Snickerdoodles

I've been waiting for the letter 'S' in our second round of AlphaBakes as I've been wanting to make Snickerdoodles. I've never tried them or baked them before but I like the sound of it. It's basically a sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar. It's supposed to be cracked and crispy which mine turned out to be so that's a relief! They really taste of cinnamon and are perfect with a cup of tea. 

I used a recipe from a book that my dear friend JL sent all the way from Australia! Thank you :) It's a lovely little book of cookies and I can't wait to try more recipes from it. I won't publish the recipe as I don't have permission but there are lots of recipes you can find online. I followed the recipe exactly and it worked beautifully. The main thing to remember is that these cookies really do spread a lot so make sure you leave plenty of room in between! 

I'm sending this to AlphaBakes which I am hosting this month. Caroline from Caroline Makes hosts on alternate months. The letter is S for Snickerdoodle.

I'm also sending it to Tea Time Treats hosted by Janie from the Hedgecombers and Karen from Lavender and Lovage as the theme this month is Biscuits and Cookies!

 cookie dough 

 you have to refrigerate the dough until firm. I used a small ice cream scoop to make a small ball of dough which is then rolled in cinnamon sugar 

 Place them spaced well apart and press down gently with a fork

2 minute chocolate chip cookie

Earlier this week, I had a real craving for cookies. It was late at night and I didn't want to bake a whole batch so I decided to try out one of the 'cookies in a mug' recipe. I've made 5 minute mug cakes in the microwave before and although not as good as a proper baked cake, they are great for when you really, really need cake. Well I really needed a cookie so I baked 1 cookie just for me. And another one for J as I was feeling generous :) 

It's a one bowl recipe with minimal preparation or washing up. If you bake regularly then you will have all of these ingredients to hand. The cookie was really good especially when warm and served with ice cream. It tastes like a soft, chewy chocolate chip cookie with a slight cake like consistency. I tried 2 different methods of making this cookie. The first was to melt the butter and then whisk in the sugar and other ingredients into a smooth paste. The second was to use softened butter and a fork to add in the other ingredients and surprisingly the second method worked better. The first method produced a cookie that was more like a cake with a smooth texture whereas the second method gave it more of a rough, cookie texture. 

 adding egg to the butter and sugar mixture 

 adding flour 

 ready to cook 

 served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

Makes 1 cookie

15g butter

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

30g plain flour

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

25g chocolate chips

• Place the softened butter and sugars in a bowl and mix roughly with a fork. 
• Add in the egg and vanilla extract and stir.
• Add in the flour and stir.
• Add in the chocolate chips and stir.
• Place the bowl in a microwave and cook on high for 40 seconds and check. Mine took 50 seconds to cook but as microwaves vary, I suggest checking from 40 seconds and adding on 10 second increments until the cookie is cooked. 

Win a Yummy Mummy Edible Bouquet

Mother's Day is rapidly approaching and there is flurry of spending on flowers and afternoon tea experiences. Online marketplace Groupon has taken the opportunity to combine the two to create the ultimate experience for mums on their special day. They've teamed up with experimental food artists Blanch and Shock, to create the Yummy Mummy Bouquet - a floral masterpiece featuring afternoon tea classics transformed into traditional Mother’s Day blooms.

As a special gift this Mother’s Day, Groupon is giving one lucky customer the chance to win the tasty edible bouquet creation for their mum – enter at www.gr.pn/bouquet. The Yummy Mummy Bouquet is entirely edible! The bouquet took a total of 70 hours to plan, design and construct, with a team of three using 10kg flour, 3kg butter, 5kg sugar and 40 eggs in the process.

Almost half a metre tall (40cm), the bouquet feeds a family of four. Key ingredients include:

• Battenberg Hydrangeas
• Buttercup Scones with rhubarb jam and cream icing
• Tulip Cucumber sandwiches
• Cupcake Gerberas
• Pea shoot foliage
• Prosecco ‘water’ in the vase

Mike Knowlden, Chef and Co-Director at Blanch and Shock, said: “This project has provided us with a great opportunity to experiment and transform some British afternoon tea classics into a beautiful bouquet, all of which could be eaten. We hope the Yummy Mummy Bouquet gives one deserving mum and her children a lovely treat this Mother’s Day.” Check out the video showing you how to recreate the cupcake gerbera. 

I got the chance to sample a cupcake gerbera which was beautifully packaged in a tea cup complete with a bag of tea. I love the presentation and design. The cupcake was tasty too! The competition closes on Monday 16th March at midnight so make sure you enter before then by clicking on this link www.gr.pn/bouquet

Disclaimer: I was sent a cupcake gerbera from Groupon for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review or to promote their competition. All opinions expressed are my own unless stated. The photos of the bouquet are from Groupon. 

Lindt Chocolate Creams and a giveaway

I love Lindt chocolates especially their dark chocolate truffles. I was really excited when I was asked if I wanted to review a copy of Lindt Gold Bunny recipe book. Lindt's Maitres Chocolatiers have compiled some of their best recipes in this really cute and fun book. My favourite part is that it is shaped just like the famous Lindt gold bunny and comes complete with a bell! The book is really beautifully presented with 26 recipes in total. Each recipe is really easy to follow and accompanied by a beautiful colour photograph which is a must for every recipe book. 

 How cute is the book? The bell works too :) 

 Some sample pages 

 Sample page inside with a recipe on one page and a colour photograph opposite. 

 Another recipe page

The recipes included in the book are

• Chocolate lollies with a caramel centre
• Chocolate cheesecakes
• Milk chocolate and hazelnut mousses
• Crispy chocolate eggs
• Chocolate and pecan barquettes
• Greedy chocolate mice
• Chocolate mini choux buns
• Chocolate brioche toasts
• Chocolate dulce de leche
• Chocolate fondue with French toast fingers
• Home-made hot chocolate
• Chocolate-iced madeleines
• Petits beurre millefeuilles with chocolate cream
• Chocolate spread
• Fizzy chocolate lollies
• Choco-mint brownies
• Hot bananas with chocolate squares
• Soft chocolatey caramels
• Chocolatey meringue layers
• Coconue-chocolate cigars
• Chocolate tiramisu
• Chocolate eggs with meringue bursts
• Florentines
• Muffins with chocolate cream filling
• Chocolate creams
• Panna cotta with praline cream

I decided to make the chocolate creams recipe as I liked the sound of it and it was the accompanying photograph on the contents page. It was really easy to make and tasted really chocolatey. I brought it to a friend's house to serve as dessert and it was very well received. It's not overly sweet due to the dark chocolate and yoghurt and feels like a healthier version of chocolate mousse as it contains natural yoghurt.

If you like the sound of this book and want to get your hands on a copy then you are in luck. Jacqui Small Publishing have very kindly agreed to giveaway THREE copies to my readers. The closing date is 23rd March 2015 so that the prize can be delivered in time for Easter. 

Terms and Conditions

Entry is via the rafflecopter widget below.

You have to answer the question which is a mandatory option to unlock further entries to the giveway.
This GIVEAWAY is open to all readers over 18 with a postal address in the UK.
Closing date is 23rd March 2015 at 12 midnight GMT.
The WINNER will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter and will be contacted by email. If no response is received within 48 hours, another winner will be selected at random.
I am running this COMPETITION on behalf of Jacqui Small Publishing who will be sending out the prize directly. By entering you are giving me permission to pass your email address on to them so they can contact you for delivery of the prize.
All entries will be checked and verified.

Recipe reproduced with kind permission from Jacqui Small Publishing

Serves 4
Preparation time 10 minutes
Chilling time 3 hours

160g Lindt Excellence Cocoa 70%
200ml milk
25g caster sugar
1 heaped teaspoon vanilla sugar
375g natural yoghurt
sugar sprinkles to decorate

• Roughly chop the chocolate and melt in a bowl in a bain-marie. 
• Add the milk, caster sugar and vanilla sugar.
• Mix together gently.
• Quickly beat the yoghurt with a fork and add to the chocolate mixture.
• Divide between 6 small glass dishes and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. 
• Decorate with sugar sprinkles before serving. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of Lindt Gold Bunny for review purposes. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own. This is not a sponsored post. 

York Mint Brownies

This is not really a new recipe as it's my favourite brownie recipe but I wanted to share it with you again as it's just so good.  Brownies are a great blank canvas as you can add in extra ingredients and come up with something different each time. I've used this recipe with mint oreos, regular oreos, sweet and salty m&m mix, reese's peanut butter cups and different chocolate bars/sweets. It's so versatile and turns out beautifully each time. 

A colleague of mine went to America last year and bought me these York Mint chocolates so I could bake them into a brownie for her. It has been forgotten and packed away what with packing and moving house last year and generally being quite busy. They are long overdue and fortunately they were worth the wait! The brownies were really fudgy, chocolatey and minty. The York Mint chocolate pieces melted into a sticky, gooey, minty goodness. I'll have to buy more of these when I next visit America.

I'm sending these to a new blog challenge hosted by Dom from Belleau Kitchen called Simply Eggcellent. It's to celebrate the humble egg and this recipe uses 4 large free range eggs so I hope it qualifies.

 melt chocolate and butter 

 whisk in eggs 

 adding the chopped york mint pieces 

ready to bake 

200g butter, chopped into smallish cubes
375g sugar
170g chocolate, roughly chopped
165g flour
80g cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large free range eggs
12 York Mint chocolate pieces, roughly chopped

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a medium sized pan, melt the butter and chocolate.
• Then whisk in the sugar, salt and vanilla extract. 
• CONTINUE mixing until you get a smooth mixture then remove from heat and set aside for a few minutes.
• Whisk in the eggs one at a time and then the flour and cocoa powder until you get a fudgy mixture as shown. 
• Stir in 8 of the chopped York mint chocolates, reserving the rest to sprinkle on top.
• Pour the mixture into a square baking pan and sprinkle the remaining chopped York mint chocolates on top. 
• Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until the top is crisp and the edges are cooked. 
• Allow to cool in the pan. 
• Slice and enjoy!

Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Muffins

Can you believe that it's Spring already? It felt like a long, cold winter so I'm really looking forward to the lighter days and warmer weather. I've decided to have a little spring clean of my blog and give it a makeover - do let me know what you think. It's not quite what I want but it's a start for now particularly as I'm not very tech savvy!

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know how much I love peanut butter. I wanted to bake something for breakfast and decided on my favourite combination of peanut butter and jam but in a muffin form. I added peanut butter chips for extra flavour which worked really well. You can clearly taste the peanut butter and the jam added a lovely sweetness to the saltiness of the peanut butter. These are quite filling and make for a good breakfast. 

 adding the crunchy peanut butter

 adding the peanut butter chips 

 a generous teaspoon of strawberry jam in the middle of each muffin

 ready to go in the oven 

 I love how you can see the jam peeking through 

 You can still see the peanut butter chips

Makes 12 muffins

315g plain flour

100g caster sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

200g crunchy peanut butter

1 egg

250mls milk

100g peanut butter chips (optional - you can add chocolate chips if you prefer or omit completely)

strawberry jam

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and baking powder. 
• In a jug, whisk the egg lightly and add the milk.
• Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk-egg mixture.
• Stir briefly then stir in the crunchy peanut butter until just combined - don't over mix or your muffins will be tough! 
• Finally stir through the peanut butter chips.
• Half fill each muffin case with the batter.
• Add a generous teaspoon or two of strawberry jam then top with the remaining batter.
• Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Alphabakes March 2015

It's the 1st of March so it's officially spring. Yay! The days are definitely getting lighter and the weather is warming up albeit slowly. I hope this will inspire you to bake something for AlphaBakes this month particularly as it's an easy letter. Before I tell you what it is, do head on over to Caroline's blog for the V Round up if you haven't already seen it. We had lots of lovely Valentine bakes and some non-Valentine bakes as well. Without further ado, I can reveal that the letter we are baking with in March is ..... S 

I thought it was highly appropriate given that it's the Start of Spring! Look forward to seeing all your entries. Please remember to email alphabakes@gmail.com before 25th March and a round up will be posted on my blog before the end of March.  

A quick reminder of the rules...

1. Post your RECIPE on your blog and link it to The More than Occasional Baker and Caroline Makes, stating the relevant month's host. If you do not have a blog, email us a picture and a brief description of your entry which we will include in the round-up at the end of the month.

2. You can use your own RECIPE or someone else's RECIPE. The recipe can be sweet, savoury or a mixture! Anything goes as long as the random letter is predominantly featured in the recipe as one of the main ingredients or flavours or in the name of the bake itself (i .e . not as a garnish , or using 'flour' for the letter F!) You can also republish old posts/RECIPES but you must include the information for this challenge as stated in these rules.

3. Add the logo to your post and add 'alphabakes' as a label to your post.

4. Email your entries to alphabakes@gmail.com by midnight (GMT) 25th of each month. Please include:

• Your name (that you want included in the round up or we will use the name of your blog)
• Your blog post URL
• Recipe title
• Photo of recipe (to be included in the round up)

5. You can submit as many entries as you like.

6. You do not have to PARTICIPATE every month to join in.

7. You may submit your entry to other challenges as long as it complies with their rules.

8. If you use twitter, please use the tag #alphabakes and mention @bakingaddict and @Caroline_Makes. We will retweet all those that we see.

9. Have fun! :)