Sweet Eats :: "...and then we had a cup of tea. The End."

Lots of people ask me why I love to bake. I usually tell them I find it relaxing, it makes the house smell amazing and you usually (!?) end up with something good to share at the end of the whole process. Maybe it's cos my mum is an amazing baker and I feel it's my duty to carry on the tradition. Or maybe it's stemmed from my childhood creative writing, where every story ended happily with "...and then we had a cup of tea. The End."

Ok ok, I admit I have a sweet tooth but I actually do feel compelled to carry on some family recipes. And nothing quite did it for me when I was growing up then these biccies I made on Australia Day last week...cornflake boomerangs. I'm the third generation to make these, the recipe being passed down from a close friend of my grandparents. She was a legend with these biccies made with cornflakes, walnuts, cinnamon and icing sugar. Every year she'd whip up a batch for the church fete, but if you weren't quick enough they'd be snapped up before you knew it! My mum was always on the ball and would bring home a box and stash it in her special "sweet stuff" cupboard. Unbeknownst to her, a little mouse called Nicky knew about this secret stash and would help herself, rearranging the biccies so the box never looked depleted!

Over the years both mum, myself and several other family friends have attempted this recipe with disastrous results...many attempts ending up as one massive merged biccie! Conspiracy theories abounded as to how she managed to make these so perfectly shaped and melt-in-the-mouth...there must be something she's not telling us! I think we were all too scared to ask.

Nevertheless, I have persisted with trial & error over the years and while they'll never be like hers (the taste of the original is imprinted on my brain), I've decided this is as close to them as I'll ever get. And I think I'm happy with that. Now it's time for that cup of tea. N