If you fancy a sugar hangover, look no further. This fudge is mouth-suckingly sweet and all the better for it. A firm Kiwi favourite, it is dense and rich, comprised largely of sugar, sweetened condensed milk and golden syrup. I can’t get to the bottom …
I’m finding myself with a lot of tinned goods recently, not unlike many people in our little shaky isles in the wake of our 7.8 earthquake. It pays to be prepared. I’ve heard the comment more than once that tinned pears are the least exciting …
Toddlers and sugar, a match made in heaven? Probably not for their parents, but when it’s your niece’s third birthday party and you said you’d make biscuits, it’s hardly time to skimp on the sugar.
I was inspired to make these little numbers by one of New Zealand’s favourite cookie treats…the Hundreds and Thousands biscuit. The name is pretty self-evident, although perhaps not if you hail from elsewhere in the world outside of New Zealand. ‘Hundreds and Thousands’ is our antipodean name for the rainbow sprinkles on top of these cookies, but other terms include nonpareils and jimmies.
I can’t find must history about this biscuit itself, but there are a few stories behind the origins of Hundreds and Thousands. Some claim they were invented in a New York candy factory in the 1930s, whilst others say that they come from Parisian bakers.
Whatever the origin, it can’t be denied that a liberal sprinkling of on a pink-iced vanilla cookie is an appropriate party treat. I used Donna Hay’s vanilla snaps recipe for the base and the rest was pretty simple.
Vanilla biscuits:
Icing:
Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. And the vanilla extract and egg yolk and beat again.
Finally add the flour and beat until a dough forms. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface until 3mm thick.
Cut rounds or shapes from the dough and place on baking-paper lined trays. Bake until just golden – this took ten minutes in my oven.
Cool on racks. Make the icing by adding the icing sugar to the butter, a drop of colouring and strawberry essence and beating well, using a little hot water to soften as needed. When cold, ice with pink icing and sprinkle liberally with hundreds and thousands.
Steamed pudding is like a sweet, jammy hug in a bowl. I love it. It’s a special favourite in our little country. I was recently introduced to a New Zealand specialty steamed pudding which is the queen of both steamed puddings and now of my heart…burnt …
Oh, my mouth waters at the merest mention of potstickers! Delicious, plump little morsels, steaming hot and so satisfying. Their real name is Jiaozi, particularly popular during Chinese New Year. In my house, we don’t wait for New Year. They are popular year-round. I’ve been …
I was the happy competitor in a baking competition recently. I say ‘happy’ because how could you ever not be happy when you have a genuine excuse to make sweet delicious treats several times over? And the competition was for a great cause too…Good Bitches Baking and their inaugural Mystery Box Challenge.
I was delighted to find coffee and dark chocolate in the mystery box. I would be delighted to happen upon this combination anywhere, granted, but having the opportunity to make two of my favourite things into something even better? Yippee is all I can say.
When in need of something sweet and decadent, shortbread is never too far from my thoughts. I’m a self-confessed butter-lover (yes, I did eat it in slabs straight from the block as a child). Shortbread may as well be a slab of butter that has been baked in an oven.
You might think shortbread couldn’t be any better and perhaps, even, should not be messed with. I’m sympathetic to this. There are few pleasures in life as scrumptious as a some buttery sweet shortbread and a hot drink, or during Christmas, a nip of single malt.
But do give this a go if you enjoy dark chocolate and coffee as much as I do…shortbread provides the perfect backdrop, and this can be whipped up without much bother. The ground coffee beans add a lovely coffee punch, but leave out or reduce if you want a hint of coffee rather than a cup.
For 10-15 pieces, you will need:
Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees celsius.
Beat the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift the flour and cornflour together into the bowl with the butter and icing sugar mix. Stir lightly until just combined.
Add the coffee, chocolate and coffee grounds. Use a spoon to combine into the other ingredients until the mixture starts to form a dough.
Turn out onto a floured baking tray and knead lightly. Spread out into a circle or rectangle (up to you!) – it should be a lovely tan colour, like below. Cut into bars and prick with a fork.
Bake until slightly golden – about twenty minutes.
Savoury cheesy beery sauce on toast, that is my delicious experience with Welsh Rarebit to date. And my, this lovely little cheese-on-toast treat is scrumptious.
I know, I know, vegetables and chocolate. My reflex reaction is ‘blurgh’ too. But bear with me, these brownies are good, contain lots of dark chocolate and are a handy way to use up beetroot if you find yourself needing to do so. Not that I often …
What to do with sage? Make buttery, cheesy sage and cheddar biscuits? Yes please.
I’ve found myself with a reasonably plentiful supply of fresh sage, which is a new thing. I have always managed to grow parsley and been left perplexed at how to use the stuff up, but my previous sage attempts have all turned into sad little heaps.
It seems I’m not the only person to pose this question. The lovely Chocolate and Zucchini blog has very helpfully compiled a list of suggestions. Those of you who have read some of my other cheese-laced ramblings can probably imagine that sage and cheddar biscuits were a stand-out.
Mmm, cheddar. Do you know what I love most about cheddar? It’s those delightful little crunchy bits amongst the dense, savoury cheese. And recently, I was fascinated to learn from this wonderful cheese blog, Fromage Homage, that they have a special name….calcium lactate crystals.
These little biscuits are adapted from this recipe. They provide a lot of bang for their buck, being so very simple to make but looking most classy served up as a home-made nibble to accompany drinks. I need to provide you with a warning: they are incredibly buttery. So much so that you need to have at least two.
Here’s how to make your very own:
Ingredients:
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius and line two baking trays.
Combine the butter, cheese, flour, sage and pepper in a bowl. Mix until it forms a ball (I find it easiest to use my hands for this).
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out to 0.5 cm thickness. Use a cutter to make into rounds, treating it like a cookie doll by rolling up the offcuts and cutting out more biscuits.
Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until crisp and golden. Cool for one minute and then transfer to a baking rack.
Makes 16 biscuits.
What a handsome red cabbage! Or at least, that was my first thought when gifted some of the cabbage overflow from my parents’ bountiful garden. And don’t you agree? And my second thought was coleslaw. Coleslaw, or slaw, has made quite the resurgence of late, I …