Burnt biscuits

I love making biscuits. I volunteered to make some for the birthday party we are attending tomorrow afternoon. 10 eager children expecting biscuits...no problem...

Until I realised that Mr B was going to be out tomorrow morning,counting birds.

Scratch plan of a mostly enjoyable and slightly patience-taxing baking session with Kitty in the morning. My patience definitely can't cope with a Mancub climbing up my trouser leg and crying for cuddles and "see Mama doin!" while I have sticky fingers and am trying to supervise 4 year old biscuit making enthusiasm.

So I opted for baking tonight. Pick a biscuit recipe... ah, that would be the one I actually have ingredients for. Fine. Normally a good, tasty, simple and reliable standby.

Except that I haven't made this one in Tanzania yet, with my second hand weighing scales that are accurate to about 3 ounces...

The first batch spread and baked so eagerly that I ended up with one big and slightly scorched biscuit that chipped into shapes that were definitely not regulation as I tried to extract it from the baking tray.

The second batch were more generously spaced and ended up a series of beautiful circles... but were burnt to a crisp as I fielded a call from our landlord about the non-functioning cold water tap in the kitchen. As it turns out, said tap will continue to non-function as it was connected poorly originally and re-doing it would cost lots of money and involve ripping up the kitchen floor and bashing through the kitchen wall... I don't mind, but apparently he does. The front garden tap, with a similar problem, will also remain non-functioning, which may put paid to my idea of a paddling pool for the kids, unless I can face traipsing bucket loads of water out of the house each time.

The third and final batch yielded beautifully shaped and perfectly baked biscuits which even remained intact as they were carefully prised off their baking sheet.

Shame there were only 5 of them.

Baking tomorrow anyone?