Saturday 30 July 2011

Ham, cheese and mushroom muffins


This is the carnivorous version of the spinach and cheese muffin I made earlier. In fact I've been making quite a few batches of these muffins to freeze as they are so simple to make and so convenient to have for breakfast or for a snack. I've also added some cherry tomatoes to a batch which worked really well.

 cook the mushrooms in butter 

 chop up the ham 


 I had some leftover spinach leaves so added that to a few of my muffins 

 delicious! 

50g butter
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
80g button mushroom, chopped
350g plain flour
2.5 teaspoons baking powder
250g cheddar cheese, grated
220ml whole milk
1 egg
80g smoked ham, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

  • Preheat the oven to 170C.
  • Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then fry the onion and mushrooms until cooked. 
  • Season with sea salt and black pepper. Set aside.
  • Put the flour, baking powder and cheese in a large bowl.
  • In a separate bowl, mix the milk and egg together, then slowly pour into the flour mixture and beat with an electric handheld whisk until all the ingredients are well mixed. 
  • Stir in the onion, mushrooms and chopped ham with a wooden spoon until evenly dispersed. 
  • Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until deep golden and the sponge bounces back when touched. 
  • Leave the muffins to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 


Monday 25 July 2011

Apricot, cherry and white chocolate oat cookies


Apologies for the long absence everyone. I don't know where July has disappeared to. I have been baking albeit very sparsely this month and haven't had time to blog about any of my creations yet but hopefully all in good time. Anyway I'm glad that I've just managed to make it for the we should cocoa challenge this month. When I first found out that the special ingredient for this month is apricots, my heart sank a little as I don't really like apricots and couldn't immediately think of an apricot and chocolate pairing. However, in a flash of inspiration at the weekend, I found this cookie recipe which has apricots and cherries (yet another fruit I'm not too fond of). So you can imagine my excitement at making these cookies! I was honestly surprised at how well they turned out and how delicious they are. They are quite addictive and I had a quite a few when it came out of the oven :) The cookies are quite buttery with a slight crispy edge and soft chewy bits of apricots and cherries. Plus I'm pretty sure they contribute to my 5 a day! :)

 lovely apricots

 cherries 

 cookie batter 

 yum! 

250g butter
150g soft brown sugar
150g self raising flour
225g porridge oats
100g glace cherries, cut into pieces
100g soft dried apricots, cut into pieces
100g white chocolate chips 

  • Preheat oven to 180C. 
  • Line 2 baking sheets with greaseproof paper. 
  • Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Add in remaining ingredients and mix well. Use your hands at the end to give it a really good mix. 
  • Place a tablespoon of dough or use a small ice cream scoop onto the baking sheet and flatten slightly. 
  • Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes. 
  • Remove from the oven, cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.