Tag: Biscuits
Salted Caramel Cookie Bars

Salted Caramel Cookie Bars

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During my time in Canada this summer I was surprised to find myself being more sociable than I’d ever been in my 19 years living in the UK. As my sister used to live out there she had loads of people to catch up with, and as all of them were so lovely and hospitable we were invited to more BBQs and picnics than I can count! It was so amazing to be in a culture where everyone is so welcoming. Maybe it’s because I’m English, or maybe it’s because I’m more specifically a Southerner, but until then I’d never experienced so many strangers being so hospitable and kind to me. A few plates of ribs, wings and chicken breasts and it felt like you were slipping into a community you were already apart of, sitting around with friends you’d known for years.

On the evening’s we were lucky enough to have a BBQ to go to we’d always take some food to add to the table, and being a keen baker it was often a dessert that I contributed. I made these particular bad boys to take to a BBQ at my sister’s old work friends Bonnie and Wanda’s house. They were super quick to make, really easy to transport and perfect for sharing as we could cut them up into as many pieces as we needed. For these I made my own caramel because I happened to have to ingredients for it lying around, but you could use a pre-made caramel to make these super easy!

Recipe

Makes 16 squares

Time: 20 minutes, plus cooking time

Ingredients

For the caramel

  • 125g Light brown sugar
  • 350ml Double cream
  • 50g Unsalted butter

For the cookie dough

  • 300g Plain flour
  • A pinch of salt
  • ½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
  • 180g Unsalted butter, melted
  • 130g Light brown sugar
  • 100g Granulated sugar
  • 1 Large egg
  • 1 Large egg yolk
  • 2 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 100g Milk chocolate, chopped roughly
  • 100g Dark chocolate, chopped roughly

Method

  1. Begin by making the caramel. Put the butter, sugar and half the cream into a pan and bring to the boil whilst stirring. Leave to boil for 5 minutes, until starting to thicken and turning golden, and then take off the heat. Stir in the rest of the cream and set aside to cool until needed later.
  2. Preheat oven to 170˚C and then line an 19x19cm square tin with baking paper.
  3. In a bowl whisk together flour, salt and bicarb.
  4. In another bowl mix together the melted butter and the sugars. Then add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat until smooth.
  5. Slowly add dry ingredients, mixing as you do, and then the chopped chocolate. Mix together until combined.
  6. Divide the dough into two and put half the cookie dough in the lined tin. Smooth over with a spatula to make an even layer.
  7. Pour the cooled caramel over the cookie layer. Then spread the rest of the cookie dough over the top. (Spooning it on first can help here as the caramel will make it hard to spread out. If you can’t cover all the caramel don’t worry as they dough will spread itself out during baking).
  8. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown and the edges have started to crisp. Leave to cool and then cut into 16 bars.

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Peach Crumble Slices

Peach Crumble Slices

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Is it too ott to say that my favourite thing about autumn are the crumbles? I mean yeah the leaves and the wooly jumpers are great, but there’s something so intrinsically comforting and autumnal about a crumble. It’s like an edible hug that makes use of all the beautifully plump fruit getting ripe at this time of year, and at the same time warms you up at the end of a long day when you went outside dressed in shorts and a strapy top because it was sunny and you forgot that as of 1st September the world is cold. I normally make apple crumbles because I’m English and apples are everywhere at this time of year, however this year the peaches have been so plump and delicious that I’ve turned to making peach crumbles.

The one thing, in my opinion, that crumbles lack is the ability to be eaten on the move. They’re amazing but they can’t really be sliced up, popped into a pot and eaten with your packed lunch. That’s why these little crumble bars are a bit of a hallelujah moment! They’re easy to make, just as tasty as a regular crumble, and they can be cut into squares and taken anywhere. You can even spread some custard over the base before topping with the peaches and the crumble if you want the full shebang in a bar to go.

Recipes

Makes 9-12 Squares

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the crumble

  • 115g Unsalted butter
  • 225g Plain flour
  • 90g Rolled oats
  • 100g Caster sugar
  • 50g Light brown sugar
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 Egg

For the filling

  • 2 Large peaches
  • 65g Caster sugar
  • 8g Cornflour
  • ¼ tsp Ground cinnamon

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C and then line a 20x20cm tin with butter and baking paper.
  2. Put the butter into a small pan and melt gently, then set to one side to cool.
  3. Put the flour, oats, sugars and salt into a bowl and mix together.
  4. Pour the butter into the dry ingredients, followed by the egg, and mix everything together until a crumbly dough forms.
  5. Put 2/3 of the dough into the lined tin and then press it down to make an even layer covering the bottom of the tin. Bake this layer in the oven for 10 minutes, until starting to harden.
  6. Meanwhile de-stone and peel the peaches. Then cut the peaches into thin slices.
  7. Put the peach slices, sugar, cornflour and cinnamon into a large bowl and mix together until fully combined.
  8. When the base has cooked, spread the peach mix out all over the base so that they form a layer. Then take the rest of the crumble mix and crumble it over the peaches so it covers as much as possible.
  9. Bake the slices in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the peaches are soft.
  10. Leave the traybake to cool a little before slicing it into 9 squares or 12 rectangles.

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Chocolate Ginger Biscuit Shards

Chocolate Ginger Biscuit Shards

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The final addition to our afternoon tea stack are these little chocolate ginger biscuit shards. These are so easy and fun to make so they’re perfect for baking with small children, and you can easily leave out the ginger if it’s not your cup of tea. As with most biscuits you can also get really creative with the decoration! I’ve just gone from a drizzle of chocolate and some crystallised ginger, but these are also a great biscuit base for icing and so on.

Recipe

Makes 20 biscuits

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 200g Unsalted butter
  • 330g Plain flour
  • 50g Cocoa powder
  • 3 tsp Ground ginger
  • 200g Caster sugar
  • 1 Medium egg
  • 50g Dark chocolate
  • 50g White chocolate
  • A little Seasalt
  • Crystallised ginger to decorate

Method

  1. Put the butter and flour into a bowl and cut the butter up into small pieces using a round bladed knife. When you can’t cut the butter up any further go in with your finger and rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
  2. Stir the cocoa powder, ginger and sugar into the mixture. Then add the egg and mix together until a dough forms. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and then chill it for at least 20-30 minutes.
  3. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
  4. Roll the dough out between two sheets of clingfilm and then use a knife to cut the dough into triangles (or any other shapes you want). Transfer the biscuits to your lined baking trays and then bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until starting to firm (the biscuits will firm up a lot more once cooled down).
  5. Leave the biscuits to cool for a few minutes and then move them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  6. Now prep the decoration. Put the dark and white chocolate into separate bowls over pans of simmering water and leave to melt.
  7. Cover a surface in baking paper and arrange the biscuits over it. Then drizzle the biscuits with the two chocolates (you can either use a pipping bag or a teaspoon). Scatter the biscuits with the crystallised ginger and a little seasalt.
  8. Leave the chocolate to set and then serve! These will keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies  

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies  

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Something that I really love about making biscuits, and in particular cookies, is how quick and simple it is to make them. The three basic ingredients in any biscuit is flour, butter and sugar, and anyone who bakes regularly will probably have these in their home at all times, so these are something that can be rustled up at a moments notice without the need for a shop first. I also love how easy it is to make them. Whop everything in a bowl, mix it together, portion it out and bake them. Then, no decoration, filling, or embellishment required, they can be devoured in minutes, warm pools of chocolate oozing out of them!

Peanut and chocolate is one of the ultimate flavour marriages out there, and in these it works sublimely. The little saltiness from the nuts compliments and brings out the richness of the chocolate, and the nutty flavour makes the basic cookie dough a little more interesting than your classic plain stuff. Recently there’s been a food craze of different nut butters  (like peanut butter but made out of cashews or almonds etc) so you could also try experimenting with other nut-choco combos. Especially if you’re not a fan of peanuts, there might be another nutty substitute that you’d prefer. These will also freeze really well, so if you want you can make the dough, pop it into a freezer-proof container and leave it in the freezer for months until you need it (and that way a fresh, warm cookie is always only minutes away!)

Recipe

Makes 10

Time: 15 minutes, plus cooking time

Ingredients

  • 110g Unsalted butter
  • 75g Caster sugar
  • 100g Light brown sugar
  • 1 Large egg
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 130g Peanut butter
  • 200g Plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/2 tsp Baking powder
  • 75g Milk chocolate

Method

  1. Begin by putting the butter and sugars into a bowl and beating them with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy.
  2. Add the eggs to the mixture and stir until combined. Then add the vanilla and the peanut butter and beat again until incorporated.
  3. Add the flour, bicarb and baking powder to the mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms.
  4. Chop the chocolate into rough chunks and then stir it into the dough.
  5. Split the dough into 16 pieces and then roll each portion into a ball. Place the balls on two trays lined with baking paper. Take a fork and press down on each of the balls in a criss-cross pattern to slightly flatten and decorate them. Chill the biscuits in the freezer for 15 minutes.
  6. Preheat to 180˚C. When ready bake the biscuits for 10-15 minutes until golden and starting to crisp around the edges. Leave to cool slightly and then enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x