Spoil Your Guests

There are lots of things I have learnt over the years, being both a B&B owner and as a guest of many around the country (and indeed world). One of those is that home-baking is a must. There is nothing like the smell of fresh baking for making you feel homely but also a little bit spoiled. So with that in mind, how delighted will your guests be when they discover that they have fresh baked biscuits in their room, not only do they look so much better than pre-packed, the fact that you have made the effort will not go unnoticed.

From over 500 reviews I can honestly say that the most common thread is the biscuits and cakes made available to my guests. Okay, so you don't like baking, can't bake or don't have time... To the first 2, I would say - I bet you know someone who does, so outsource; to the 3rd I would say - you can find the time to do some batches of dough and freeze it - I even have a recipe for cookie dough that can be cut and baked from frozen.... so no excuses! (recipe for frozen biscuits to be published later).

Anyhoo, this is a photo of my much admired Oat Cookies fresh out of the Aga, and the smell is divine - in fact it has stopped the builders in their endeavours to replace our windows and I have had to put the kettle on - small price to pay for cozy rooms!

They are really simple to make and take just a few minutes to bake:

Oat Cookies

175g SR Flour

75g Rolled Oats

175g Granulated sugar

1tsp Bicarbonate of soda

1tsp Baking Powder

175g Butter

2 level tbsp Golden Syrup

Grease 2 baking Sheets and set oven to 180/Gas 4

Put the butter and syrup into a pan and heat on the hob on a low setting until melted and combined.

Put the flour, oats, sugar, bicarb and baking powder into a bowl and mix thoroughly, when the butter and syrup have melted add to the dry ingredients and mix together to form a loose dough.

Divide the dough into small pieces (I tend to use a spoon and then mound in the my hands) and place onto baking tray - don't make the pieces too big as they will at least double in size. Press the tops a little to flatten.

Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on the tray - they will then crispen up and it makes it easier to transfer to your cooling rack.

Go on - have a go, you won't be dissapointed, and more importantly, your guests won't!

If you fancy spending some time with us at Home Farm House or would like more information please take a look around our web site or give us a call. See you soon x