Charming Gifts, Accents and Accessories to Make from Paper - by Minhee and Truman Cho.

A book filled with 25 unique paper projects by the founders of PAPER + CUP stationary company. You can find the book on Amazon, and more about PAPER + CUP here!