Ripe's Quinoa Fruit Cookies

I know you are looking at these photos and wondering what the hell I made these for. I know they look pretty ugly and unappetising but looks are deceiving as these biscuits are pretty bloody delicious. You can even justify eating them because the are reasonably healthy....except for the butter. Quinoa seems to be the next best thing and rightly so for it's health benefits. I only made half the recipe and got about 20 good sized biscuits out of it so the whole recipe would give a pretty good yield. The uncooked quinoa gives them a lovely crunch and the mix of dried fruits and flavours makes them taste like a zhooshed up Anzac biscuit. Yummy!

Quinoa Fruit Cookies (Ripe Recipes- A Fresh Batch)

1 c quick cook rolled oats
1 c wholemeal flour
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 c quinoa, uncooked
1/2 c desiccated coconut
1 c sultanas (I used raisins as I prefer them)
1/3 dried dates, finely chopped
1/4 c dried apricots, finely chopped
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp hot water
180 gm butter, melted
3 Tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 180 C and line baking trays with baking paper.

In a large bowl combine oats, flour, sugar, spices, quinoa, coconut and dried fruit.

In a medium bowl dissolve the soda in the hot water. Whisk in the melted butter, golden syrup and vanilla. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix well to combine.

Place heaped tablespoons onto trays leaving space for them to spread. Flatten lightly with a fork.

Bake 10-15 mins until golden. Remove from the tray and cool on a rack.

Chocolate Mocha Pots with Cinnamon Shortbread

The little jars are the Gu dessert containers....you get to buy a dessert AND keep the jar!

The other night we went out for dinner to a friends house and I, of course, offered to take dessert. After trawling through multiple recipe books, blogs and cooking magazines and getting totally overwhelmed by the shear volume of recipes (my own fault I know), I finally settled on two. The first was the Hazelnut Pavlova Gateau Cake from Julie Le Clerc's newish book and this was the second one. I forgot to take photos of the the Hazelnut one which is ok as I don't think it was really my sort of thing so I probably wouldn't have posted it on here anyway. It did look lovely though.....

This was the second choice and the recipe comes from Peter Gordon's new cookbook called 'Everyday' While I don't normally go for his style of food this book is lovely and a little less 'fusion' than his other ones. This recipe is very very rich so if your aren't a diehard chocolate lover I wouldn't go for this. The cinnamon shortbread are pretty good too and are baked as a whole then sliced afterwards. I have never made shortbread this way before but I have to say it does give you nice clean cut lines. Next time, though I would cut the cinnamon down to maybe 1 tsp as I found it a bit strong. Oh and by the way all the liquid ingredients are weighed rather than measured because he says it makes it more accurate.

Chocolate Mocha Pots with Cinnamon Shortbread

280 g milk
250 g cream
2 tsp espresso ground coffee (the grains not the made espresso), or instant coffee
100 g caster sugar
4 egg yolks
200 g dark chocolate roughly chopped

Place the milk, cream, coffee and 50g caster sugar into a pot and slowly bring to a simmer stirring frequently. Turn the heat off, cover with a lid and leave to infuse for 10 mins.

Take the lid off and slowly bring back to the boil stirring as you do.

Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining 50g caster sugar. When the milk has come back to heat, whisk about a 1/3 of it into the eggs, then pour it back into the pan with the rest of the cream mixture.

Stir over a moderate heat until the custard coats the back of a spoon (takes 2-4 mins). Take off the heat and whisk in the chocolate until it's incorporated, then pour through a fine sieve a couple of times to remove the coffee grounds (if this is what you have used). Pour into glasses or ramekins and put in the fridge for about 4 hours.

Serve with some lightly whipped cream on top and the shortbread.

Cinnamon Shortbread

250 g unsalted butter at room temperature
160 g caster sugar
250 g flour
130 g cornflour
2 tsp ground cinnamon (I think 1 tsp would be enough)
1 pinch salt

Preheat oven to 170C and line a tray with baking paper.

Cream butter and sugar. Sift together the flour, cornflour, cinnamon and salt and mix gently into the creamed mixture.

Pat out on the tray with your hands or a rolling pin until you get a rectangle about 1 cm thick. Cut with a sharp knife into squares or bars.

Bake 20-25 mins until golden then cut them again where you have already cut. cool on the tray for 5 mins then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

Gingerbread Houses

As yet undecorated

Holls decorating

Harry being creative

Dons getting in on the act too

Reubs 'jacuzzi'

Reubs finished creation

Holls with her finished creation

Harry with his....looking 'surprised'

Harrys

Our joint effort (mine and Dons)

Holls one

Harry's

After a mad mad mad weekend celebrating our baby's 8th birthday and after a sleepover with 10...yes 10!!! children over, I thought I hadn't had enough to do so spent the whole day baking these houses for the kids (and us) to decorate. Lots of butter and flour later and we had 4 houses ready to go. The gingerbread recipe I used was from a new book I was sent for Xmas called 'The Great British Bake Off' and didn't use eggs at all. The gingerbread itself was delicious and it held together nicely although I didn't find it the easiest dough to work with as it was quite hard to lift without breaking the shape. In the end I rolled onto a piece of baking paper roughly the same size as the shape and lifted that onto the tray before cooking This year I tried doing 'stained glass windows' using boiled lollies crushed up and put into the windows before baking. I thought they looked really effective. 

To decorate them I had about 7 bowls full of different lollies for us to use so the kids could really go to town and do whatever they liked. They each had their own little bag of royal icing and they all managed to pipe nicely...although I helped a little with the roof. We all really enjoyed this activity and while it literally took all day to prepare, it was well worth it. Dons and I joined forces to decorate ours and then took it over to the woman across the road who has 3 kids to enjoy as a Xmas treat. There are loads of templates you can use on the internet but even though I thought this one would be small enough, the finished houses were quite big. Although this is a time-consuming project it certainly spells out Xmas and heralds in the festivities and is well worth it to see the enjoyment the kids (and us too) get from decorating the houses.

Gingerbread Houses (I made 4 times this recipe)

350g flour
1 Tbsp grd ginger
1 tsp grd cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice
good pinch salt
1 tsp baking soda
175g unsalted butter
150g brown sugar
4 Tbsp golden syrup

Sift flour, spices and soda into a bowl.

Put the butter, sugar and golden syrup into a large pot and stir over a low heat until it is all completely melted and smooth. Take the pot off the heat and tip in the flour mixture. Mix well with a wooden spoon to make a firm dough.Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and leave until cool enough to handle, then knead gently to make a neat ball. Leave until cold before rolling out.

Bake at 180 C for about 10 mins.

Baking for Nightshift- Lemon Yo yo's

Ok so these don't look very pretty but what they lack in looks they make up for in flavour. Yo yo's are often confused for Melting Moments here in NZ. From my understanding, (and I might be wrong here), is that Yo yo's have custard powder in them and Melting Moments have cornflour. Either which way they are delicious melt-in-the-mouth biscuits joined with a yummy buttercream filling which in this case is lemon flavoured. I made sure to bake them until they were crispy so for the full 15 minutes which, in my opinion, was perfect. I made these quite small as once you get the filling in the middle and join two biscuits together, you get quite enough. There are loads of recipes around for these biscuits and all are pretty much the same sort of thing. However I used this NZ herald recipe.

Lemon Yo yo's

170g butter, softened
1/4 c icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c plain flour
1/4 c custard powder

Lemon filling

50g butter, softened
1/2 c icing sugar
2 Tbs custard powder
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.

Cream the butter, icing sugar and vanilla together until pale. Sift the flour and custard powder together then gently mix into the creamed mixture. 

Roll teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls, flatten slightly then place on the tray. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove to a rack to cool completely.

To make the filling beat all the ingredients together until smooth then use to sandwich the biscuits together. Dust with icing sugar before serving if you want to pretty them up. 

Baking for Nightshift- Orange Blossom Water Butter Cookies

I also made these yummy little biscuits to take last night and to put into Gaga's container. I found the recipe in Allyson Goftons Cookbook "Bake' but ended up zhooshing them up with a drizzle of icing which I think made them look less plain and more pretty. Orange blossom water gives them a delicious Middle eastern vibe and the biscuits themselves had a nice crunch and a texture. I got about 30 biscuits out of this dough.

Orange Blossom Water Butter Cookies

250 g butter, softened
1 c icing sugar
grated rind of 1 orange
2 tsp orange blossom water
2 1/2 c sifted flour

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a couple fo baking trays with baking paper.

Beat the butter and icing sugar together until very light and fluffy. Beat in the orange rind and the orange blossom water.

Gently mix in the flour until you get a nice firmish biscuit dough.

Roll teaspoonfuls into little balls and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Bake about 12 mins then remove to a rack to cool.

Drizzle with an icing made with icing sugar, some orange blossom water and a bit of hot water to get the right consistency.

Baking for Nightshift- Lemon Syrup Yoghurt Cake and Afghans

The bigger Chrysanthemum Cake 

The other week I was working with one of my oldest friends Leigh Leigh and I go back a good 24 years so I have known her for well over half my life. What an amazing thought to have known and be friends with someone for such a long time. So that night I decided to make a couple of different things to take to work to celebrate. First of all was my Lemon Yoghurt Cake which you can find here and these Chocolate Afghans which are here. I also made four individual Rose shaped cakes for Leigh to take home with her. Happy Birthday Aunty Leigh xxx

Baking for a Weekend Off and Crazy Cake

As this is my first full weekend off in 3 weeks, I wanted to do some baking to last and to treat the boys with. I probably went a little overboard and made too much, but when baking is your relaxation, that's not hard to do. I made my most favourite Ginger Crunch which I love to make so it is thin, crunchy and has just enough topping to complement it's gingery deliciousness rather than swamping it. I also made a half a batch of Annabel Langbein's Chocolate Chip Cookies which not only made a huge amount, but a really, really good. 


As an after thought I also whipped up this Crazy Cake which is an old Alison Holst recipe. Harry has had this cake at his friend Meg's birthday and fell in love with it. While it looks like a chocolate cake it is actually spiced with cinnamon and ginger giving it a more complex flavour. It's also egg and dairy free so perfect if you are baking for someone who may have these allergies. Now I have baked so much the neighbours are going to benefit as I re-home some of it.


Crazy Cake (Alison Holst)

1½ c plain flour
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 tsp each cinnamon and powdered ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 c sugar
½ c oil
¾ c water
2 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Heat oven to 190°C , with the rack just below the middle. Line the bottom and two opposite sides of a 20cm square pan with baking paper. Butter and flour the uncovered sides of the pan, or coat with non-stick spray.


Sift the first six ingredients through a sieve over a fairly large bowl. Stir in the sugar with a fork, leaving a depression in the centre. Measure the oil and add it to the dry ingredients, without stirring. Add the vinegar and vanilla to the measured water, then tip them into the flour-oil mixture. Stir with the fork until the mixture is smooth and no dry lumps remain.


Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30 - 40 minutes, until the centre of the cake springs back when pressed, and a toothpick or skewer comes out clean. Leave cake in the pan for five minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool. Dust with sieved icing sugar or ice with chocolate icing. You can also top with whipped cream and fresh or partly thawed raspberries; sliced drained canned peaches; or sliced bananas and raspberry jam.

Custard Kisses

Well I seem to have a huge backlog of things to blog about. Life has been frantically busy and there has been little free time for things like blogging. No doubt other bloggers have their down times too when life just gets in the way so I'll chalk it up to that. While I would love to post the recipe for this, for the life of me I can't remember where I got it from. This is the downside to having far too many cooking magazines, recipe books as well as all the recipes I have bookmarked online and the internet cooking/baking sites I regularly visit. I promise when I do remember where I got this recipe from I will post it, even though I have already wasted far too much time trying to find it! I do know that they had custard powder in both the biscuit and the icing and I have to admit to a real weakness for good old Edmonds custard which was probably what drew me to the recipe in the first place. Edmonds custard takes me right back to my childhood where if we were lucky enough to have pudding, it was often Edmonds custard and tinned fruit. 


Anyway I do remember these biscuits were delicious. No doubt the whereabouts of this recipe will hit me in the middle of the night so when it does I'll make sure to post it because you really will want to make these biscuits.


And an update today 11/5/2012 is that I found the recipe! Of course it was right in front on me but that's usually how it is isn't it?


Custard Kisses (Foodtown Magazine)


250g butter
1/2 c icing sugar
1 1/2 c flour
1/4 c each: custard powder and cornflour
1/2 tsp baking powder


Filling
50g butter, softened
1 1/2c icing sugar
2-3 Tbsp custard powder
1-2 Tbsp hot water


Preheat oven to 160C and line baking trays with baking paper.


Cream butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Sift over the flour, custard powder, cornflour, baking paper and mix until a soft dough forms.


Roll into little balls or else pipe into star shapes (my mixture was too firm to pipe).


Bake about 15 mins or until firm and starting to colour around the edges. Leave on the trays to cool.


Mix together the ingredients for the filling but add the water slowly so it isn't too runny. Sandwich the custard kisses together.

Crackled Chocolate Cookies

When the latest Cuisine magazine arrived in the post last week, I knew these cookies were on my must-make list. Not only did they look easy but the small amount of butter managed to sway me to give them a go....it's this ongoing thing with WW (followed by a big sigh). We are now nearing the end of the school holidays and while Reuben goes back to school tomorrow, Harry gets an extra 2 days off for teacher only days, then followed by ANZAC day on the 25th April. So Harry gets a whole other 1/2 a week off for his holidays. We have been incredibly lucky this break with more summery weather than we have had all summer. It has been stunning and there has been much going on outside for a change....unlike the summer holidays when it seemed to rain constantly! Harry and I whipped these up when we got home from the Takapuna markets where we went for a leisurely shop and stroll this morning. The highlight was probably the Churros which were drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce....so delicious and most definitely NOT WW approved. I held myself back and only had one but could have easily polished the whole lot off. When we got home it was time for a little Sunday afternoon baking for a spot of relaxation and a dog walk to work off the churros. You really should give these a go. They taste like they have real chocolate in them and look pretty cool when they are baked. I prefer the Homebrand cocoa as it is rich and dark....and well priced too.


Crackled Chocolate Cookies (from the Cuisine magazine)


150g flour
60 g cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
200 g caster sugar
60 g butter (cold and diced)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
Icing sugar to coat


Preheat the oven 200 C and line two baking trays with baking paper.


Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mix until it resembles bread crumbs. 


Whisk the egg and vanilla together then stir into the flour mix with a large spoon. Put into the fridge for 30 mins then roll into walnut sized balls and toss in the icing sugar. Place onto the baking trays but don't flatten. Bake about 10-12 mins. Cool for 5 mins on the baking tray then remove to totally cool on a wire rack.