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 have a special friend who is celebrating her 82 birthday today and I wanted to make her something special to help mark the day and celebrate it in a special way.



She lives pretty much on her own. She is in a lot of pain most days so no longer does any cooking for herself. Her caregiver does all it and helps to clean the house and anything else she needs, but it's a man and well . . . he just doesn't bake.



I often pop over half of whatever it is I have been getting up to in my kitchen and it is always much appreciated.



I did want to make her something extra special for today though and so I baked her a Victoria Sponge cake . . . just a small one . . .



And . . . a box of these lovely cookies. I just love Jammy Thumbprints, and I think she will love them too.



I just know she will have all sorts of people popping in off and on all day to bring her their Happy Birthday wishes and these cookies should come in really handy!



Crisp and buttery and filled with tasty, sweet jam. It goes so well with the almost shortbread texture of these lovely biscuits.



*Jammy Thumbprints*
Makes about 45
Printable Recipe

A buttery cream cheese cookie dough filled with your favourite jam and then baked until crisp and golden. The perfect teatime treat!

250g (9 ounces) unsalted butter
140g (1 cup) Icing sugar, sifted
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
90g (3 1/4 ounces) cream cheese, cut into chunks
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp finely grated fresh lemon zest
350g of plain flour, sifted (2 3/4 cup flour)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
2 TBS each of three of your favourite flavours of jam

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter three baking trays. Set aside.

Using an electric whisk cream together the butter, sugar and egg yolk until pale and fluffy. Beat in the cream cheese, vanilla and lemon zest. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture using a wooden spoon, until a soft dough forms. Let sit for about 10 minutes so that the dough can firm up.

Shape TBS of the dough into 1 inch balls. Place evenly spaced about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Using your thumb make an indentation in the middle of each. Fill each indent with 1/4 tsp of jam. Bake in the heated oven for 10 to 12 minutes until light golden. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for several minutes before lifting off to finish cooling on a wire rack.

Note - if desired you can dust with some icing sugar before serving. These cookies will store well up to 3 days in a tightly covered container, but are best if eaten on the day.

One of my favourite television shows over here has to be Larkrise to Candleford. Based on a trilogy of novels written by the author, Flora Thompson about the countryside of north-east Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire at the end of the 19th Century, neither Todd nor I have ever missed an episode in all of the three series that have come out now. In fact we purchased them on DVD so that we could treat ourselves to turn-of-the-century village life anytime we wanted to!



A reader recently contacted me, and asked me if I had any knowledge of the type of food that would have been cooked in that era. An American, he and his wife are also great fans of the show, and were very curious about a cake that they had seen the old cook beating together in a bowl during one episode in series one.



Well, since the series takes place in the late Victorian era, I would have to say, without a doubt and with fair certainty, that it was probably a Victoria Sponge, or Victoria Sandwich Cake . . . a lovely buttery sponge cake that would have benefited greatly by some strong armed beating in a bowl.



It was the Victorians that invented this lovely cake by adding butter to an ordinary sponge mixture, which baked better in two flat tins rather than one deep tin. (Oh those Victorians, they were very clever at inventing things I have to say!)



The two cakes were then stuck together with a layer of tasty jam. According to Victorian manuals of the day, sponge cakes would have been made more for the nursery tea table than the drawing room, but we won't quibble the facts . . . the fact is that this cake is delicious, and I would serve it to anyone, child or adult!!



This is just the sort of cake one would imagine Dorcas and her employees at the Post Office sitting down to late in the afternoon . . . teatime . . . a china pot of steaming, freshly made tea at the ready to be served along side of lovely thick slabs of this moist and delicious sponge.



This is a real favourite around this house, and more or less tends to get treated like an ordinary every day kind of cake . . . but upon reflection, I know not why . . . coz it is fine enough to please even the most discerning of palates, and is anything but ordinary!!



I think Dorcas Lane would highly approve . . . it surely being my only weakness . . . something of which she knows full well . . . of this we would be in agreement. (Recipe adapted from the WI Cakes Cookery Book by Liz Herbert. If there is one thing the WI know alot about, it's baking cakes!)



*Traditional Victorian Sandwich Cake*
Makes one 7 inch cake
Printable Recipe

Popular during the reign of Qyeen Victoria, this cake remains popular to this day, which is a huge testament to it's taste and ease of baking! Don't be tempted to use all butter. This is one recipe that is better for the use of a mixture of butter and margarine.

3 ounces of butter, softened (6 TBS)
3 ounces soft margarine (6 TBS)
6 ounces caster sugar (1 cup)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, beaten
6 ounces self raising flour (a scant 1 1/2 cups)

To finish:
3 TBS raspberry jam
buttercream to fill (optional)
icing sugar or caster sugar to dust the top

Butter and base line two 7 inch sandwich tins. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.

Cream the butter, margarine, sugar and vanilla together until light in colour and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. If the mixture begins to curdle, add a spoonful of the flour.

Fold in the flour with a metal spoon, taking care to use a cutting motion so as not to knock out too much of the air that you have beaten into the batter. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake tins, leveling off the surface. Make a slight dip in the centre of each.

Bake on a centre rack of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the sponges have risen well, are golden brown, and spring back when lightly touched. Allow to cool in the pan for five minutes before running a knife carefully around the edges and turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, place one layer on a cake plate. Spread with raspberry jam and buttercream (if using). Place the other cake on top, pressing down lightly. Dust with icing or caster sugar and serve.

By the way Commentor #63, Sheilagh, a Random Numbers Generator has picked you as the winner of the Delightful Hamper Giveaway. Contact me with your details and I will let the HamperGift people know where to send it. Thanks so much to everyone who participated and joined in on the fun. I wish you could all be winners. Don't be too disappointed though as I will soon be hosting another giveway hosted by the lovely people at Kellogg's . . . yes the people who bring us all those delicious breakfast cereals!

When my children were growing up I had a cookie jar in my kitchen that was never empty. I think I baked fresh cookies about every second day or so.



They had their favourites of course! (As did I!) I think chocolate chip topped the list, followed very closely by oatmeal raisin and peanut butter.



At Christmas I would spend weeks and weeks baking up extra goodies for our holiday celebrations and popping them into the freezer. That way I could present our friends and their families with trays filled with a variety of baked goodies, as well as having plenty of treats to munch on in our own home!



Then there were the special cookies. You know the kind I mean . . . slightly elegant and subtly special . . .reserved for special occasions such as baby and bridal showers and afternoon teas.



These fall into that category. They have to be the most delicious cookies ever . . . I kid you not!



There is no egg in them, so they are perfect for people who are allergic to eggs. They have an almost macaroon like consistency . . . crisp around the edges and slightly chewy in the middle . . .



Chock full of lovely dried blueberries and almonds . . . drizzled with sweet white chocolate. Bet you can't eat just one!!



*Blueberry Almond Cookies*
Makes 24
Printable Recipe

These just may be the best cookies you have ever tasted! Very similar to a macaroon in texture and oh so scrummy!

90g unsalted butter, softened (1/3 cup)
170g caster sugar (3/4 cup)
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBS milk
125g plain flour (1 cup)
1/2 tsp baking powder
80g ground almonds (3/4 cup)
50g of dried blueberries (1/3 cup)
melted white chocolate for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the almond, vanilla and milk. Whisk together the flour and baking powder. Stir into the creamed mixture along with the ground almonds. Stir in the blueberries. Mix well to form a soft dough.

Using your hands squeeze together 2 teaspoon measures of the dough into oval logs about 2 inches long. Place at least an inch and a half apart on the baking sheets.

Bake for 15 minutes, turning the baking sheet around halfway through the baking time. They should be lightly golden along the edges. Allow to cool on the pans for about 10 minutes before removing to finish cooling on a wire rack.

Melt some white chocolate and drizzle over top. Store in a tightly covered container.

“A wonderful smell came creeping into the little dining-room, followed by the inn-woman carrying a large tray. On it was a steaming tureen of porridge, a bowl of golden syrup, a jug of very thick cream, and a dish of bacon and eggs, all piled high on brown toast. Little mushrooms were on the same dish.”

Lines like this, were what kept me engrossed in Enid Blyton's books when I was a girl. Her descriptions of food were so wonderfully vivid that my mouth would water each time I read one. I could only imagine what it must be like to live in her world . . . a world where plucky, sensible and intelligent youngsters could go off on such wonderful adventures, all the while tucking into such fabulous sounding treats!



A world filled with Bobbies, tuck boxes, anoraks, jumpers, tail wagging dogs, push bikes, intelligent parrots, fresh air and bracing winds, adventure and wellie boots.



These biscuits are just the sort of biscuit I could imagine her characters enjoying after a long day of exploring caves and moors . . . with tall glasses of lemonade, hot mugs of milky tea, and lots of giggles and good natured ribaldery!



Crisp and spicy and gloriously decorated with a yummy lemon glaze and lots of pretty sprinkles . . . I picked up those pretty little gold stars at Lakeland the other day. I just fell in love with them!



I'm not sure that corn syrup would be a suitable substitute here for the golden syrup. Golden syrup has a very caramel like flavour. You do want something the consistency of corn syrup though. Possibly you could use the darker one, but definitely not the light.



These are delicious, crisp, fragrant and oh so scrummy!



"You're trying to escape from your difficulties, and there never is any escape from difficulties, never.They have to be faced and fought." quote from Mistletoe Farm



These biscuits are the perfect escape! (Isn't that what Enid Blyton was all about!!!)



*Spiced Golden Syrup Jumbles*
Makes about 27
Printable Recipe

Nice and spicy with a lovely lemon glaze! Scrumdiddlyumptious!

60g unsalted butter, softened (2 1/4 ounces)
160ml of golden syrup (2/3 cup)
260g of plain flour (2 cups)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice |(a warm and sweet spice mixture containing ground coriander,
ground cinnamon, ground cassia, ground nutmeg and ground cloves)

for the icing:
the juice of half a lemon
9 ounces of icing sugar sifted (2 cups)

Sprinkles to finish

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line two baking trays with baking parchment. Set aside.

Place the butter and the golden syrup into a measuring jug and heat in the microwave for about 2 1/2 minutes, whisking every 30 seconds or so until the butter is melted and the mixture comes to the boil. Set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

Sift the flour, soda, ginger and mixed spice into a large bowl. Whisk together well. Once the butter mixture has cooled to lukewarm, add it to the flour mixture and whisk in until thoroughly combined and a soft dough forms. Pinch off pieces of the dough and shape into small logs, about 2 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Place several inches apart on the baking sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool on wire racks before icing.

For the icing whisk together the lemon juice and icing sugar to make a thin spreadable icing. Spread over the cookies with a spoon, sprinkling decorations on each one right away. Let set before eating and storing. Store in an airtight container.

Today I have been in the enviable position of having to try to use up things in my refrigerator as I am off on my summer hols this afternoon!

Yes, three weeks in the Costa Del Canada . . . fun, sun, and relaxation, and lots of family times with my children, grandchildren and parents. I can't wait!!! It's been three years since I have been to Nova Scotia, so it will be really nice to catch up with my loved ones.



Anyways, I had some eggs to use up and butter, and cream . . . oh and chocolate . . . ahem . . .



Ok, so I didn't really need to use up the chocolate. I wanted to use up the chocolate.



These are perfect little decadent party cakes. Small amuse-bouche . . . well . . . technically an amuse bouce is an hors d'ouevres, but . . . well . . . who says a tiny two bite, rich and dense chocolate cake covered in chocolate ganache can't be amusing???? or a bouche for that matter!!



Not to quibble, a rose by any other name and all that . . . these are fabulous!



Ideally you should also wait for at least two hours for them to set up, but . . . umm . . . I just couldn't wait. Patience is clearly not one of my virtues, but I'm working on it.



Chocolate . . . it's my only weakness . . .



*Chocolate Amuse Bouche*
Makes 24 mini cakes
Printable Recipe

Delicious little two bite mouthfuls of rich chocolate cake. Rich and satisfying and topped with a lucious chocolate ganache. Pretty little summertime party favours.

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 ounces unsalted butter (1 cup)
11 ounces of caster sugar (1 1/2 cups plus 1 TBS)
3 3/4 ounce of plain flour (3/4 cup)
2 TBS cornflour
1/4 tsp salt
4 large free range eggs

Chocolate Ganache
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
150ml of heavy cream (2/3 cup)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/Gas mark 4. Line two 12 cup patty tins, or mini muffin tins with paper liners. Set aside.

Place the chocolate for the cakes into a bowl. Melt the butter until it is very hot, and then pour it over top of the chocolate. Let sit for a few minutes and then whisk until smooth. Whisk together the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt in a small bowl. Add to the chocolate mixture in three batches, whisking well after each addition. Beat in two of the eggs, whisking them well and then add the remaining two eggs, whisking just until incorporated. Try not to over mix.

Pour the batter into a large measuring cup and the pour the batter into each muffin cup, filling them 3/4 full. Bake in the heated oven just until the cakes start to crack on the top, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack and then remove from the tin to finish cooling completely.

To make the ganache, place the chocolate in a glass heatproof bowl. Place the cream into a saucepan and bring just to the boil. Pour all at once over the chocolate. Let sit for a couple of minutes and then stir gently with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

Dip the tops of the cakes into the chocolate ganach, allowing any excess to run off the side. Return to the wire rack and allow to set. This will take about an hour. Don't be tempted to place them in the refrigerator as this will cloud the ganache.

If you like you can melt some white chocolate or milk chocolate to drizzle over the top to decorate.

I'll be back in about 3 1/2 weeks!! Try not to miss me too much. I promise to make up for my absence in August . . . with a lot more delicious recipes, good cooking, and fine food!