Occasionally we have people over for drinks and nibbles . . . nothing alcoholic . . . we are Mormons . . . but just for some nice soft drinks, and a nibble or two . . . salty, sweet . . . and everything in between.



It's all about fellowshipping and sharing . . . friendship and food.



Good food and good friends . . . the two seem to go together like . . . well . . . peas and carrots!



We're having some people over tonight and I decided to make these lovely Lime and White Chocolate Finger biscuits to share. (You do realize of course that over here, cookies are called biscuits.)



Pretty and elegant . . . tangy and sweet . . . and oh so easy to make and to eat!!



I think they'll enjoy these with some warm mulled apple juice. What do you think?



*Lime and White Chocolate Fingers*
Makes 18
Printable Recipe

Delicious cake like finger biscuits, tangy and buttery at the same time, drizzled with sweet white chocolate. Yummo!

250g plain flour (2 cups)
1 tsp baking powder
5 ounces caster sugar (2/3 cup)
75g unsalted butter, melted (2 1/2 ounces)
2 TBS lime juice
the finely grated zest of two limes
1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
1 large free range egg yolk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

To glaze:
150g good quality white chocolate (5 1/2 ounces)
chocolate curls (optional)

Preheat the oven to 179*C/325*F/gas mark3. Lightly grease and flour two baking sheets. Set aside.

Whisk the butter, lime juice, zest, egg and egg yolk and vanilla together.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl. Add the liquid ingredients all at once and mix in with a fork until a firm dough forms. Using lightly floured hands take tablespoons of the dough and roll into thin logs, about 4 1/2 inches long. Place on the prepared baking trays, leaving 2 inches between each.

Bake in the heated oven until firm, for ten minutes, switching the baking trays around halfway through the baking time. Remove from the oven and allow to set on the baking trays for 10 minutes before scooping off with a spatula to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Put the chocolate for the glaze into a heatproof bowl. Sit over simmering water without letting the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Stir frequently until the chocolate has melted. Alternately you can melt carefully in the microwave.

Place the biscuits closely together on the wire rack. Using a fork drizzle the melted white chocolate decoratively over them. Sprinkle with the chocolate curls if using. Allow to set before serving. These will keep for up to 2 days in an airtight container once decorated. (Undecorated they will keep for about a week.)

I think I must subscribe to just about every cooking magazine going. I know . . . I am obsessed. Todd thinks I'm crazy . . . but, having said that . . . he does more than enjoy my cooking efforts daily.



Usually I flag recipes from each magazine that I want to try out at some point. Of course there are far more than I could ever conceivably try in reality . . . but, at least I am well intentioned. Sometimes I get there and, well . . . sometimes I don't . . .



I flagged this pudding recipe in the October issue of Good Food magazine as one that I definitely wanted to make. It's taken me almost a month to get to it, but today was the day.



All my stars were in alignment or something coz I actually got it done! Roly Poly pudding is a favourite around this house with my old school hubby as is bread and butter pudding, and we are both nuts about anything with jam in it!



This lovely pudding combines elements of all three! Lovely little buttery roly poly bread and raspberry jam sandwiches laid on a bed of more raspberry jam, and then baked in a sweet vanilla custard, until it all souffles up in a rich cloud of baked custardy goodness . . . soft and creamy inside, with lovely buttery sweet crunchy bits on the outside.



You take a slightly trembling spoonful and place it in your bowl, licking your lips in anticipation . . . you want to dig in immediately, but daren't for fear the jam will burn your lips . . .



You finally lift a spoonful to your mouth and gently blow before you plunge the delightful mass past your trembling lips . . .



mmmm . . . ahhh . . . did you feel that?

That, my friends, was an itty, bitty taste of heaven . . .



*Roly Poly Bread and Butter Pudding*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

Little bread butter and jam rolls baked in a delicious vanilla custard until light fluffy and scrummy yummy! You will want to use very fresh bread for this. Dry bread will not roll properly.

3 ounces softened butter, plus extra to butter the baking dish (3/8 of a cup)
12 ounces of raspberry jam (1 1/2 cups)
1 large fresh unsliced loaf of white bread
4 large free range eggs
14 fluid ounces of milk (1 3/4 cup)
14 fluid ounces of double cream (1 3/4 cup)
3 ounces of caster sugar, plus a bit extra for sprinkling on top of the pudding (3/8 of a cup)
1 tsp of vanilla paste, or the seeds scraped from one vanilla pod

Butter a deep two litre baking dish. Stir the jam well with a fork and then spoon half of it into the prepared baking dish.

Trim the crusts and rounded top off of the loaf of bread so that you have a large rectangular block of bread. Carefully cut the bread into 4 long slices lengthwise. (This is the hardest part as fresh bread is a bit squidgy, but persevere and go slowly. It will be worth it.) You can whiz all the edges and leftovers into bread crumbs and store in the freezer for something else.

Spread each of the four long slices of bread on one side with butter. Flip them over and spread the jam on the other sides. (Yes it will make the counter a bit of a mess, but again, it's worth it!) Roll up the bread slices, rolling up from the short sides, until you have 4 fat swiss rolls. Cut each in half carefully, so that you have 8 jammy rolls, and then place them, cut sides down into the jam lined baking dish.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, sugar and vanilla. Pour through a strainer over top of the jammy bread rolls, stopping to allow it to soak in, until all the mixture has been used up. Let stand for half an hour on the counter before baking,

Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*D/ gas mark 3. Place the baking dish on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the top with some more caster sugar and then place in the heated oven to bake for about an hour to an hour and a quarter until the top is lightly browned and the custard is gently set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for five minutes before serving. Delicious!

Note - I knew that there was no way that the Toddster and myself could eat a whole one by ourselves, so I cut the recipe in half. It worked out great!

Ohh, I found this lovely cookie recipe on the BBC Good Food site earlier today and I just knew I had to make them. They sounded really, really scrummy!



With crisp brown edges and chewy centres, they satisfy the crunch/chew factor perfectly! Chock full of bits of bittersweet dark creamy white chocolates, and sweet chunks of glace cherries, these cookies please on many levels.



Butter, crisp and chewy . . . and moreishly delicious! The nuts are my own addition, because . . . well, why not!! You can never have too much nuts in my opinion . . . or chocolate!



The two together . . . bliss!



*Gooey Double Chocolate and Cherry Cookies*
Makes about 2 dozen large cookies
Printable Recipe

Oh my, but these are yummy scrummy. Each bite brings you the sweetness of white chocolate, the bitterness of the dark chocolate and the chewiness of the cherries! OH SO GOOD!!

200g of butter, room temperature (7/8 of a cup)
85g of light brown muscovado sugar (1/2 cup packed)
85g caster sugar (a scant half cup)
1 large free range egg
225g of self raising flour (2 cups)
50g of dark chocolate roughly chopped (50-70%cocoa) (about a cup)
50g of white chocolate, roughly chopped (about a cup)
a handful of natural colour glace cherries, roughly chopped
Optional: 120g of chopped toasted pecans or walnuts (1 cup)



Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Butter a couple of flat baking sheets and set aside.

Cream together the butter and both sugars, until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, until thoroughly mixed in. Stir in the flour until well mixed. Stir in the chocolates, fruit and nuts if using. Drop by heaped spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving a lot of space inbetween each. (These spread a lot!) Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown and set. Allow to rest on the cookie sheet before lifting with a flat spatula onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container.

I'm afraid I rather made a pig of myself with these . . . *blush*

We are great fans of sultanas in this house . . . those lovely golden coloured seedless raisins . . . so sweet and yummy. I could eat them by the handful.

Originally Sultana raisins were imported to the English speaking Western world from the Ottoman Empire. There is a quaint little story saying that they came to be when a Sultan from the Empire fled from a tiger attack, leaving his grapes in the sun to dry . . .



Not sure how true it is, but it surely adds a bit of fun and interest to a rather plain looking fruit!



Rather plain looking indeed, but oh-so-delicious! Especially when baked into lovely squares such as these . . . with a buttery oaty base and topping . . . the filling sweet and sticky . . . with just a hint of lemon.



Oh my but these are moreishly wicked. You will surely find yourself escaping into the kitchen to cut yourself one more little bite at every available opportunity.



And then they'll be gone . . .



You'll just have to bake another pan!!



*Sultana Oat Squares*
Makes one 8 inch square pan
Printable Recipe

These are so deliciously scrummy!

For the Crumble:
5 1/4 ounces rolled oats (1 1/2 cups)
7 1/2 ounces soft light brown sugar (1 cup, packed))
6 1/2 ounces of plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 ounces butter, melted (3/4 cup)

Filling:
3 3/4 ounces soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
2 TBS cornflour (cornstarch)
6 fluid ounces water (3/4 cup)
6 ounces sultana raisins (1 cup)
the juice and finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Lightly butter an 8 inch square baking pan. Line with baking parchment, leaving an overhang to help lift the baked squares out.

Place all the ingredients for the filling in a saucepan, with the exception of the lemon and lemon zest. Cook and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and juice. Set aside.

Whisk the oats, brown sugar, flour, soda and salt together in a bowl Pour the melted butter over top and mix well together until nice and crumbly. Press half of the crumbs into the prepared pan. Spoon the sultana filling evenly over top. Sprinkle the remainder of the crumbs over top and press down lightly.

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares to serve.

What could be better than a tasty carrot bread??? All spicy and moist . . .




An Apple and Carrot Loaf, that's what!!! All spicy and moist and filled with lovely tart apples and sweet carrots . . .

Hmmm . . . And what could be better than an Apple and Carrot Loaf???




Why an Apple, Carrot and Walnut Loaf . . . all spicy and moist and filled with the tart flavours of apple, sweet carrots and the crunch of toasted walnuts!

But hey . . . you can go one step further you know . . . and make it even more scrummy!



How about glazing it with a sweet/tart apple glaze while it is still warm from the oven !!!




Oh my . . . this smells heavenly when it is baking. You almost can't wait for it to come out of the oven . . . it smells so good! And then once you get it out of the oven, you almost can't wait for it to cool down enough so that you can slice it . . . and then . . .



You want to sit down with a cup of your favourite brew and cut the loaf into thick slices . . . and then slather lovely softened sweet butter alllllll over them . . . mmmmm . . .




Every mouthful brings joy . . . sweet . . . moist . . . crunchy and nutty . . . pure bliss.

The loaf is so spicy and moist and nutty . . . the butter so sweet and rich . . . every mouthful is oh so very scrummy yummy nummy!

I just love autumn . . . don't you?



* Glazed Apple, Carrot and Walnut Bread*
Makes one 8 by 4 inch loaf
Printable Recipe

Moist, simple and delicious! Very nice plain, or spread with softened butter or cream cheese.

250g plain flour (2 cups)
150g light muscovado sugar (1 cup packed)
1 TBS baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
(about 1/3 of a nutmeg)
healthy pinch each ground ginger and allspice
100ml cloudy apple juice (1/3 cup)
75g of butter, melted (1/3 cup)
2 larger free range eggs, beaten
1 large tart cooking apple, peeled and grated
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
a handful of toasted walnuts chopped

For the glaze:
4 TBS cloudy apple juice
2 TBS caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 by 4 inch loaf pan and line with baking paper. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice in a large bowl. Set aside.

Whisk together the apple juice, melted butter and eggs. Set aside.

Squeeze as much liquid out of the apple and carrot as you can with your hands. set aside.

Add the liquid ingrediets to the dry ingredients, and fold together just to combine and evenly moisten the dry ingredients. Fold in the apple, carrot and nuts. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Level the top and then bake in the heated oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours. It should be well risen, nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean.

Leave to cool in the tin while you make the glaze. Stir together the juice and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Spoon evenly over the hot loaf. Let sit a few more minutes to absorb, then turn out onto a wire rack, rightside up, to finish cooling. Serve cut into slices, and or not spread with butter. Store in a tightly covered container.

At first glance these don't seem very remarkable . . . do they? Rather plain looking even . . .



One might even be tempted to quibble as to the fact that they be called buns . . . they don't look much like buns after all . . . except that they are somewhat round and perhaps a bit puffy . . .



They look more like a cookie actually, and rather an ordinary looking one at that!

Except for that light dusting of caster sugar scattered across their buttery looking tops . . .




I dare to suggest that they be a little nibble that would make a wonderfully elevenses snack served up with a nice cup of something hot to dunk them in . . . or an afterschool teatime treat, with a tall glass of cold milk . . . again . . . for dunking.



Dare to break one in half though, and you'll soon see that they are anything but ordinary! Oh what a sweet surprise lurks beneath that buttery crust!



Oh how scrummily delish! Crisp and buttery on the outside and sweet and fruity on the insides. Oh my . . . these are good . . . very . . . very . . . good! I'd even hazard to say that they are scrumdiddlyumptiously moreishly addictive!

I bet you can't eat just one!

Go on . . . have a bite. You know you want to!



*Rasberry Buns*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

A deliciously buttery teatime treat, just stogged full of raspberry jam!

225g of self raising flour (1 1/2 cups plus 2 TBS)
1 tsp baking powder
75g of butter (a scant 1/3 cup)
75g of caster sugar (1/3 cup plus 1 1/2 TBS)
1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
a little milk
raspberry jam

To glaze:
a little extra milk
a little extra sugar

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a large baking tray. Set aside.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Drop in the butter and then rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips, rubbing until the mixture resembles dry bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar. Beat the egg and stir it into the flour mixture with a fork, along with just enough milk to make a soft dough. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each into a ball. Flatten the ball and place a dab of jam in the middle of each. Bring the edges of the dough up around the jam to cover it completely enclosing it. Flatten slightly and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Brush each with a bit of milk and sprinkle with more sugar.

Bake in the heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Scoop off onto a wire rack to cool. Cool completely before tucking in as hot jam can really give you a nasty burn!

I've had this Marks & Sparks' cookery book burning a hole in my bookcase for several months now. I take it out every now and again and think I should make something from it, but then I either don't have all the ingredients or I get distracted and, well . . . you know how it goes . . .

A few days later, I haven't baked anything from it and Todd is nagging me to put it away . . . sigh . . .



Today I finally cooked a recipe from it! There was this really scrummy looking recipe in it for Cappuccino Brownies and I thought I wanted to give it a go.



Except I'm a Mormon and we don't do coffee . . . these looked really moist and delicious though . . .



What to do . . . what to do . . .



I used Camp Chicory Essence instead. 2 TBS of it. They turned out lovely.

The original recipe called for a 7 by 11 inch shallow pan. There is no way this batter was fitting into that size of pan. I cooked them in a 9 inch square pan instead.



In retrospect, I should have cooked them in my 9 by 13 inch tray bake pan as the batter rose right up to the top in the smaller pan, it took them longer to cook as they were thicker and they ended up more like a cake than a brownie.



I want to try them again in the larger pan, cooked for a shorter amount of time and see what happens. Nevermind though, this is really a scrummy cake, if not a Brownie . . .

And that icing is to die for!





*Cappuccino Brownies*
Makes 15
Printable Recipes

Moist and delicious with a mild coffee mocha flavour and a rich white chocolate frosting.

8 ounces of butter, softened (1 cup)
225g of self raising flour (scant 2 cups)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cocoa powder
225g of caster sugar (generous cup)
4 large eggs, beaten
3 TBS instant coffee granules, dissolved in
2 TBS hot water (Note - I used 2 TBS camp chicory essence)

White chocolate frosting:
4 ounces white chocolate, broken into bits
2 ounces butter, softened (1/4 cup)
3 TBS milk
6 ounces icing sugar, sifted (1 1/2 cups)

To decorate:
sifted cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Grease and line the base of a shallow 9 by 13 inch baking tin.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and cocoa into a bowl. Add the butter, eggs, and coffee mixture. Beat well with an electric whisk until smooth. Spread in the prepared tin, smoothing the top.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until well risen and the top springs back when lightly touched. Leave in the tin to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, place the chocolate, butter and milk in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Heat and stir until the choclate has melted. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and sift in the icing sugar. Beat until smooth and creamy. Spread over the top of the cake. Sift with more cocoa powder. Cut into squares to serve.