This Muslim Girl Bakes: Cookbook of the Month December 2017: The Little Library Cookbook.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
It's the last one of the year!

And, it's a cookbook that I was so excited about cooking through.

This is The Little Library Cookbook by Kate Young. It was one of those books that I couldn't believe that no one had written yet. Have you ever wanted to eat the chocolate cake from Matilda? Or join the Famous Five on one of their picnics? Or bake up a honey-laden treat for the honey-mad Winnie the Pooh? Well, with this book you can do just that!

Here's what I made:

Before Noon: Cinnamon Rolls - Inspired by "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt: I hadn't even known I was hungry until I'd stepped into the hallway, but at that moment, standing there with a rough stomach and a bad taste in my mouth and the prospect of what would be my last freely chosen meal, it seemed to me that I'd never smelled anything quite so delicious as that sugary warmth: coffee and cinnamon, plain buttered rolls from the Continental breakfast.

Once the cardamom dough had risen ...

... I made the most delicious smelling paste of butter, dark brown sugar and cinnamon.

The paste was spread onto the dough.

These rolls were rolled a little differently to the cinnamon rolls I had baked in the past.

The dough pieces were stretched a little before being tied to form these rolls.

Risen, baked and ready for their glaze.

The hot rolls were brushed with glaze made with dark brown sugar, crushed cardamom pods, cinnamon and water.

These rolls with their almost brioche-like dough and fragrant glaze were so soft. Delicious with a hot coffee!

Around Noon: Potato and Leek Soup with Rye Bread - Inspired by "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak: Strangely, one of Liesel's favourite distractions was Frau Holtzapfel. The reading sessions included Wednesday now as well, and they'd finished the water-abridged version of The Whistler and were onto The Dream Carrier. The old woman sometimes made tea or gave Liesel some soup that was infinitely better than Mama's. Less watery.

They rye bread was packed full of caraway seeds. I found the crust really hard to cut though. But the soft bread on the inside was delicious.

The soup was packed with plenty of leeks and once the potatoes went in, made the whole thing really comforting. Perfect for the December cold!

After Noon: Hunny and Rosemary Cakes - Inspired by "Winnie-the-Pooh" by A.A.Milne: 'That's funny,' he thought. 'I know I had a jar of honey there. A full jar, full of honey right up to the top, and it had HUNNY written on it, so that I should know it was honey.'

I just had to try this recipe because the combination of honey and rosemary had me intrigued.

Fresh rosemary leaves went into the dry ingredients.

Before a mixture of butter, dark brown sugar, honey and eggs was poured in.

Stirred and ready to bake!

The cooled cakes were spread with a cream cheese icing.

Before being drizzled with honey infused with fresh rosemary!

Guys, these cakes were delicious. The sponge was so soft and I loved the flavour of the honey and rosemary together.

Winnie the Pooh would definitely approve.

The Dinner Table: Neapolitan Pizza - Inspired by "My Brilliant Friend" by Elena Ferrante: I was overwhelmed by the names, the noise of the traffic, the voices, the colours, the festive atmosphere, the effort of keeping everything in mind so that I could talk about it later with Lila, the ease with which he bought me a pizza melting with ricotta, the fruit seller from whom he bought me a yellow peach.

This pizza dough was one of the best I've ever made. It was so smooth!

The toppings were ricotta, fresh basil, anchovies, capers, olive oil and passata.

I love the colours!

This was my first time eating anchovies and I wasn't the biggest fan.

Other than the anchovies, this pizza was so good! The dough was the star - so crispy, chewy and bubbly all at the same time.

Midnight Feasts: Sausage Rolls - Inspired by "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" by J.K.Rowling: 'It was someone being tortured!' said Neville, who had gone very white, and spilled sausage rolls all over the floor. 'You're going to have to fight the Cruciatus curse!'

I made my own sausage meat with chicken mince, spices, herbs, onions, carrots and breadcrumbs.

The meat went onto puff pastry.

Time to slice!

Egg-washed and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

We made big ones ...

... and small ones.

The rolls were delicious. Crispy, juicy and served with plenty of Worcestershire sauce.

Parties and Celebrations: Cornish Pasty - Inspired by "The Little White Horse" by Elizabeth Goudge: 'There is enough. There is sufficient plum cake, saffron cake, cherry cake, iced fairy cakes, eclairs, gingerbread, meringues, syllabub, almond fingers, rock cakes, chocolate cakes, parkin, cream horns, Devonshire splits, Cornish pasty, jam sandwiches, lemon-curd sandwiches, lettuce toast, cinnamon toast and honey toast to feed twenty or more ... when Marmaduke Scarlet is cook there is always enough.'

The filling for the pasties was so simple: beef, carrots, onion and potatoes.

All cubed up and tossed with plenty of salt and pepper.

The pastry was a cross between a shortcrust pastry and a bread dough. I filled the pastry rounds with plenty of filling before ....

... sealing and crimping.

The pasties were chilled before baking until golden brown. They were delicious with their simple flavours. A definite must-make again recipe!

Christmas: Mince Pies - Inspired by "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" by Kate Atkinson: By Boxing Day we have settled into a kind of routine based loosely on television, sleep and mince pies.