crispy and chewy chocolate chip cookie

 I am constantly searching for a perfect choc chip cookie 

I found an amazing one 

which i posted about here 

and i still think that is a keeper 

but a girl likes to explore and discover 

and my quest means I must constantly test, tweak and eat 

tough eh?

anyway today I lifted these ladies out and i knew i was on to something special 

crispy on the outside with a slight chew in centre 

very light and utterly more'ish

RECIPE

11ozs/320g flour

1 tspn baking soda

8ozs /220g butter melted and still warm

5ozs/140g sugar

5ozs/140g dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 large eggs

4ozs/100g semi sweet chocolate chopped into chunks

4ozs/100g milk chocolate chopped into chunks 

METHOD

makes 30-40 cookies

melt butter ( I always melt mine in the microwave, so easy, just keep an eye on it)

add sugars and stir to combine

add 2 eggs and stir well

add in dry ingredients flour, bak soda and salt, make sure you have combined them first (i just spoon bak sod and salt onto weighed flour and combine with a fork)

stir in dry ingredients until almost fully incoporated

add chocolate 

stir until combined but do not over mix 

chill for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hrs (or longer)

when you are ready to bake 

preheat oven to 375f/ 190c

place round cookie balls on lined cookie sheet each ball should be walnut size 

space 2-3" apart 

bake for 9-11 minutes 

allow to cool 

adapted from Alice Medrichs chocolate chip cookie recipe

Lemon drizzle cake with a twist

The thing is I have been so busy 

It's not that I am neglecting this blog 

It's just that I am working on a very exciting new project 

which really came about in many ways because of this blog

I can't tell you about it until September 

but it's VERY exciting

wish me luck 

Meanwhile Ireland is in the midst of storms 

windy, rainy, sleety wetness

when your window looks like this 

light the fires

snuggle up with something comforting like

Lemon drizzle cake - a classic 

why mess with it ?

well why not 

I added some Jasmine green tea 

and the resulting combination is quite delicious

The earthiness of the tea cuts through the sharp lemon and grounds it 

perfect with steaming hot tea on a day like today

JASMINE TEA LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE 

RECIPE

2 tablespoon jasmine tea 

5 tablespoon boiling water

125g butter

175g sugar

2 large eggs

zest of 1 lemon

175g self raising flour

pinch of salt

SYRUP

juice of 1 lemon

100g icing sugar

2 tablespoons jasmine tea

METHOD

place tea in a shallow dish and add 5 tablespoons of boiling water

set aside

cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy

add eggs 1 at a time

add lemon zest and s.r. flour and combine

add salt

pour in jasmine tea and tealeaves fold into mixture

spoon into lined loaf tin

bake for 45mins or until cake skewer comes out clean 

while the cake is baking make your syrup 

add juice of 1 lemon to 2 tbspn jasmine tea and icing sugar in a small pan

heat slowly

leave to infuse

when cake is done remove from oven and skewer with holes 

pour syrup onto hot cake 

(you can strain the syrup or leave tea leaves to sit on top of cake I chose to strain it)

leave to cool slightly

eat

yum

x

CHOCOLATE DIGESTIVES

 Homemade Chocolate Digestive biscuits

............no argument from me 

Who doesn't love a chocolate digestive

RECIPE

100g medium size oats*

50g wholewheat flour

50g plain flour

100g cold butter 

50g light muscovado sugar

pre heat oven to 190c 

If you have medium oats place in food processor along with flours

*if you only have jumbo oats (as I did) place them in the food processor

and blitz for a few minutes to reduce their size

add butter and blitz

add sugar

blitz until it comes together in a dough

turn out onto lightly floured surface

roll to 5mm thick and cut with 7cm cookie cutter

(makes 14-16 biscuits)

bake for 16-20 mins 

cover in chocolate if desired 

they are honestly nice either way 

 

recipe adapted from country homes and interiors