Hot Chocolate on a stick

Winter means many things and hot chocolate is one of them. I love drinking hot chocolate but always feel that they are not chocolatey enough. However, when I was in Bruges earlier this year, I had proper hot chocolate - melted chocolate in milk and it was delicious! I bought loads of these hot chocolate on a stick from my visit to Bruges.  I don't know why but I never thought about making my own until I saw this on Holly Bell's blog Recipes from a Normal mum which I bookmarked immediately.  It's such a simple idea and makes a great Christmas gift.  There's definitely no going back. The best thing is you can add whatever flavour variations you want - mint, coffee, cinnamon, orange.... 

I made these with plain dark or milk chocolate and topped with either crushed candy canes or mini marshmallows. They were for work colleagues and friends so I kept the flavours simple. I'm sure I'll be making some 'custom made' ones for myself!

These are not strictly baked but Becky said it's ok so I'm entering them to the English Mum's Big Christmas Bakeoff

I'm also entering them to Bookmarked Recipes hosted by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes

And to Let's Cook for Christmas Red and Green hosted by simply food

And also to the holiday goodies link up at Diary of a Semi-Health Nut hosted by Amanda 

* UPDATE: My post has been featured over at Gourmet Hot Chocolate - if you are a fan of hot chocolate, do head on over there for delicious recipes and reviews of hot chocolate products *

 This is all you need - mini muffin cases, lollipop sticks, chocolate, candy canes and mini marshmallows. 

Perfect chance to use my new chocolate melting pot . Tip: if you are making a lot as I ended up doing, its easier to melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and pour into the moulds. 200g of chocolate made approximately 10 sticks using my mini muffin moulds. In hindsight, these are very small portions but you can always stir 2 sticks into the mug! They do look so cute though :) 

 

 Pour the melted chocolate into the cases and leave to set. The best thing about the current weather is it only takes a few minutes by the window to set. When it's almost set, place a lollipop stick in the centre and top with crushed candy canes (or mini marhsmallows)  Allow to set completely before removing from the case. 

 I love the look of them! 

 Here's a close up 

 I packed them in cellophane bags, tied a festive ribbon around and added a tag which says " Stir into a mug of warm milk until completely dissolved. Cream optional. Enjoy!"

 Mass production for my friend's Christmas party :) 

For more detailed instructions and other presentation ideas, check out Recipes from a Normal Mum by Holly Bell, Great British Bake Off finalist. 

Cranberry, flame raisin and macadamia oat cookie

Christmas baking is slightly limited this year due to other commitments but I really just can't help myself. I went food shopping the other day and came across this lovely bag of goodies ....

... I don't know about you but the first thought that crossed my mind was cookies!  So after the success of my chocolate, orange and cranberry cookies, I decided to create another cookie recipe.  I felt an oat cookie would work best and as it's Christmas, I added in some cinnamon. The result - an oaty, cinnamonny and crunchy cookie with juicy cranberries and raisins.  The flavours work really well together here.  You can also add in chopped white chocolate or milk chocolate if you like to make it even more indulgent. 

I'm entering this to Tea Time Treats which is hosted by Kate from What Kate Baked who is our lovely hostess for this month and Karen from Lavender and Lovage. 

and also to the English Mum's Big Christmas Bakeoff 

 love the bright colours 

 ready to go in the oven 

 delicious!

An original recipe by bakingaddict

Makes approximately 50 cookies 

220g butter

150g soft light brown sugar

75g caster sugar

2 eggs

150g self raising flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon powder

270g rolled oats

1 pack of cranberry, flame raisins and macadamia mix (300g) 

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
• Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. 
• Add in the eggs and mix well. 
• In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, cinnamon and oats together. 
• Add to the butter mixture and mix well.
• Finally stir in the cranberry, flame raisins and macadamia mix by hand. 
• Use a small ice cream scoop to scoop out small rounded spoonfuls of dough spaced apart. 
• Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
• Allow to cool on the sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Store in an airtight container. 

Cinnamon sugar palmiers

I've mentioned before that I love palmiers but the last time I tried to make it at home, it wasn't perfect. So after a little research I decided to give it another go. My main inspiration comes from one of my favourite blogs Joy the Baker. I then saw a cinnamon version on 365 days of baking based on Joy's recipe. The pictures on both blogs looked amazing and I had high hopes for my second attempt. I'm very pleased to report that I was not disappointed in the least. The result was exactly what I was looking for. Crisp, buttery, sugary and cinnamonny (is that even a word?!) Perfect for Christmas so I am entering this to the English Mum's Big Christmas Bakeoff 

This is really easy to make and all you need are 3 ingredients - puff pastry, sugar and cinnamon. To make the cinnamon sugar, mix 1 cup of sugar with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. 

 spread lots of cinnamon sugar on a worksurface

 Place puff pastry on top and sprinkle more cinnamon sugar on top. Roll out the edges of the puff pastry with a rolling pin 

 fold one end to the middle and repeat on the other end so you end up with.... 

...something like this

 scroll like 

 place in the fridge for about 30 minutes then slice and place on baking tray. Bake for about 20 minutes and... 

..voila!