Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tags

bake, basic ingredients, ben and jerrys, children, chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, cookie dough ice cream, cookies, dessert, easy, kids baking, rainy day, treat

Ingredients

100g butter
100g caster sugar
150g wholemeal flour
100g plain chocolate, chopped into chunks
1 egg, beaten

Yields approximately 15 cookies.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking parchment.

2. Put butter and sugars into a mixing bowl and beat until evenly blended. Slowly add beaten egg to butter and sugar mix beating well between each addition.

4. Mix in the flour then stir in the chocolate pieces.

5. Spoon large teaspoons of mixture onto the prepared baking trays leaving room for the cookies to spread.

6. Bake in pre-heated oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Watch carefully as these can go from golden to brown very quickly.

7. Leave cookies to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes (but not too long or they stick) then carefully lift onto a cooling rack with a palette knife.

Note: This mixture left raw can be mixed into semi-soft vanilla ice cream to make cookie dough ice cream.

(Photo: songchilde @ Flickr)

Gingerbread Men

Tags

bake, biscuits, childrens baking, christmas, christmas tree decorations, cutters, decorate, decoration, easy, fun, gingerbread, gingerbread men, gingerbread people, ground ginger, halloween, kids baking, men, new year, rainy day, recipe, shapes

Ingredients

110g butter
175g caster sugar
4tbsp golden syrup
350g wholemeal flour
1 egg
1tsp (level) bicarbonate of soda
2tsp ground ginger

Yields approximately 24 men.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. Line 3 baking trays with non-stick baking parchment.

2. Measure the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips so the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

3. Add golden syrup and egg, mix until it forms a dough, then knead lightly at the end.

4. Divide the dough into two and roll out one half on lightly floured surface. When it is approximately half a centimetre (5mm) thick use your cutter to form the shape, then place on baking sheet.

5. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes, when ready take out and place men on cooling rack.

Optional Decorations:

(Photo: Polka-Dot Zebra @ Flickr)

(Photo: dididumm @ Flickr)

Traditional Carrot Cake

Tags

bake, baking, british, cake, carrot cake, cream cheese, cream cheese frosting, cream tea, delicious, english, good fats, oil, rabbits, recipe, tea party, traditional, wholemeal

Ingredients – Serves 10

300g wholemeal flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
200g soft brown sugar
4 eggs
250ml sunflower oil
1 orange zest
1 lemon zest
200g carrots, finely grated (squeeze to release moisture)
150g chopped walnuts

Optional Cream Cheese Frosting:

100g softened unsalted butter
50g icing sugar
250g cream cheese
1 orange zest

Use 20cm round loose bottomed tin.

Method

1. Heat the oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2. Line a 20cm, 10cm deep cake tin. Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together and stir in the sugar. Beat the eggs with the oil and citrus zests.

2. Stir in the carrots and fold everything into the flour mixture. Fold in the walnuts and pineapple if using. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

3. For the frosting, beat the butter and icing sugar together until soft and then beat in the cream cheese. Chill the mixture until it’s thick but spreadable. Spread a thick layer on top of the cake, making sure the side of the icing is flat and continues upwards from the side of the cake. Scatter over the other orange zest.

Optional Decorations:

(Photo: cashandcardigans @ Blogspot)
‘crushed graham crackers (digestive biscuits) & molded orange Starburst shaped into carrots and cut green sour strings to represent the stalk’

(Photo: The Hungry Housewife)
‘I used a 50/50 mix of fondant and gum paste. Rolled the up into carrot shapes and scored them for the realistic look. I also “painted” them with some brown food paste mixed with vodka to give them some shading’ – note: just using fondant icing and food paste/colouring works just as well.