Mocha Sandwich Cookies

My godmother is the most awkward person to choose gifts for, so when her birthday came round this week I decided to bake her a gift instead of buying something. I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time due to an already busy week, so I thought I'd adapt the recipe I shared for ginger pinwheel biscuits to make some cookie dough which I could prepare in advance. And as you bake from frozen, it's super easy to have a batch of freshly baked cookies ready in a flash!

Chocolate and Ginger Pinwheel Biscuits

I can't believe this is my first post of 2015, and it's been over two months since my last recipe! I needed the break though - the run-up to Christmas, and the festive period itself, was hectic and finding time to keep this up to date would have been one commitment too many I think! I've still baked a lot - mostly as Christmas gifts and desserts for big family dinners - but was so preoccupied with other things that I forgot to take any photographs of a lot of it! Doh! These cookies though, are one of the few things that I do have a badly taken photo of, so I thought I'd start here. I made these for all our neighbours, and the lovely ladies that serve me in the bank when I go for work, as a little Christmas gift, they looked super cute in little cello-bags, decorated with ribbons and bells!

Cardamom and Rose Water Shortbread

 

I made these yummy shortbread biscuits as Mother's day gifts - they're rich and buttery, with subtle flavours that are not-too-flowery. Perfect with an afternoon cuppa.Plus they're super easy to make!

Pistachio Marshmallows

 

These were actually made following James' suggestion. Someone he works with was raving about Harrods' pistachio marshmallows, and as we live a long way away from Harrods, he said I'd have to make my own. So, I did, and this is the outcome! They're quite dense and are firmer than your average pink and white mallows, but they are very moreish! I've discovered that I can't have just one! This recipe is adapted from River Cottage, and can easily be changed to suit any flavour you want to try - don't be put off by the amount of steps, they're actually really easy to make.

Cinnamon Snaps

This recipe is a little adaptation of the gingerbread recipe I used for my house for those who don't like ginger. This made enough dough to make 11 miniature houses as well as about two dozen little stars, so it makes a lot! If you want to make houses, follow the tips at the bottom of this recipe.

Ingredients:
250g unsalted butter
125g light brown muscovado sugar
75g soft brown sugar
4tbsp golden syrup
2tbsp treacle
600g plain flour
2tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp baking powder
Royal icing sugar

Preheat your oven to 180°C and line your baking trays with greaseproof paper.  

In a pan, melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup and treacle together, stirring until its smooth. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, and cinnamon. Pour the melted butter to the flour mix and mix well, first with a spoon, then with your hands, until it forms a stiff dough. You can add a little more flour if it’s still sticky, or a little splash of milk if it’s too dry and crumbly. Knead for a couple of minutes until its smooth.  

Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, to the thickness of a £1 coin.
Use a cookie cutter to cut out your shapes, re-rolling any left-overs until it's all used up.
 

Space the biscuits out on your trays and bake in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes or until golden in colour. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a couple of minutes on the tray before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

Once cool, make up the icing as per the instructions on the packet, and ice your biscuits with any design you like. Leave to set overnight before eating.

Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark

Stuck for any last minute Christmas ideas? Why not make your own chocolate bark? It's so quick and easy, and makes a great homemade gift. This isn't really a recipe as such, just more of a 'How To' - this makes 3 side plate sized bars. And you can pretty much use anything you like in place of the pretzels and caramel; why not try fruit and nut, or pieces of meringue and dried strawberries?

Ingredients:
300g milk chocolate
300g dark chocolate
Salted pretzels
Soft caramels, chopped into small pieces
Coarse sea salt

Line three side plates with cling film and put to one side ready.

Break both the chocolates up into separate microwavable bowls, and melt in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then melt in further 15 second increments until it's smooth. Mine took about 1 minute 15 seconds for each bowl.

Once all your chocolate is melted, spoon the chocolate onto the lined plates, alternating between the milk and dark, drizzling it in spirals. Once all the chocolate is used up, tap the plates gently on the bottom to level the chocolate out and get rid of any air bubbles.

While it's still melted, gently press a handful of pretzels into the chocolate. Scatter over the chopped caramels and press lightly into the chocolate too, before sprinkling over a pinch of sea salt.

Leave to set in the fridge. Once firm, you can wrap them up whole as a bar, or break them into shards and put into little gift bags.