Toffee Crisp Cookies

These cookies are really simple to make yet extremely addictive and delicious. They are really crispy and crunchy and I love the melted toffee crisp inside. I made 2 batches of these as they were just so delicious and we couldn't stop eating them straight from the oven. J and I both took a batch to work and they disappeared in no time!

I'm sending these to Treat Petite hosted by Stuart from Cakeyboi and Kat from The Baking Explorer. The theme this month is favourite sweets, chocolates and biscuits which was the inspiration for this bake. I love toffee crisp bars and used to eat a lot of it when I was younger. I decided to bake it into a cookie and was really pleased with the result.

I'm also sending it to AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and myself on alternate months. The letter this month is 'T' for Toffee Crisp.

 chopped up toffee crisp bars  

 adding them to the cookie batter 

 light, crispy, toffee cookies 

170g butter
80g white sugar
80g brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
250g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
8 bars of Toffee Crisp, chopped

• Preheat oven to 180C. 
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat the butter, sugars, egg and vanilla extract together until light and fluffy.
• Stir in flour and baking powder.
• Finally add the chopped Toffee Crisp bars. 
• I used an ice cream scoop to place cookie dough evenly spaced on a baking sheet. Alternatively drop heaped tablespoonfuls of dough on to the baking sheet.
• Bake for 11-13 minutes or until light brown (centre will still be soft).
• Allow to cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

3 ingredient Nutella Brownies

I'm a little late to the game but better late than never. It was World Nutella day on Feb 5th so I baked some Nutella brownies but have not gotten round to blogging about them. This recipe has been going round the blogosphere and I finally got to try it. Only 3 ingredients for amazing chocolatey, gooey brownies. It does make you realise how much fat and sugar Nutella contains but I'll just ignore that for now and munch on these brownies! These are really quick to prepare and would be perfect to impress last minute guests especially if like me you always have a spare jar of Nutella in the house.

I've baked these 3 times now as they are just so good and everyone keeps asking for the recipe. If you've tried it or are planning to try it, do let me know. I think it would taste great with some added chopped nuts or chocolate chips for extra decadence. 

I'm sending this to a few blog challenges this month.

Treat Petite which is guest hosted by Lisa from United Cakedom on behalf of Kat from The Baking Explorer and Stuart from Cakeyboi. The theme this month is Like It, Love It, Gotta Have It. I love Nutella and can (sometimes) be found eating Nutella straight from the jar. 

Simply Eggcellent hosted by Dom from Belleau Kitchen. The theme this month is anything goes and this recipe uses 2 large free range eggs. 

#FoodYearLinkUp hosted by Charlotte from Charlotte's Lively Kitchen for World Nutella Day. 

Cook Blog Share hosted by Kirsty from Hijacked by Twins

Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily from A Mummy Too. 

 3 ingredients - Nutella, eggs, plain flour 

 

 Lovely gooey brownies 

(You need a double recipe for a 8.5inch x 8.5inch square tin, otherwise use a 18cm sandwich tin for 1 recipe)

Ingredients for ONE recipe

2 large free range eggs

370g Nutella

65g plain flour, sifted

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together until smooth.
• Pour into a greased and lined tin and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes depending on the size of your tin.
• The brownies should be cooked round the edges but still soft in the middle.
• Allow to cool in the tin before slicing into squares.

Courgette, Basil, Polenta and Cheese Wedges

This is a great recipe for a simple weeknight meal. It does take a little bit of prep time but it's well worth it.  It's also vegetarian if you are looking to eat less meat of if you are a vegetarian. The recipe is quite versatile and you can add in a few extra ingredients if you wish. It's great for lunchboxes the next day and will also be good for picnics in the summer. I've made this a few times at home each time with a slight variation so I thought I'd share it with you. Mine turned out a little soft but it tasted delicious warm with the tomato sauce. You can really taste the polenta and the chili and tomatoes added an extra kick and bite to it. I loved the basil as well and used a lot of it in my recipe. I think it's going on the menu plan again this week! 

I'm sending this to a few blog challenges this month. 

Treat Petite hosted by Kat from The Baking Explorer and Stuart from Cakeyboi. The theme this month is fruit and veg. There's courgette and tomatoes in this recipe and as it's served in wedges I hope it qualifies for the challenge!

Cooking with Herbs hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage. This recipe uses a lot of fresh basil. 

Extra Veg hosted by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle from Utterly Scrummy. 

Tea Time Treats hosted by Janie from The Hedgecombers and Karen from Lavender and Lovage. There's no theme this month and these would make for a great tea time treat! 

Meat Free Mondays hosted by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes.

 courgette and cheese mixture

 polenta 

 ready to go in the oven

 making the tomato sauce

Recipe adapted slightly from The Veg Space

For the wedges
1 courgette, coarsely grated
50g cheddar cheese, grated
1 red chilli, finely chopped

2 fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped (also works well with sundried tomatoes)
20g butter, cut into small cubes
large handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
120g instant polenta
450ml vegetable stock

For the tomato sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red chilli, finely chopped
6 pitted black olives, finely chopped
250g passata
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp caster sugar

• In a large bowl, mix the grated courgette, cheese, chili, fresh tomatoes, butter and basil leaves. 
• Place the polenta in a medium sized pan.
• Add in the hot vegetable stock, stirring constantly.
• Cook the polenta and stock over a low heat whilst stirring continuously. 
• Remove from the heat and stir in the courgette and cheese mixture. 
• Pour the batter into a springform tin lined with greaseproof paper. 
• Allow to cool and then place in the fridge for about half an hour (I skipped this step once and it still turned out ok).
• Make the tomato sauce by heating the olive oil in a small saucepan. Add in the garlic and chili and cook over a low heat for a few minutes. 
• Add the passata, balsamic vinegar, sugar and olives and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes. 
• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Bake the polenta for 45-40 minutes or until golden brown on top. 
• Slice into wedges and serve with the tomato sauce. 

Spinach, Tomato and Mushroom Mini Frittatas

We had our neighbours round at the beginning of December for pre-Christmas drinks and nibbles. I made some festive bites which were quick and easy to do and tasted delicious. Initially I planned to make a quiche but I came across this recipe on Italian Food Forever and decided to give it a go. I used spinach and cherry tomatoes for their festive colours and added in some mushrooms. This recipe is so versatile as you can basically add whatever ingredients you fancy. They keep well too and tasted great for breakfast the next day. 

I'm sending this to a few blog challenges this month. 

AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and myself on alternate months. The letter this month is N and I am using it for 'Noel' as Caroline is accepting any Christmas related entries. 

Treat Petite hosted by Stuart from Cakeyboi and Kat from The Baking Explorer. The theme this month is Red and Green aka Christmas. 

Extra Veg guest hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary on behalf of Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle from Utterly Scrummy.

Simply Eggcellent hosted by Dom from Belleau Kitchen. The theme this month is Anything Goes and this recipe uses 8 large free range eggs.

 eggs, milk, spinach, mushroom, tomato 

 egg and milk mixture 

 add in the filling 

Makes 12 mini Frittatas

8 large free range eggs
250mls milk
salt and pepper
180g baby spinach, sauteed and drained
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
handful of chestnut mushrooms, chopped and sauteed

• Preheat the oven to 180C
• Grease a non stick 12 cup muffin tin.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper. 
• Pour evenly into the muffin cups. 
• Add in a spoonful of mushrooms and a handful of spinach to each cup.
• Add 2 cherry tomato halves. 
• Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until set. 
• Allow to cool before serving. 

Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies

I am really excited to share this recipe with you. I love autumn baking and have been baking non stop with apples. There's something so comforting about apples and cinnamon and it's even better when paired with pastry. I love a good apple pie and I have to confess that I occasionally crave a McDonald's apple pie! I saw these salted caramel apple pies on Kelly's blog and have been wanting to bake them for weeks. I finally got a chance and they were well worth the wait. I used a different recipe for the pastry which has a high proportion of butter to flour and it tasted amazing! It is the best pastry I've made as it's so buttery and flaky almost like a puff pastry. I loved the cinnamon, caramel apple filling but was not a fan of the sea salt which I will omit next time. The pies were not as difficult to make as I originally thought and I will definitely be baking these again. We had them warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it was absolutely divine. It was equally good the next day cold for breakfast! I am now thinking of different fruit variations for these pies - apple and raisin, apple and berries, pear and ginger.... any other ideas? 

I'm sending this to a few blog challenges this month. 

The Pastry Challenge hosted by Lisa from United Cakedom and Jen from Jen's Food. The theme this month is pies and tarts. 

Perfecting Patisserie Challenge hosted by Lucy from Baking Queen 74.  

Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily from A Mummy Too. 

Bake of the Week hosted by Helen from Casa Costello.

Treat Petite hosted by Kat from The Baking Explorer and Stuart fromCakeyboi. The theme this month is Autumn.

Cook Blog Share hosted by Kirsty from Hijacked by Twins.

 I found some salted caramel sweets in France

 Make sure you chop the apples into little pieces so they cook properly

 I'm really proud of my pastry :) 

 

 Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the centre of a pastry circle

 add chopped caramels and sea salt flakes 

 Wet the edges of the pastry and place a pastry circle on top

 Press down gently and crimp with a fork 

 Brush with egg wash then cut some air vents and add a sprinkling of demerera sugar (I didn't have any granulated sugar) 

 You can see the soft, flaky pastry here - it resembles puff pastry!! 

Makes 12 mini pies

For the pastry
315g plain flour
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
285g butter, cubed and cold
6-10 tablespoons ice cold water

For the filling
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped into little pieces
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
50g caster sugar
2 teaspoons plain flour
12 caramel sweets, roughly chopped
sea salt flakes

For the egg wash
1 egg
1 tablespoon water

Note: I used a food processor to make my pastry but you can of course make it by hand.

• Place the flour, sugar and salt in the food processor and mix briefly.
• Add in the chopped cold butter and pulse until it resembles bread crumbs.
• Add in a tablespoon of water at a time and continue mixing until a soft dough forms. I used 8 tablespoons of water. 
• Knead the dough gently and wrap in cling film.
• Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes but preferably a few hours. 
• Next make the filling by mixing the chopped apple, lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar and flour in a bowl. 
• Roughly chop the caramel sweets - I used 1 sweet per apple pie. 
• Remove the dough from the fridge. Tear off a small piece and place the rest back in the fridge - the dough is best when chilled so work with a small bit at a time.
• Roll out the dough on a floured surface.
• Cut out circles using a round cutter - you need 2 pieces per pie. 
• Place the circles on a baking tray lined with non stick baking paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Place 1 tablespoon of apple filling in the centre of each circle, keeping the edges free.
• Add the chopped caramels and a sprinkling of sea salt flakes (optional).
• Dip your finger into a bowl of water and lightly run your finger around the edge of each pastry circle.
• Add a circle of dough on top of the apple pie and press down the edges gently.
• Crimp the edges using a fork.
• Brush the pies with eggwash.
• Cut a few air vents in each pie and sprinkle with granulated or demerera sugar (optional). 
• Bake in a pre heated oven of 200C for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.