Refined Sugar Free Hazelnut Chia Cookies
Thursday, February 01, 2024Ginger Crunch
Tuesday, November 21, 2023Ginger crunch or ginger slice is a classic New Zealand bar that's basically just a delicious shortbread base topped with a smooth ginger icing. They are best enjoyed with a nice hot cup of tea or coffee. The sea salt atop is completely optional. However, I would have topped the icing with some sliced crystallised ginger if I had them.
Cacao Nib Buckwheat Sables with Espresso Sugar
Friday, November 17, 2023Sable cookies are named for the French word sablé, meaning "sandy." These slice-and-bake cookies are light, buttery and have a delicate, sandy texture. They bake up quickly and are the perfect dessert for any occasion. The coffee sanding sugar adds the extra crunch and flavour.
Cacao nibs, a healthier alternative to chocolate chips and renowned for their high levels of anti-oxidants, are made by crushing whole, organic cacao beans and their texture is comparable to chopped nuts or seeds with a subtle crunch. So, they do not melt when exposed to heat and they don't taste like chocolate.
Classic Buttery Hamantaschen
Friday, September 15, 2023Hamantaschen, triangular-shaped cookies stuffed with any of a variety of fillings, are a traditional treat often served during the Jewish holiday Purim. But you can always bake them any time when those cravings hit. They are most often filled with fruit preserves, chocolate, or poppy seed fillings.
The dough is easy to make and yields a rich, buttery, lemon-scented cookie that is full of flavour. It keeps the shape during the baking, as long as you don’t overfill your cookies and your filling has the proper thick texture. Another tip to keep hamantaschen in shape is to CHILL them overnight before baking. You can use any hamantaschen filling you like, poppy filling is our favourite.
Passionfruit and Lime Slices
Friday, June 16, 2023With just 15 minutes preparation, a few pantry ingredients and an overnight chill, this tropical slice will have you coming back for more, time and again. It is easy to make, has a delicious buttery base and will satisfy the sweetest craving. Instead of making the base from the scratch, you can also use butter cookies or digestive cookies to line the pan, then pour over the topping and bake.
Vanilla Shortbread with Freeze Dried Raspberries and Pistachios
Wednesday, May 03, 2023These sweet little shortbread cookies are such a simple bake - they're great for afternoon tea parties or as a dessert with some strong coffee. The intense tart flavour of freeze dried raspberries offsets beautifully the sweetness of the vanilla glaze.
Shortbread cookies contain a higher butter content and less sugar than butter cookies. Traditionally they are usually baked at lower temperature and should be not crisp but pale, tender and melting.
Organic freeze-dried raspberries contain 100% raspberries, no colouring, flavouring or sugar. They are great for smoothies, cereals, as a snack or toppings. I bought mine from DM drugstore. You should be able to find them in most grocery stores or Amazon.
Blackberry Jam Coconut Slices
Thursday, April 13, 2023Made up with delicious layers of a buttery coconut shortbread base, sweet sticky homemade blackberry jam and a luscious coconut topping. This recipe is sweet, delicious and easily adaptable and will be your new go-to slice recipe. Swap for other homemade jam, fruit curd or even applesauce if you prefer. It's great for an easy dessert, or makes a lovely sweet treat to have with afternoon tea.
Gluten Free Honey Tahini Cookies
Friday, February 10, 2023These delicious honey tahini cookies are both chewy and crisp and so easy to make. The rich tahini gives these cookies a addictively nutty, almost fudgy texture and earthy flavour while sesame seeds coating for extra crunch. They are grain-free, gluten-free, refined-sugar-free, egg-free and dairy-free. Will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Rye Apple Crumble Bars
Friday, September 30, 2022These autumn-festive apple bars feature a buttery wholegrain shortbread base, perfectly spiced apple filling and finish off with a fantastic crumbled oat streusel, with the distinct earthy flavour of wholegrain rye. They are egg-free and sweetened with coconut sugar, so it's refined-sugar free too. The recipe is rather easy and very delicious, the best part is that you can customize it to your taste. Add some raisins, cranberries or pecans that you think compliment the apples and for an even nuttier and deeper caramelized flavour, replace the browned butter for regular one.
Easy Melt&Mix Date Bars with Macadamia Nuts and Mahlep
Sunday, April 17, 2022This quick and delicious treat is perfect for an afternoon snack, a breakfast bite or an indulgent but healthy dessert. A classic melt and mix date bars recipe made with date syrup (or golden syrup), coconut sugar (light brown sugar is a good substitute), butter (or coconut oil if you prefer), macadamias (or nut of your choice), and dates, of course. The real star of these cookie bars is mahlep.
Mahlep, Mahalepi or Mahlab, used mainly in holiday breadmaking, cookies and pastries in the Middle East countries, is an aromatic baking spice made from the seeds of the mahaleb cherry, aka rock cherry, prunus mahaleb, and St. Lucy's cherry. Mahlep tastes a bit like cherries, bitter almond with a hint of rose and vanilla. Once baked, it becomes fruity and rich, but subtle. The seeds either have to be ground or boiled as an infusion and strained to obtain the most flavor. You can find it in Greek and Middle Eastern food shops or Amazon. (I got mine from a local Turkish store), As it comes from a seed, powdered mahlab is more vulnerable to get rancid and spoiled, so it’s best to buy it in small quantities, and store it in a cool, dry place. Whole mahlab whole seeds store well in the freezer for a very long time. Grind it just before using for best results.
No Bake Chocolate Tart with Edible Gold and Rose
Thursday, March 24, 2022This decadent, luscious no-bake chocolate tart tastes as good as it looks, yet couldn't be easier to make. For the crust, I use a simple mixture of all-butter spiced cookies and butter- a combination that you can never go wrong with. You can even vary the type of cookie crust you make by changing out speculoos cookies for other types of cookies. Try shortbread cookies, Oreo cookies or simple sugar cookie.
The crust is filled with a lusciously rich chocolate ganache and toasted hazelnuts, then topped off with specks of edible gold leaf and dried rose petals. An easy yet sophisticated dessert! The chocolate tart will keep for up to a week in the fridge.
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- Crush the biscuits by putting them in a large, strong, plastic food bag and bashing with a rolling pin. Melt the butter, then stir in the cookies. Press onto the base and up the sides of a 22cm-24cm tart pan with a removable bottom, making sure the edges and the bottom are compact and of even thickness. Chill for an hour to firm up before adding the filling. Or just make the crust a day or two before.
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. In a baking pan add hazelnuts in one layer and toast in middle of oven for 15 minutes, or until lightly colored and skins are blistered. Wrap nuts in a kitchen towel and let steam 1 minute. Rub nuts in towel to remove loose skins and cool completely.
- In a medium bowl, add chopped dark and milk chocolate. Set aside. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, bring the heavy cream and butter to a gentle simmer. Remove from the heat and pour mixture over the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute and stir until melted and smooth.
- Add the toasted hazelnuts to the crust and pour mixture over chilled cookie crust and chill until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.