Tag: Cookies

Food

Toffee Apple Cookies

by Nia6 Comments on Toffee Apple Cookies
Finally! Happy “Fall” Y’all
Toffee Apple Cookies

It’s officially the first day of Autumn, and officially – in my book anyway – the start of the best season of the year.  One of the best bits about coming home from holiday (aside from being reunited with my favourite fur-ball, obviously) was the thought of coming home to chunky knits, boots (ones that are perfect for stomping on perfectly crunchy leaves), cold air and lots and lots of baking involving apples.  I say that not because apple pies and crumbles and muffins are quintessentially autumnal (blimey, that’s a big phrase for a Monday afternoon…), but because I’ve actually got a tree full of the things for the very first time.

Back when Sunny and I moved into our house here in Cardiff three years ago, we bought a pair of apple trees (well, they were more like a couple of twigs really) for a couple of quid each.  And this year – almost as if by magic (because God knows what we did differently) – one of them is full of apples!  I’m going to be baking this Apple Pie Cake ten times over, I think! As well as these Toffee Apple Cookies.  I tried something similar whilst I was out in the States on holiday (controversial opinion, but America does “Fall” Baking so much better than we do) and had to come up with my own version, and here it is: a lovely soft cookie full of spiced apple pie filling and toffee chunks, and drizzled with a salted caramel sauce.  Once baked, warm them up in the microwave for thirty seconds for oozing toffee that won’t play havoc with your fillings! 😉 Just make sure you use a type of apple that doesn’t go too soggy and holds its shape when boiled – like pink lady or braeburn!

Toffee Apple Cookies
Toffee Apple Cookies
Toffee Apple Cookies
Ingredients
  • 150g of apples, diced into small pieces
  • 250ml water
  • 100g light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 50g of toffee, cut into small pieces
  • 125g butter
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 100g dark muscovado sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 250g plain flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • salted caramel salt to serve (buy it in store, or try this recipe)
  • sea salt to serve
Toffee Apple Cookies
Method
  1. First things first, whip up the apple pie filling. Chop up your apples into small, cookie-sized chunks and pop them into a saucepan. Boil up in the water, along with the light brown sugar and cinnamon for about 20 minutes. The apples will be ready once they’ve softened, but still have a little bite to them.
  2. Set the oven to 180°C. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, cinnamon, caster sugar and dark muscovado sugar. Stir in the egg, then mix in the apple pie mix and toffee pieces. Stir in the flour to make a stiff dough, then spoon small blobs onto a lined baking tray – making sure they’ve got plenty of room to spread.
  3. Bake the cookies for twenty minutes, then transfer them onto a wire rack and leave to cool.
  4. To serve, warm them up in the microwave for thirty seconds and serve drizzled with caramel sauce and sprinkled with sea salt. Yum! 🙂

Have a lovely week! 🙂

Food

Lavender Cream Cookies

by Nia6 Comments on Lavender Cream Cookies

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Whenever I see lavender flavoured things I get Kimmy Schmidt in my head protesting that “Lavender isn’t a flavour, it’s a smell!!!”  And that’s true, you’re more likely to find lavender in my face cream than in my kitchen.  But you know what?  I kind of like it.  It’s not a strong taste – it’s pretty subtle – but it’s there, and pairs really well with vanilla and lemon.  A few weeks ago I made a honey cake for my Dad’s birthday and finished it off with a layer of lavender icing, which, I’ve gotta admit, was probably the best bit (icing’s always the best bit 🙂 ).  Anyway, I had some leftover, so I thought I’d sandwich it between two vanilla, oatmeal cookies.

Lavender Creams

Ingredients

For the cookies:

  • 100g Butter
  • 100g Dark Brown Sugar
  • 50g Caster Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 100g Porridge Oats
  • 200g Plain Flour

For the cream:

  • 300g Icing Sugar
  • 150g Salted Butter
  • Dash of Vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp Lavender Flavouring (Make sure you buy edible lavender flavouring, you can’t just squirt in some lavender oil!)
  • A couple of drops of purple food colouring.
  1. Preheat your oven to 180 and line a clean baking tray.
  2. Cream together your butter, brown sugar and caster sugar until it’s nice and creamy, then beat in the eggs – adding them one at a time.
  3. Throw in all the dry ingredients and stir together until well combined.  Spoon the mixture in blobs onto the baking tray (try and make sure you’ve got an even number) and bake for about 10 minutes until the edges turn golden brown.  Leave to cool.
  4. While the cookies are cooking, make up your lavender filling by creaming together your icing sugar, butter and flavourings.
  5. Once the cookies are out of the oven, pair them up and then sandwich together with the lavender cream in the middle. 🙂

Have a lovely week everyone! X

Favourite Posts, Food

10 DIY Foodie Gifts for Valentines Day

by Nia5 Comments on 10 DIY Foodie Gifts for Valentines Day

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“If music be the food of love, play on”, so famously wrote a certain Mr Shakespeare, and while music definitely has the power to shuffle my mood, food is capable of doing just as good a job.  So what better way of treating your favourite someone this Valentines Day (or Galentines Day!) than to cook up something sweet (or spicy!) for them?  So, if you’re like me and feel that food is the uh, food of love… then scroll on 😉

1. Chilli and Red Pepper Jam

Simple to make, these jars of spicy jam make great DIY presents all year round and are perfect with cheese, or even drizzled on sausages, burgers and even homemade chips.

2. Blood Orange Glazed Doughnuts

Blood Oranges are in season right now, and are perfect for making a very Valentines appropriate pink glaze for these mini ring doughnuts.

3. Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

You can’t go wrong with a fresh batch of cookies, especially when they’re crisp on the edge and gooey in the middle like these ones.  They’re flavoured with mint and chocolate, but the recipe is easily adapted for any filling you fancy!

4. Orange and Almond Loaf Cake

A perfect bring-along treat for Galentines Day, this simple almond loaf cake has a bright pink, blood orange glaze.

5. Marshmallow Teacake Cupcakes

Remember those chocolate and marshmallow tea cakes from when you were a kid?  Well here they are in cupcake form – only with the boring biscuit bit ditched in favour of cake!  What’s not to like?


6. Chocolate Orange Flavoured Welsh Cakes

If you’ve got any chocolate oranges hanging about in your cupboard (…is that even possible?), then why not chop up a few segments and put them in these heart shaped Welsh Cakes?

7. Praline and Chocolate Dipped Madeleines

Madeleines are normally flavoured with lemon, but these are a little bit fancier dipped in chocolate and hazelnut praline.  Easier than they look, they’re a great little treat to box up and gift to your favourite people.


8. Bakewell Tarts

Everyone loves a good tart (…steady now…) and Bakewell Tarts are one of my absolute faves.  This recipe makes two individual tarts that would be perfect as a dessert if you’re planning on cooking a special dinner on Valentines Day.

9. Brigadeiros (Easy Chocolate Truffles)

These are dangerously easy to make, and easily adapted too!  Just combine condensed milk, chocolate and butter in a pan and heat to combine.  Leave to cool then roll into these bite-sized balls.

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10. Lemon and Gin Blondies

I’m not sure whether it’s true that Blondes have more fun, but these bite sized lemon and gin-flavoured Blondies are a zesty alternative to Brownies. 🙂

Happy Valentines Day everyone! ♡

Food

Mint-Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Nia7 Comments on Mint-Chocolate Chip Cookies

A while back my brother decided to bake cookies and everyone was a bit… surprised.  He’s not a baker, or so we thought until he proffered a tray of some gloriously gooey and golden chocolate chip cookies between his oven gloves.  I’ll hold my hands up, I got owned.  They were better than any cookies I’ve tried to bake, so I begged him for the recipe and here they are; the minty version. 🙂

Mint-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • 125g softened butter
  • 100g dark muscovado sugar
  • 125g caster sugar
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 200g roughly chopped chocolate mint thins (After Eights, Mint Creams… Yum yum yum.)
  • sea salt
  1. Preheat the oven to 180.
  2. Cream the butter and sugars, then stir in the egg.
  3. Stir in the flour, then the chocolate chips until you get a wet, sticky dough.
  4. Spoon blobs onto a lined baking tray, then bake for 8 minutes (if you want them as chewy and gooey as possible).
  5. Sprinkle with sea salt.
  6. Leave to cool before you transfer the cookies into a tin… if you can resist them, that is!

Food

Donut Sugar Cookies

by NiaLeave a Comment on Donut Sugar Cookies

Okay, they’re supposed to look like donut-shaped sugar cookies, but looking back I think you’d more accurately call them homemade party rings.  Anyway, whatever you want to call them they’re far easier to whip up than you’d think, and definitely look cute on a plate with a cup of tea 🙂

I used this old tried and tested recipe to make the dough, but halved the ingredients as otherwise it makes a massive batch.  I cut out rounds using an overturned glass (no need for fancy cutters!) and then baked them in the oven for no more than 15 minutes (watch out, they burn really easily!).  I created the donut shape by using the spout end of a icing bag, then rolled out some white icing and used a smaller glass and the spout to cut the icing shape.  Brushing a little water over the bare cookies helps the icing to stick, and then I decorated with hundreds and thousands.  Easy!