Oaty Choco-Nut Cookies

Ingredients:

225g butter

275g brown sugar

100g granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tbsp milk

1tsp vanilla extract
225g plain flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
200g porridge oats
200g chocolate chips
120g chopped, mixed nuts

1) Preheat the oven to 190˚/gas mark 5.

2) Beat butter and both lots of sugar together until creamy

3) Add eggs, vanilla and milk. Beat well.

4) In a separate bowl, combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Sieve into butter mix.

5) Stir in the nuts and choco chips and mix thoroughly.

6) Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto and ungreased tray and cook for 10-15 minutes. You may need to do this in batches.

DIY "Fray Bento's" Pie!

This is the easiest way to make a pie ever! Its probably cheaper and tastier than the real thing! And, with a few subtle changes, such as using 'light' versions of the ingredients, is probably better for your waistline too!

Ingredients:

Cooked, leftover chicken

1 small leek, sliced

A few mushrooms, quartered or thickly sliced

1tsp Butter

1 can of condensed soup (chicken or mushroom) and a tin of water (once emptied)

Ready to roll puff pastry

Salt and pepper

1) Preheat oven to gas mark 6/200ºc
2) Shred the cooked chicken into an ovenproof dish or pie tin, if you have one. 
3) In a saucepan, melt the butter and fry the leeks and mushrooms for a few minutes until soft but not coloured. Tip into the dish with the chicken.
4) Pour the tin of soup into the dish. Fill the can with cold water then add this to the dish. Season and stir well.
5) Roll out the puff pastry until it is roughly the size of your dish. Place it on top of the soup mixture and brush with milk.
6) Cook in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Serve hot with fresh vegetables.

This is another dish up for experimentation. Try using different flavour soups and different meats, such as sausage and tomato - who knows what you can come up with! Post a comment and tell me your combinations!

Mocha Cupcakes

Ingredients:

175g Butter

175g Caster sugar

150g Self-raising flour

25g Cocoa Powder

1tsp Instant coffee mixed with 1tbsp water

3 Small eggs

For the icing:

50g Butter

1tsp Instant coffee

1tbsp Cocoa powder

75g Icing sugar(add more if needed)

1) Preheat the oven to 180º/gas mark 4.
2) Cream the butter and sugar together. Add eggs and coffee then sieve in flour and cocoa powder.
3) Combine all of the ingredients together well.
4) Divide the batter into muffin tins or cupcake cases. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20 mins. Do the skewer or bounce test to check if cakes are cooked, if not, give them a little longer.
5) Allow to cool fully before decorating. 

Now it's time to make the icing!
1) Cream the butter well until it is very pale in colour. 
2) Add the rest of the ingredients to the creamed butter and mix well. I found that I needed to add more icing sugar to thicken up my icing.
3) Spread evenly across the top of each cupcake. Et voila - Coffee Choccy Cupcakes!

Don't be afraid to experiment with different toppings. I melted a couple of blocks of 80% cocoa solids chocolate and drizzled over the cakes to add a bitter taste to counteract the sweet. It helps that my boyfriend is a mocha fanatic, but these went down really well!

Creme Egg Brownies

Ingredients:

180g Bournvile Old Jamaican Chocolate (plain dark chocolate can be used too)

180g Unsalted butter

85g Plain flour

40g Cocoa Powder

3 Medium eggs

275g Caster Sugar

6 Cadbury Creme Eggs

1) Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180ºc.
2) Using a bowl over a pan of boiling water, melt the chocolate and butter together. Set aside when complete.
3) In a separate bowl, whisk eggs with sugar. It should become mousse like and should have doubled in size.
4)When the right consistency is reached, pour into the chocolate-butter mixture and combine.
5) Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the bowl. Fold in.
6) Pour into a greased baking tin, or brownie pan, if you have one. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes.
7) Whilst the brownies are baking, gently cut the creme eggs in half using a sharp knife. Take care. You will not always get a clean cut through the egg.
8) Push the creme egg halves into the half-baked mix. Make sure they are evenly spread out. 
9) Pop the brownies back into the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes. The brownies should be crispy on the outside and lovely and gooey on the inside. 

  

Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing and serving. Enjoy!!!