Not For The Calory Counters Amongst You……

Lots of rich, dark chocolate!

Rich. Decadent. Fattening. Very Fattening. But…..to balance that….CHRISTMAS!

You can be forgiven for many foodie indulgences at this time of year, so I make no apologies for leading you astray with this bewitching balls recipe!

Anything with six, yes SIX, Cherry Ripe bars in it has to be a great thing, right? Damn straight. Chuck them all in the food processor along with cocoa and a packet of Nice biscuits (ouch, more sugar), blend to a pile of powdery goodness then mix through a can of condensed milk. OMG. This is so full of yum-ness that you just have to rush out buy Cherry Ripes right now and make this! I made them for a Christmas party (also made my yummy Teriyaki Chicken Bites, perfect for taking a plate of nibbles to a function at any time of year, and always popular), but really you don’t need an excuse, at this time of year, to spoil yourself with something so sweet and delicious.

The full recipe can be found here……and whilst it can be quite an expensive recipe to make, with all of those chocolate bars, I was lucky enough to get them on special for half price this week, yay.

Apparently Cherry Ripes are now Australia’s oldest chocolate bar, having been around since 1924. I didn’t know that until today, although I knew they were my very favourite 🙂

Happy Christmas Fooding!

4 Ingredient Brownies

Yes, I said 4 ingredients! Actually it was supposed to be 3 ingredients but that just didn’t work for me.

The original idea for this recipe came from another of those facebook-posted easy food ideas. The recipe said you could do this either as a slab or as individual muffins, so I decided to go for muffins.

It looked so great in theory, but my first attempt was a disaster. Even reducing my oven by 20 degrees, knowing how hot it is, I burnt the crap out the muffins! And not just a little burnt on the bottom, but super duper burnt all through the middle, burnt! Plus, the mixture only made 8, which isn’t really enough to take to work for morning tea.

I’m much happier with my second go. I changed the quantities, changed the type of flour from plain to self-raising, added a little milk to make the mixture a little runnier, and made it as a slab to cut up as a brownie slice.

Nutella is the pits to handle, I have to say – very thick and stiff, and a complete bugger to wash off the dishes – sticks like crazy and just doesn’t want to come off. So instead of mixing in a bowl by hand, which is a little too much arm power for my weak wrists to handle, I threw it all into the food processor. Well worth it, apart from the washing up.

This is not low-fat, not dairy-free, not nut-free and not gluten-free.  It does, however have great flavour – not too sweet – and a good texture. It was easy to cut up, too.

Nutella Brownies

400 gm jar Nutella

1 cup SR flour

2 tbsp milk

2 eggs

Mix all ingredients together in food processor. Pour in greased/lined slice tin (approx 20 x 10 cm) and bake at 180C (or 160C if your oven is as hot as mine) for 25-30 minutes until cooked and wrinkling on top.

Cool and cut into pieces to serve.

Makes 24 pieces.

Happy Fooding!

Healthy Little Goodies

These balls are adapted from a recipe in a food magazine from a couple of years ago – I adjusted the quantities to suit what I had in the cupboard and how fussed I could be on the day. These are great for a sweet but reasonably healthy snack – perfect for lunch boxes or after school munchies. Certainly they all disappeared at work!

Apricot Energy Balls

200 gms dried apricots (the soft kind)

120 gms walnuts OR macadamias (or a mixture of both)

2 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp honey

1/4 cup sesame seeds

Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until finely chopped and sticky (add a little extra honey if necessary)

Using clean, damp hands, roll mixture into 3cm balls. Place on a dish lined with baking paper, and refrigerate for half an hour until firm.

Makes 18-20

Mixture can be doubled easily, and if you like you can roll the balls in either extra sesame seeds, coconut or cocoa.

Happy Healthy Snack Fooding!

Happy Hedgehog

I’ve been promising you my mum’s amazing Hedgehog recipe for such a long time……the photo above is of her efforts, not mine, as I can never make it like she can. Everyone in the family makes it, but my mum’s is by far superior, even though we all use the same recipes. I have watched it being made time and time again, but I still just can never get mine the same.

At all family occasions, Mum is requested to make hedgehog because “it’s not the same when I make it”. My nephews and niece also regularly call up and ask “Kaye, can you please make me some hedgehog?” to take to school for end of term party etc.

Mums are awesome, aren’t they……

Hedgehog

1 pkt Marie biscuits

125 gms butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tbsp cocoa

Melt butter over low heat; add sugar and stir until dissolved.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Add cocoa and stir well.

Add beaten eggs, stir well.

Roughly crush biscuits into mixture (with your hands), stir well.  Press into greased log tin (or line with baking paper).

Refrigerate for several hours, turn out and cut into squares.

I hope I’ve got this written out correctly – if not, Kaye will make a comment to put me right I’m sure!

Happy Fooding!

Slice Me Up Baby….

Last week when I made the Soupe Barley, I bought a box of raisins, but had 3/4 of a boxful left over. Now raisins are not something I eat or use much, so I decided to try making the no-bake choc cherry slice on the back of the packet, just to use some of them up.

I fudged it a bit as I used different biscuits and changed the quantities slightly, so I wasn’t sure how it would turn out – but the verdict was fantastic! It was a huge hit at work for morning and disappeared mightily fast!

I made the slice the night before, as the recipe said to leave it to set before spreading with the melted chocolate topping; however I’ve written it below as I will do in future, which is to put the topping on straight away. This is because when I cut the slice up the icing had not properly ‘melded’ with the base, and tended to crack a bit.

Crunchy Choc Raisin Slice

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup walnuts

250 gm pkt Granita biscuits

1/3 cup glacé cherries, cut in half

90 gms butter

370 gms condensed  milk (not quite all of a tin)

300 gms dark cooking chocolate

1 tsp butter, extra

Crush biscuits in a food processor until finely crumbed. Add the walnuts for the last few seconds of processing.

In a microwave-proof bowl, melt the butter, condensed milk and 150 gms of the chocolate, stirring frequently until smooth.

Add the biscuit mixture, raisins and cherries to the chocolate mixture and mix well.

Place in a lined slice tray (28cm x 18cm).

Melt the remaining chocolate and extra butter, in the microwave until smooth, and spread evenly over the top of the slice.

Refrigerate for a few hours, then cut into squares to serve, and stuff your face!

Happy Summer Fooding!

And The Winner Is…..

Despite my lack of decoration, and concern about the lack of sweetness, all of the gingerbread I made last weekend was chomped up and pronounced quite edible. Phew!

I’ve been very busy working a lot this week, plus attending a work Christmas breakfast and library Christmas party last night. I made spinach bites and vegetarian sausage rolls to take to the party, which was a casual bbq and loads of fun. Jane, who hosted, made some fabulous salads, including things like haloumi, roasted vegies, brown rice, and 3 dishes of potato bake that disappeared very rapidly! As a couple of people there could not eat eggs, I replaced the egg with milk, in the spinach bites, and it worked just as well, so that’s good to remember. As usual, everyone was surprised to find that the sausage rolls were vegetarian, as they taste so “meaty”.

I also made a batch of Christmas truffles – very boozy and rich – which I will share with you later.

Thank you to the 14 entries in my cookie cutter giveaway! I drew 2 names out this morning, and the lucky winners are….. Chris, from here in Perth, and Lindy, from Melbourne. I will be in touch with the winners privately to arrange their cookie cutter deliveries in time for Christmas.

I felt a bit post-Christmas-party-seedy this morning lol, but I’m sure I will have recovered by the time I get home from work tonight and be ready for a glass of wine again……

Happy Christmas Fooding!

Christmas Baking & Cookie Cutter Giveaway!

The Cookie Family!

You know it’s Christmas time when you have the smells of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves wafting around the house! I ended up using my own gingerbread recipe, and didn’t decorate them. I was going to, but then I thought meh I can’t be bothered. I find it hard to get motivated to go to that much trouble when there aren’t small children around anymore. When my kids were little I would spend the first weekend in December baking up a storm, but now they don’t live in the same state as me and I only see them a couple of times a year.

One day when there are (hopefully) grandchildren in my life, I will again get really into the Christmas sweet baking, but for this week just a batch of gingerbread to take to work was enough for me.

The cookie cutters worked really well. Don’t forget to “like” this posting (or make a comment) to be in the running for a free set! I will draw the 2 winners’ names out of a hat next Sunday.

My recipe did not turn out as sweet as I thought it should – but it all got eaten at work on Monday so I guess it tasted okay! It makes quite a large batch, but can be halved easily (the photo below shows half a batch). Or use your own favourite recipe, or the one I shared from the cookie cutters the other day.

Gingerbread

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup treacle

2 eggs, beaten

4 cups plain flour, sifted

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp bi-carbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

approx 1 cup plain flour, extra

Melt butter in a saucepan until just melted. Remove from heat and add brown sugar, treacle and eggs. Mix well and cool for a few minutes, then add flour and spices and mix well.

Turn mixture out onto a floured board (it will be quite gooey still), and knead extra flour in by hand, to make a firm dough. Set aside in fridge for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180C (160C for fan forced).

Roll dough out on a floured board (work in more extra flour if you need it) to 4-5mm thickness and cut into shapes with cookie cutters.

Place shapes on a greased or lined tray (baking paper works brilliantly) and bake for about 10 minutes depending on how hot an oven you have.

Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Note: you can make the dough beforehand and keep in fridge, wrapped in plastic, for a few days – soften to roll out then cut and bake as above.

Happy Christmas Fooding!

I threw in a couple of stars & angels as well.

I Have a New Family…To Give Away!

…..a Gingerbread Family, that is!

Thanks to Wiltshire, makers of my adored Poachies, I now have a set of their new-for-Christmas Gingerbread Family cookie cutters. The set includes 5 cutters (there’s even a family dog!) and 6 disposable icing bags.

AND, I’ve been given a couple of sets to give away to you, the lucky Salmon & Avocado readers!!!

Here’s an extract from the media release:

“For an extra sweet Christmas this year, create a whole gingerbread family with the Wiltshire Home for Christmas Gingerbread Family cookie cutters. The fun kit includes five cookie cutters – a gingerbread dad, mum, brother, sister and even a dog!

Baking is a large part of the holiday tradition and decorating the gingerbread family is the perfect way to get the kids involved in festive activities this year. The pack also includes six disposable icing bags – which encourage neater decoration and take the stress out of washing up afterwards.

Once baked and decorated, the Gingerbread family can be given as Christmas gifts, snacks or even treats to be left out for Santa!

The Wiltshire Home for Christmas Gingerbread Family cookie cutters, RRP $8.98 from Big W – or call 1800 65 11 46 for nearest stockist details”

I’m going to have a play with the cutters on the weekend – I’m sure my work colleagues won’t mind an early Christmas morning tea on Monday! I was sent a recipe, but there is also one on the back of the box, plus I have my own gingerbread recipe that I’ve been making for years anyway – so I’m not sure which I’ll use but it should be fun playing around.

So how do you win one of these sets? All you need to do is “like” this post (or the fb page if you are reading this there), or “like” the post/make a comment when I actually make the gingerbread.

Here is the recipe I was sent, in case you just can’t wait and want to start baking up a gingerbread storm right away!

Gingerbread Family Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

• 75 g soft brown sugar, sieved
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 1 tablespoon black treacle
• 1 level teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 level teaspoon ginger
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 95 g butter, cubed (and a small amount to grease the baking trays)
• ½ level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 225 g plain flour

Ingredients for decorating:

• 50 g Smarties (optional)
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup of sifted icing
• Selected food colourings (red and green are great choice for Christmas!)

Instructions:

1. Pre heat the oven to 180 °C and grease two baking trays with butter.
2. Put the sugar, syrup, treacle, 1 tablespoon of water and spices in a large saucepan. Bring them to boiling point, stirring all the time.
3. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the butter and bicarbonate of soda.
4. Stir in the flour gradually until dough is smooth and manageable. Add a little more flour if you think it needs it.
5. Cover dough and leave in a cool place to become firm (approx. 30 minutes).
6. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 3 mm thick.
7. Dip the Gingerbread cookie cutters into flour (to help prevent the dough sticking to the cutters) and press into the dough to produce your gingerbread family.
8. Place gingerbread cookies on trays (with a little space between each) and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the biscuits feel firm when lightly pressed.  Be aware the smaller cookies may cook quicker.
9. Remove from oven, leaving biscuits on trays to cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

Instructions for the decoration:

1. Place the egg white in a clean, dry bowl and beat until soft peaks form.
2. Gradually add icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
3. Divide icing into bowls for each colour you are using. Add a few drops of food colouring and mix, adding more if required for desired depth of colour.
4. Spoon the icing into the icing bags that come with the Wiltshire Gingerbread Family Cookie cutters (use a separate bag for each colour).
5. Snip the tip of the bag and pipe the icing onto the cooled biscuits.
6. A dab of icing under a Smartie will secure the family’s ‘buttons’!

Happy Christmas Fooding!

M&M Bars (Sort Of)

How about this for a slice so easy your kids could make it in a flash! This was in a magazine recently, promoting the 4 Ingredients Kids cookbook, and in fact only has 3 ingredients. It is quite sweet to taste, so for most of us one piece would be enough (I say MOST lol).

I prefer Smarties to M&Ms so I used those instead. You could use peanut M&Ms if you prefer, and I reckon you could easily add some chopped walnuts, almonds, raisins or coconut, or top the slice with melted chocolate. Using Malt-O-Milk biscuits would be good too.

Start with these basic 3 things and then experiment. You don’t have to be a kid to like quick and easy baking!

You can find this recipe and a heap of other 4 ingredient recipes here.

M&M Bars

250 gm pkt plain sweet biscuits (ie Marie, Arrowroot)

400 gm can condensed milk

1 cup M&Ms or Smarties

Preheat oven to 160C. Line a 16 x 26cm baking tray with baking paper.

Blend the biscuits to a fine crumb, in food processor. Add remaining ingredients and combine well.

Scrape the mixture into the baking pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Cool, then cut into bars to serve.

Happy Fooding!

Ginger Greatness

Another recipe not made by me, but….well….tasted by me and I did WATCH the process, does that count? As with the Beef, Cauliflower & Potato Curry, this is also from the Donna Hay Magazine latest issue (Jun/Jul Issue 63). These bikkies were not too sweet, despite the demerara coating, and had that gorgeous ginger flavour so more-ish when enjoying a nice hot cuppa…..

Ready to go into the oven

Gingernut Cookies

150 gms butter, softened

1 tsp pure vanilla essence

1 egg

1 1/4 cups (186 gm) plain flour, sifted

1 tbsp ground ginger, sifted

1/4 tsp bi-carbonate of soda, sifted

1 cup demerara sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 180C (for my extra hot oven, 160C would be sufficient, so use your judgement here). Place the butter, vanilla and sugar in an electric mixter and beat for 8-10 minutes or until combined.

Add the egg and beat for 2-3 minutes or until pale and fluffy.

Add the flour, ginger and bi-carb soda, and beat until a smooth dough forms.

Roll tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls and roll in the demerara sugar.

Place on baking trays lined with baking paper, leaving room to spread.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool on wire racks.

All ready to eat!

Makes 24 (or less if you make them bigger in size!).

Happy Gingery Fooding!