I am no stranger to long stints in the kitchen, but as I write this I feel as though I am still recovering from the cooking marathon that happened this past weekend. It was all for a very special reason though, as I was preparing for my daughters 2nd birthday party!

We wanted to choose something (or in this case someone) that she really loves as the party theme, and this year it was a no-brainer – the furry little bear from Peru whose adventures we read every evening at bedtime, Paddington Bear.

On Sunday afternoon, 15 of my daughter’s friends and their parents arrived at our home to celebrate. As seems to be the (unfortunate) tradition whenever we are entertaining in the garden the wind was howling, but we managed to secure the gazebo, tie up the bunting and lock down the balloons before everyone arrived at 3pm. The afternoon felt like it flew by in a flurry of activity, but judging by all the emails I received the following day everyone had a good time, and most importantly of all so did the birthday girl.

I have been asked in the past for my favourite sugar cookie recipe, and this is it. This recipe is from Nigella Lawson’s “How to be a Domestic Goddess” and apart from reducing the salt and using my own butter icing recipe this recipe is the same as the original. The dough keeps its shape beautifully during baking, and can be rolled and re-rolled several times. It can also be frozen, and of course – it tastes fantastic! I chose to include sugar cookies on the party menu – shaped as little slices of bread sandwiched together with orange butter icing. Because what would a Paddington party be without his favourite snack, marmalade sandwiches?

Cook’s note – this biscuit dough is extremely versatile. I also decorated small paw shaped cookies with chocolate chips and fondant icing for the party. In the past I have also flavoured the dough with a teaspoon of cinnamon. You can drizzle them with ordinary glacé icing or simply bake and enjoy as is with a dusting of icing sugar to serve. All of these ideas work well!

I also have to give a special mention to the very talented Madelyn from “Once Upon A Birthday” who created the amazing Paddington Bear figurine and marmalade pot that you see on top of the cake. To see more examples of her amazing work please visit her Facebook page by clicking here. Thanks Madelyn!