Where do ideas come from? I like to think of myself as pretty creative. Sometimes I surprise myself with the ideas that I come up with but there's not really a rhyme or reason to it. The ideas, they come out of left field 99% of the time. Guaranteed to give me an inspiration block is pressure or some sort of guideline. I just don't seem to be able to get the juices flowing if there's any sort of constraint.
Coming up with a cocktail-inspired sweet treat was one of those things that shut down my brain. Try as I might I just couldn't come up with an idea. But, last week I accidentally stole a bag of passionfruit from mum (yes it was an accident not an 'accident') and when I rang to tell her she said I could keep them on the condition that I made her a loaf of her favourite passionfruit banana bread.
I kept my end of the bargain but still had 5 passionfruit left over and a hankering for passionfruit biscuits so to the recipe books I went. Extricating the passionfruits from the crisper I spotted a bag of limes and then my brain started ticking. 'Ooh passionfruit and lime make a delicious cocktail (it was girls night the next day so I was already dreaming of cocktails), wait a minute... do they make a delicious cocktail cookies I could enter in the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop?'
Yes, yes they do! The passionfruit and lime cocktail cookies crumble with the lightest of bites and the crumb will almost dissolve on your tongue. If it weren't for the spots of crunchy passionfruit seeds you could almost get away with not having to chew. The icing adds a little bitter sweetness with a spot of white rum to really bring the cocktail together. It's not over-powering at all (there's only a little in there) but there's enough to give just a little bit of a tang that would make unsuspecting recipients wonder what your secret ingredient is. Of course you can't have a cocktail without a little bit of fruit and a fancy straw so I topped them off with a slither of lime and a cocktail straw.
The creativity didn't stop there. As my brain ticked, trying to think of a suitably cocktail-like backdrop my bright green dress sprung to mind. I wore it to ring in the New Year so if it doesn't scream cocktail I don't know what does. I also thought I'd show you a little peek at my photo set up. Oh the glory of cropping. Yes my dress is stuck to my bar freezer with a bottle opener magnet and yes it is hanging off a wine bottle in our drinks bucket. What can I say, I'm a classy lady. Oh that and I'm carrying through with the cocktail theme right?
I think these would be a fun way to end a girly cocktail party or even a bridal shower or hens party. If you've not got an excuse to make them any time soon, they're almost as good with just a simple dusting of icing sugar but I do encourage you go the extra mile (yes you're allowed to leave out the Bacardi if you must). Enjoy!
What about you? Are you good at coming up with ideas under pressure?
Don't forget to check out the other cocktail creations in this month's Sweet Adventures Blog Hop hosted by the lovely JJ over at 84th & 3rd.
Recipe
Ingredients
Biscuits
- 90 g icing sugar
- 185 g butter
- 2 passionfruit
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 cup cornflour
- 1 ¼ cups self-raising flour
Icing
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1 passionfruit
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 teaspoon Bacardi white rum
- Lime & straws to decorate
Instructions
Biscuits
- Pre-heat the oven to 175C fan-forced and line two baking trays with baking paper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy.
- Add the passionfruit pulp and lime zest and beat them through.
- Add the flour and corn flour and mix until everything comes together in a dough.
- Use 2 teaspoons of dough at a time and roll the dough into balls.
- Place them on the baking tray, leaving 5cm between each one and press them down gently.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until they start to turn golden.
- Leave on the trays for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Icing
- Beat the butter for a minute then add the icing sugar and beat through.
- Add the passionfruit and lime and beat them through then add the Bacardi.
- Beat until the icing is smooth. If it's too thick add a little water or if it's too thin add a little more icing sugar.
- Spread the icing on the cooled cookies and add a little wedge of lemon and a little straw.
Anna says
Love the set up! And those spiked cookies are so cute!
Sugar et al says
Love your photo backdrop...very creative! And the boozy cookies are gorgeous!
Claire says
Thank you!
Mel B says
Gorgeous styling, so I do love seeing the before shot :) I'm terrible at the food photography side of thing (who though something that stays so still would be so difficult to photograph?)
I'm also a huge passionfruit fan, I cant get enough of them (have finally got around to planting two vines to I'm hoping to have some of my own spoils in a year or two) so I am going to add these to my to-do list!
Claire says
Haha oh you're so right. It's not like the subject moves but I know how you feel. It can be frustrating. I can't wait to have my own passionfruit vines.