Baileys fudge

Fudge... mmm... Baileys... mmm... BAILEYS FUDGE...MMM!!! I haven't had a lot of experience making candy, but I have had a wee bit of experience eating it! I came across this recipe in Marie Claire magazine and couldn't resist!
ENJOY!Baileys Fudge

• 150ml (3/4 cup) Baileys
• 50ml (3 Tablespoons) milk
• 30g (2 Tablespoons) butter
• 350g (1 1/2 cup) sugar
• 300g (1 1/3 cup) white chocolate
• Butter for greasing
  

Grease a cake tin with butter or line with baking paper. Chop white chocolate into small pieces.
Measure out 125ml of Baileys and pour into a saucepan. Add the milk, butter and sugar, and put the pan over a low heat. Stir occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the butter melted.
Turn up the heat to medium and let the mixture gently simmer while stirring constantly. Leave the mixture to bubble slightly for 10 minutes. This is important because it it does not reach 238 F (114C) the fudge may not set.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in chopped-up chocolate and last 25ml of Baileys. Keep stirring until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth consistency.
Transfer to the tin and chill in the fridge for at least two hours, or until it has set completely.
Remove from the fridge, cut into pieces and enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Cookies

This is an oldie, but a goodie! Snickerdoodle cookies were the very first ever thing I have memory of baking. Junior high school home ec. class! Simple, yet tasty... with a fun name!


ENJOY!

SNICKERDOODLE COOKIE

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
3. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake 6 to 8 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets and cool on cooling racks.

Sticky date muffins

I'll admit, until a few years ago, dates made me think of old people... I don't know, something about dried up little pieces of fruit. As a kid, the only time I would see dates were at Christmas in dried fruit baskets that no one wanted to eat. Then a few years ago I was introduced to the wonderfulness that is STICKY DATE PUDDING! Not the pudding I grew up eating (like custard here in this part of the world,) but a soft, sort of dense cake, with a sticky caramel sauce over the top! Mmmm... I sort of played with the idea of creating a muffin version of this, one of my favourite deserts. I wasn't quite sure how this would turn out, but was pleasantly surprised how fast the dozen disappeared! I will definitely be making these again!

ENJOY!

Sticky date muffins

Ingredients:

• 250 grams (2 cups) pitted dates, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 80 grams (1/3 cup) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour, sifted

caramel glaze

• 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/4 cup cream
• 80 grams (1/3 cup) butter
• 1/2 cup icing (powdered) sugar

Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F.) Place 12 large paper muffin liners in muffin tray. In a medium bowl, dissolve baking soda in boiling water then add chopped dates. Let sit until room temperature.

Mix butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and mix well. Stir in cinnamon, vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Fold in butter/sugar mixture and dates.

Pour in to muffin liners and bake for 2o mins of until golden brown on top.

To make caramel glaze, put all ingredients in a small sauce pan and simmer while stirring for 3 to 4 minuets. Drizzle over muffins and let cool.

Blueberry crumb bar

Ok, I have a confession... This was the first time I have ever baked with Blueberries! After tasting these, I can tell you that I will for sure be using them again in the future!

Enjoy!

Ingredients

base and crumble:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup cold butter (2 sticks)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

• Juice of one lemon
• 4 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoon cornstarch (cornflour)

Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan or baking dish.
In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, salt and baking powder. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Press half of dough into baking dish, firmly with hands.
In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Spread blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the top or blueberries.
Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Pear Crumble

Autumn is knocking on our door here in Australia! Mornings and evenings are getting a little chilly. This fueled my need for a warm treat. I bought these cute little ramekins this week and could not wait to do little cobblers, crisps and crumbles in them! At the market, these big beautiful pears caught my eye and I knew that was it! This is the easiest recipe, and even if you can't bake ofrcook, you can do this. And even better yet, it only takes about 20 mins from start to finish!

ENJOY!

Pear crumble

Ingredients

filling:

• 6 large pears (it's ok if they are firmer than you would eat them raw)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup of brown sugar

Crumble topping:

• 2 Tablespoons cold butter
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup oats (optional)

Preheat oven to 200 C (390 F). Peel and core pears, then slice in to small wedges. Melt butter in large pot on stove, then add pears. Put brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla over the top of the pears and cover with out stirring. Reduce heat to medium and leave covered for 2 mins, then stir and recover. Leave on stove for 10-15 mins (until pears are soft and tender) , stirring occasionally to mix caramelized mixture into pears. Divide pears evenly into 6 small ramekins or one 9 inch baking dish.

In a small bowl, combine cold butter, flour, brown sugar and oats. With a pastry cutter of fork, chop at it until crumble mixture is the size of peas. Sprinkle over the top of the pears. Bake for 10 mins or until crumble turns golden brown.

This recipe is sooooo easy... and fast! Top it in with some vanilla ice cream and you're good to go!

Spiced Almond Biscotti

I guess you could say I have a slight "thing" for coffee. I've worked for a major, globally known coffee company for the last 10 years. So in looking for my next baking project, I set out for something to go with my favourite coffee. What better accompaniment is there to go with a steaming cup of joe than a nice crisp piece of biccotti. Biscotti are twice baked, Italian cookies that have warm, rich flavours in them that compliment coffee well. This particular biscotti is spicy, nutty and not too sweet. Perfect for dipping!


ENJOY!

Spiced almond biscotti

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup molasses (or treacle if you are in Aus)
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup almonds, chopped
• 1 cup white chocolate for drizzling

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C) degrees. Beat together butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs. When combined, blend in the molasses. In a large bowl, sift together flour and all. Add butter and sugar mixture to flour mixture along with nuts and mix until combined well. Divide the dough in half and turn onto a lightly greased baking sheet. With greased hands, shape each half into a log approximately 3 or 4 inches wide and 1 inch high. Make sure the logs are at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven. Reduce heat to 300 F (150 C) degrees. Cool Biscotti for 10 minutes then remove them from the pan and place them on a cutting board.Carefully cut each log into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices back on the baking sheet, cut side down.Place the baking sheet back in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.Remove the pan from the oven, turn the biscotti over and bake for an additional 10 minutes on the other side.Remove from oven and let cool.When the cookies are cool, melt white chocolate. When the chocolate is smooth place it in a ziploc sandwich bag and seal the bag shut. Squeeze the chocolate into a lower corner and snip 1/8 - 1/4 inch from the corner of the bag. Squeeze the chocolate out onto the cookies in a zigzag motion for decoration.

Coconut Macaroons

I will never be able to think of coconuts without comical images of my Dad, ever again! Last year when he came to visit us in Australia, we took a side trip up to Carins. The excitement and determination on his face while trying to open this coconut with a rock on the beach was hilarious! He was soooo proud of himself when he finally got it open. We all gnawed on a piece of it while while strolling down the beach that afternoon. I'll always remember that trip and that coconut!

ENJOY!

Coconut macaroons

• 3 cups shredded coconut


• 4 egg whites, room temperature


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 1 cup caster (superfine) sugar


• 2 tsp vanilla essence


• ½ tsp cream of tartar
• 1 /2 cup dark chocolate
  

Macaroons:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C (335°F). Line 3 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Spread the coconut over 2 of the trays and cook in preheated oven, tossing occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until lightly toasted.

2. Use electric beaters or mixer to whisk the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt together in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Add the sugar a spoonful at a time, whisking after each addition. Whisk for a further 2 minutes or until mixture is thick and glossy.

3. Add the vanilla essence and whisk to combine. Add the toasted coconut and use a large spatula or spoon to fold in until just combined.

4. Spoon tablespoonful of mixture onto lined trays, leaving about 2cm between each. Bake in preheated oven, swapping trays halfway through cooking, for 12-15 minutes or until light golden and firm. Set aside for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

5. Fill a pan half way with water and bring to a boil. In a heat proof bowl, set over boiling water and turn off heat. Let stand for 2 mins and stir until smooth. with a spoon, dip in chocolate and drizzle back and forth over macaroons.