Little bliss balls....

 I've been making these little balls of sweet goodness for a few weeks now. They are the perfect sweet treat for those moments when you crave something sweet but know you shouldn't. They look and taste like they are too good to be healthy but contain no sugar or fat.

They are naturally sweetened with a mixture of dried fruit such as dates, sultanas, prunes and figs or whatever you have on hand along with cocoa, nuts and peanut butter. This latest batch contains dried cranberries rather than sultanas and figs because I like the crunchy texture of the fig seeds. You could coat them in coconut, cocoa, finely chopped nuts or toasted sesame seeds too or make them even healthier by adding chai seeds or flaxseeds. 

Here's the basic recipe which I always double as 10 balls is not enough ;-) ....

Ingredients:-

1. 1 tablespoon peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
2. 1/2 cup dates, soaked in boiling water then chopped finely
3. 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
4. 1/2 cup dried sultanas
5. 1/3 cup dried prunes, soaked in boiling water then chopped finely
6. 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts finely chopped

Method:-

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and mix well to form a tight mixture.
2. Use wet hands to mould 10 balls, squeezing mixture tightly so it sticks together.
3. Place in refrigerator to chill for 2 hours or overnight. Store chilled in a sealed container for up to 10 days, if they last that long....

Enjoy!!

A perfect Friday.....

So I've had another busy week plus it's been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster with some personal stuff I've been processing but today was the perfect ending. Spending time with good friends makes everything feel much better and of course getting out and exercising in the forestry surrounding our town is the perfect tonic when you're feeling a bit down about things. After a couple of hours of somewhat leisurely biking and chatting we headed back into town and home to shower then we gathered again for some more girls talk over tea and cake at my place.

For some reason I felt like baking late yesterday afternoon and was also in the mood to try out a couple of new recipes that I had come across recently. The above loaf is a coconut loaf with pink raspberry icing. Perfect for a girls afternoon tea not that I had that planned at the time of making it :-) Here's a quick run-down of the recipe because it is too delicious not to share.....

• 125g butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut essence
• 3/4 cup coconut cream
• 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour 
• 3/4 cup desiccated coconut

Preheat oven to 175C. Line loaf tin with baking paper.

Beat butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add coconut essence and coconut cream and beat to incorporate. Stir in flour and coconut. Spoon into prepared loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Once cold, drizzle with pink, raspberry flavoured icing made with 2 cups of icing sugar, a drop or 2 of red food colouring and 1/2 teaspoon of raspberry essence, 20g melted butter and 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Slice to serve. Enjoy!!

The second item I made was these maple walnut bars which are divine ! You can find the recipe here on Susan's blog Hanging on by Needle and thread. Susan often shares her delicious recipes :-)  and this one certainly is a keeper.

Today has reminded me how thankful I am to have such caring and supportive friends and to live in a town with so much to do right on our doorstep.

Valentine biscuits...

Some heart shaped biscuits in honour of Valentine day today. We don't get into the whole commercialisation of  Valentines day in our house but I'm quite happy to do little things like make heart shaped biscuits to celebrate in a small way. The bottom biscuits are Shewsbury biscuits (lemon flavoured and sandwich together with jam) and the top biscuits are chocolate shortbread which as I am typing this up it has occurred to me that they would be nice dipped in chocolate, white or dark. Anyway the Shewsburys are my husbands favourite and the chocolate shortbread are a favourite of both my daughters. They are melt-in-the-mouth shortbread, so delicate that they break quite easily but are very moreish and I thought I'd share the recipe here.

Chocolate Shortbread.

• 250gms butter, softened
• 1/2 cup/75gms icing sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup cornflour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

1. Place butter and icing sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until mixture is creamy. Sift together flour, cornflour and cocoa powder. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture.
2. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly until smooth. Roll out until approx. 1/2 cm thick and cut into squares or shapes with cookie cutters. Bake @160C/325F for 20 - 25 minutes or until firm. Allow to cool on trays. 

*Please note if dough is too soft to roll place in fridge for about 15-20 minutes until firmer.

Enjoy and I hope everyone had a wonderfully happy day today!!

Nearly Christmas eve, eve...

Yes according to my youngest daughter its Christmas eve, eve tomorrow which I guess is a good way of making Christmas day seem like its a little bit closer. Actually I'd like an extra day to do all the things I'd like to have done but I'm sure what's left on my to do list that doesn't get completed won't really matter on the day. We spent yesterday doing a whole lot of Christmas baking for edible gifts and also to fill up the tins for the coming holiday season. Above is Christmas shortbread stars which contain red and green glace cherries and are then dipped in dark chocolate.

 We make these fresh ginger and spice biscuits each year using various Christmas themed cookie cutters. Not only are these delicious but they make a lot as in 60 + biscuits...

and then I just couldn't resist this recipe that I saw on Pinterest  and then around a couple of blogs this week. These are seriously yummy and worth my search for candy canes which my local supermarket and in the next town along were out of at the beginning of the week?!...

and finally we made these peppermint creams for my Dad which we also do each year. Here's the recipe if your in need of a last minute gift or just want something yummy to nibble on each time you visit the fridge :-)

You will need:

• 25 grams butter
• 1/4 sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups icing sugar, approximately
• 1/2 tsp peppermint essence
• few drops green food colouring
• 200 grams dark chocolate

Mix all ingredients together in a food processor until it forms a firm paste. Roll into small balls then chill for several hours or overnight.Dip in melted chocolate and place on a baking tray to set. Keep chilled in fridge. I doubled this recipe and I think it made 30 to 40 small balls.

My house is now all clean and tidy after today's effort, shopping is pretty much finished so it's present wrapping tomorrow otherwise known as Christmas eve, eve. How are your preparations coming along?

Chocolate and peppermint cream biscuits - the Recipe

This is the third batch that I've made of these biscuits and I think they are near enough to perfect to share the recipe with you all. The biscuit recipe is roughly based on a Donna Hay recipe but I wanted it to have a more intense chocolate taste because my favourite chocolate is the very darkest kind and also because I think dark chocolate goes better with peppermint. Anyhow here is the recipe!

Chocolate biscuit.

You will need:

• 130 grams butter
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 5 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (best quality you can find or afford)
• 2 egg yolks

Preheat oven to 180 C. (350 F.). Cream butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy then add egg yolks and beat until well combined. Sift dry ingredients and add to butter mixture mixing in to form a firm dough. Rest in the refrigerator for 20 mins. Either roll into small balls and flatten with a fork or use a biscuit press (as I did) using the smaller size. Makes approximately 25 filled biscuits.

Icing:

In a food processor process 1 cup icing sugar, 25 grams butter, 1/4 teaspoon green food colouring and 1/2 teaspoon peppermint flavouring. Add 1- 2 tablespoons cold water to form a spreadable icing.  

Sandwich the biscuits together with icing and enjoy!

Hint: Make sure your oven is set to 'bake' not 'grill' as I did the other day! I had baked a batch of biscuits then switched it to 'grill' to dry roast some peanuts to make some peanut brownies. Unfortunately when I went to bake the peanut brownies I forgot to switch it back to 'bake' resulting in some biscuits being perfectly cooked but burnt on top! Just thought I should keep it real here so you don't think I'm some perfect Martha Stewart type cook :-)

This weekend I...

Spent lots of time in my garden, planting, re-arranging plants, weeding and harvesting a crop of carrots. They don't look as uniform as carrots that you buy but I'm sure they will be much tastier.

 Filled up the biscuit tins for the coming week. I made Chocolate Chippies (with big chunks of dark almond chocolate) and Chocolate mint cream biscuits, a recipe I put together myself which is just a plain chocolate biscuit sandwiched together with peppermint icing. This is the second batch I've made because they disappear very quickly!

...noticed some unusual cloud formation out our kitchen window on Sunday afternoon. 

Made pizza for Sunday night dinner which is become a family tradition in our house this year. I actually make two, the other one has garlic/potato(thinly sliced)/fresh rosemary & Parmesan. Sometimes the girls help me and sometimes not but the bonus of having pizza on Sunday night is I always save a couple of pieces for the girls lunches on Monday making it a quick lunch to put together on Monday morning.

And today I finally got around to making our Christmas cake. I have had the dried fruit soaking since Friday night meaning to make it over the weekend but both days I went out into the garden and completely forgot about making it. I have also been sewing today. It is something for me and something I haven't sewn in a long time so its a lovely change. I shall share in the next day or so;-)

Hope you too had a lovely productive weekend.

A winner and some recipes to share...

To everyone who entered my giveaway thanks so much for the birthday wishes and for sharing your favourite birthday memories. I really enjoyed reading each and every one! I just wish I could send out 6 parcels instead of the one so I'll have to have another giveaway sooner rather than later. So on to the winner. The Random Generator picked:

Number 18 Heather A from Canada! Congratulations Heather! I'll be in touch via email soon!

And now here's a couple of recipe's to share with you....

I quite often do a little baking in the late afternoon just before I get dinner on to make the most of heating up the oven. Yesterday afternoon after I whipped up a batch of muesli for my breakfast I made this Chocolate Banana bread from Julie Le Clerc's book "Cafe @ home". I have many recipe books but this book is one I cook from often. The recipe's are modern and fresh and use ingredients that I usually have in the pantry. Plus it has a pretty mint green elastic band to use as a page marker! This is the second time I have made this loaf and we like it so much I thought it would be nice to share. It is actually under the section 'Breakfast in bed' ! Now if you are like me and don't like the taste of banana cake I can assure you, you will like this as the banana taste is not there but makes this loaf nice and moist. So on to the recipe:

You will need:

• 150g butter
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder ( the best quality you can afford :-)
• 1/2 cup Chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 180 C on fan-bake. Grease and flour a loaf tin.
2. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until pale. Beat in eggs then milk and bananas.
3. Stir in sifted dry ingredients to combine. Lastly, stir in chocolate chips. Spoon mixture into loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Slice to serve.
4. Loaf will last 3-4 days if stored in an airtight container.

Also I thought I'd share the recipe for Belgium biscuits (from the previous post) for those who are unable (and had never heard of) to get the Edmonds cook book. Belgium biscuits are quite an old recipe and a classic biscuit recipe here in New Zealand and maybe in Australia. A lovely elderly lady who until recently used to live across the road from us used to make them regularly. She was one of those very generous people who was always giving us and other neighbours things such as baking as a thank-you for helping her out and was famous in our street for her apple shortcake, sponges, chocolate fudge and other baking. I would often send the girls over to return a plate to her and they would always come back with some home-made biscuits, fudge or lollies. Sadly for us she has recently moved to a home closer to her family.

So here is the recipe for Belgium biscuits:

You will need:

125 grams butter, softened

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1egg
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• 1 teaspoon cocoa
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam approximately

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, spices and cocoa together and mix into creamed mixture to make afirm dough.
3. On a lightly floured board roll dough out to 3mm thickness. Cut out rounds using a 6.5 cutter. Arrange on a greased oven tray and bake at 180 C for 15 minutes or until golden. 
4. When cold ice half the biscuits. Spread the un-iced biscuits with raspberry jam and place iced biscuits on top. Makes 18.

For Pink Icing:

• 3/4 to 1 cup icing sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon rasberry essence
• few drops of red food colouring
• water

Mix icing sugar with essence and colouring. Add sufficient water to make a pink spreadable icing.

Enjoy!!!!

Getting inspired by the colour 'Pink'...

 Pretty in pink Belgium biscuits, from my much used Edmonds cook book.

 These cerise little flowers are blooming in my front rockery garden.

 One of our many Rhododendrons first to flower this season.

 Some clematis flowers gracing the stairs up to our deck.

 Another brighter pink Rhododendron that says look at me. 

Last but not least a little pink Dianthus/Sweet William flower.

Hope you were inspired!