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!

Caramel, Macadamia & Coconut Slice

You can see the burntish bits!

I made this very-bad-for-you slice for morning tea at work this week. It’s from the April 2013 issue of Super Food Ideas.

Speaking of magazines, Australian Good Taste, the Woolworths-affiliated food magazine, is ceasing publication shortly – they announced this on Facebook but with no actual reason, so I’m not sure if it’s a financial-based decision or what. It is a great magazine, that I have been buying each month for about 10 years – but I don’t think it’s the “best” – too many of what I call “human interest” stories. I just like my food magazines to have lots of recipes, and I don’t mind advertising at all, as long as the ads also feature a recipe using their product. Gadget reviews are okay by me too, but I can’t stand “meal planners”, letters to the editor, stories about farmers growing their produce, and monthly shopping lists etc. No one ever makes every single meal or recipe in a month, from one magazine – apart from not liking them all (or their kids not eating them all), if they’re that stumped for ideas of what to cook and need it spelled out for every day of the month, they are probably not the type who would buy a food mag in the first place. Just my 2 cents worth anyway…..

So, back to the slice…..once I’ve got it in my head to make a specific recipe NOW, I do not like to be thwarted – but I could not find caramel bits, nor are Scalliwag biscuits anywhere to be seen around here. For those of you not in the know, Scalliwags are the politically correct version of what we all grew up with as Golliwog biscuits! Despite the name change, they are not easy to find, not here in Perth anyway. They are fairly plain biscuits, a bit like Teddy Bears, so I figured I could use any plain biscuit and settled on Malt-o-Milk. For the caramel bits I used choc bits.

The slice was very easy to make, but I overcooked it a tad as my overly-hot oven has a mind of its own sometimes, and the edges came out quite browned. When I took the slice out of the fridge the next morning, to cut up, it was SO heavy – felt like a brick! I thought, uh-oh, this is going to be as hard a rock and break people’s teeth! I even cut off the harder brown edge bits and threw them away, worrying about it. In fact it was great and received lots of praise (although I think my fellow co-workers will eat anything sweet and are quite often just being polite, to make sure I keep making stuff haha).

Caramel, Macadamia & Coconut Slice

250 gm pkt chocolate Scalliwag biscuits (OR whatever plain sweet biscuits you like)

125 gms butter, melted

395 gm can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups desiccated coconut

100 gms macadamia halves

250 gm pkt caramel bits (OR use choc bits)

Line a 20cm x 30cm lamington/slice pan.

In a food processor, process biscuits until they are fine crumbs. Add melted butter and mix well. Press mixture into base of pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 160C (140C fan forced).

Combine condensed milk, coconut, macadamias and caramel bits in a large bowl. Spoon over prepared base and spread evenly with the back of a spoon, pressing down to level slightly.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until top is golden and just firm. Cool in pan. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until set.

Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 24 pieces.

Happy Fooding!

Zucchini Slice

I know there are a LOT of versions of this yummy quiche dish. It’s such a great standby recipe to whip up when zucchinis are plentiful – lovely cold or hot, cut into squares as an appetizer or in larger serves as a main course. I’ve made versions with carrot or pumpkin in as well, coriander instead of parsley, and I’ved used polenta instead of flour, for a gluten-free version.

This is my “basic” recipe, which comes from my aunt and is the one I’ve been making since Zucchini Slice became trendy about 20 years ago (or longer – don’t know where all those years went).

Zucchini Slice

2 cups grated zucchini

3 spring onions, finely chopped

1 cup grated tasty cheese

1 cup SR flour

1/3 cup olive oil

4 eggs

cracked pepper, to taste

3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Spoon into a 20 x 30cm dish lined with baking paper, and level the top. Bake in 200C (190C for fan forced) for 20-25 minutes, until a light golden colour on top and just firm to touch. Cool in the tin and cut into squares.

Makes 24 appetizer-sized squares.

Happy Fooding!

A Sweet Old Favourite – It’s a Date!

Date slice, that is…..when I was in Melbourne recently, my mum made a delicious old family favourite that she used to make in the 70s. I don’t remember having it before so it was like discovering something new. Really yummy!

DATE AND WALNUT SLICE

1 cup SR flour

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup coconut

½ cup chopped dates

1 egg OR 2 tbsp milk + 1 tsp baking powder

120 grams butter

½ cup sugar

Mix flour, coconut, sugar, dates, walnuts with melted butter, then add beaten egg.  Spread on greased (or baking papered) scone tray with fork and cook 15-20 minutes in moderate oven (180C).

When cold, ice as desired – in this case lemon icing and a sprinkling of extra coconut.

Cut into slices.

Makes 24 pieces.

The photo above is my mum’s production – when I made it last week to take to work, I needed to alter it to make it suitable for a couple of people who can’t eat eggs. I substituted milk & baking powder, and it worked just fine, so that’s handy to know.

Egg-free version

Happy 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!

Choc Cherry Slice…..Again….and Again….

I was so happy with the choc cherry raisin slice I made the other day, that I have made it another two times since – 3 times in 3 weeks! I think this easy no-bake treat will be a firm, no-fail favourite for a long time to come. A great thing to have the ingredients always on stand-by for, as you can make it and cut up an hour or so later – it doesn’t take a long time to set, so you can easily make it at the last minute.

Yum!

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!

Peppermint Slice

Well it’s back to reality and work, here – am back in Perth (40C every day, loving it!) and Christmas is all over for another year. I got some great food-related presents for Christmas – you can never have too many gadgets!

5 of us girls went to see Les Miserables on Boxing Day. Not a dry eye in the house! Amazing movie and a great way to finish off the festive season. I have a friend coming over from the UK in a couple of weeks, and it hasn’t opened there yet, so I’ll be forced to go again to accompany her to see it….not hard!

I have had another go at the Caramello Slice, because I wasn’t happy with the stickiness. After reading reviews and different variations, I did it like this:

Peppermint Slice

200 gms condensed milk (skim)

220 gm block Cadbury Dairy Milk Peppermint Chocolate

1 tbsp butter

250 gm pkt Granita biscuits

desiccated coconut

In a microwaveable bowl, place the condensed milk, chocolate (broken up) and butter. Cook on Medium until melted (for me this was 2 x 20 second bursts), stir until smooth then add the biscuits, crushed quite finely.

Mix until well blended then place in your usual slice container/tin. Sprinkle coconut over the top and refrigerate for several hours/overnight to set firmly. Cut into squares.

Makes 24 pieces.

I am still using a very old laptop while my Macbook Pro is at the doctor’s, and it is quite frustrating – I cannot find the photos of this peppermint slice anywhere!

Happy Fooding!

Caramello Slice

Gooey! That’s the only word to describe this rich, caramel slice. As with the M&M slice, this is from the 4 Ingredients: Kids cookbook, and is no-bake and super simple.

I made this to take to work, as at home there is no one to eat up all the sweet stuff. It was VERY sticky underneath, so I think next time I’ll sprinkle some extra coconut on to the base of the slice container, to make it not stick to the bottom. It was, however, very popular and was all eaten by the end of the day, despite the sticky fingers!

I did some searching and found that there are a few variations of this slice around, including a variation using peppermint chocolate instead of caramel. I also found slightly different quantities, which might make a difference to the stickiness.

I think my colleagues are going to have to be guinea pigs again next week – I don’t think they’ll complain…..

Caramello Slice

250 gm block Caramello chocolate

1/2 cup butter

200 gms Marie biscuits, coarsely broken

1/2 x 400 gm tin sweetened condensed milk

Melt chocolate and butter in microwave; stir in condensed milk and biscuits.

Press into slice container/tin (I use a Tupperware Slice N Stor) and sprinkle with coconut. Place in fridge to set.

Cut into 24 pieces.

Happy 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!