Chocolate Orange Cookies

I must confess, I didnt make these yummy cookies: my lovely neighbour Sue did and has kindly given me the recipe. I did eat them though and can vouch for their tastiness!

I am lucky that my neighbour and I share a passion for baking and we are quite often seen traipsing across the front garden with a sample of the latest cake/cookie/cheescake etc for the other to try.

6oz soft butter
3oz caster sugar
6oz plain flour
3oz corn flour
3oz chocolate orange segments chopped into small pieces

1. Heat oven to 190C/Gas 5/375F

2. Cream together the butter and sugar in a food processor or mixer.

3. Add the flour and cornflour, then mix until it forms coarse breadcrumbs and then add the chocolate pieces

4. Shape into 20 balls and place onto a greased baking sheet. Press down with a fork and bake for 10-15mins.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Torte

Definitely a dessert to impress at a dinner party! This is one of those desserts that actually tastes as rich, chocolately and satisfying as it looks. I would be happy to pay for this at the end of my meal in a posh restaurant, even if I do say so myself.

175g digestive biscuits
85g butter , melted
397g tin of caramel (such as Carnation caramel)
1 tsp sea salt , plus extra to serve
300g plain chocolate, broken into chunks
600ml tub double cream
25g icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Line the base of a deep, round 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with a circle of baking parchment. Line the sides with one long strip that comes just above the sides of the tin - staple or paper clip where the strip overlaps to hold it in place.

2. Crush the biscuits in a plastic bag or bowl with the end of a rolling pin. Stir into the melted butter, then evenly press into the bottom of the tin. Chill for 10 mins.

3. Reserve 2 tbsp of the caramel. Stir the sea salt into the remainder and spoon into the centre of the biscuit base. Gently spread so the base is evenly covered but a visible 1-2cm border of biscuit remains around the edge. Chill for 20 mins while you make the chocolate layer.

4. Gently melt the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir 1 tbsp of the cream into the reserved caramel, then cover and chill until ready to decorate. Once the chocolate has melted, turn off the heat but leave the bowl where it is, and gradually stir in the remaining cream until you have a smooth, shiny, thick chocolate sauce. Mine started to turn into a big lump to begin with, byt keep perservering and stirring well as you add the cream and it should results in a smooth creamy mix.  Sift in the icing sugar and stir in with the vanilla extract. Lift off the heat and let the mixture cool for 10 mins.

5. Ladle or pour the chocolate mixture around the edge of the torte first, so it fills the biscuit border, sealing the caramel in the centre. Then ladle or pour in the rest and gently shake to smooth the surface. Chill for at least 5 hrs or up to 24 hours until firm.

6. Remove the torte from the tin, then carefully peel off the strip of paper and transfer to a serving plate. Spoon the reserved caramel-cream mixture into a small food or freezer bag. Snip off the tiniest tip of the corner to make a very small opening, then squiggle lines of caramel over the top.

Chill until ready to serve. Scatter with a pinch or two of sea salt before serving (though I didnt do this), then thinly (or not so thinly) slice. Eat with a drizzle of single cream, if you like.

Notes - The recipie was originally from the BBC Good Food Website  I didnt bother with the individual chocolates on top as suggested in the original recipe for a number of reasons:
1 - They are quite expensive;
2 - I couldnt find any;
3 - It would interfere with portion sizes if you dont put them in the right place;
4 - It would be more noticeable to my husband that I snuck another slither from the fridge when I had the munchies after breakfast the next day!!!

Death by Brownie

"Oh my good god!!!!" were my thoughts when I first saw this recipe!! I just love brownies and couldnt wait to try out these ones. In fact I was so excited, I would have happily made these at 10pm when I first came across them if it wasnt for the fact that I didnt have half the ingredients in the cupboards. Oh patience is a virtue which I have yet to posses.......

Now this is a bit of a cheat and isnt quite what I would usually do but it sort of still constitutes home baking as you still have to put the brownies together, well that is what I tell myself.

To make a full baking tray size brownie:

1 pack chocolate chip cookie mix (I used Betty Crocker box which makes 16 cookies)
2 rolls of Oreo biscuits
1 pack of brownie mix (again I used Betty Crocker box )

So in short, these are the ingredients:

Tesco seem to do their own cookie and brownie mixes in slightly smaller quantities which I will also have a go at and make in a smaller tin. Obviously, there are other brands available etc etc....


1. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper

2. Make up cookie dough mix according to instructions and cover the base of the baking tray, making sure you squidge the mix across and into the corners

3. Lay out the Oreo biscuits on top of the cookie dough

4. Make up the brownie mix according to the instructions and pour/spread over the layer of Oreo biscuits.

5. Put in over for around 35-40 minutes until the top is firm and a skewer comes out clean. Obviously if you like your brownies slightly underdone then reduce the cooking time.

6. Allow to cool and cut into pieces.

Notes: Recipe originally from this blog.  If you are feeling inspired and have a favourite brownie or cookie recipe you could try these instead of the cheats version. However bear this in mind: I attempted this as I had a great brownie recipe and didnt want to completely cheat......though it backfired on me. My brownie recipe was quite runny, the Oreos floated to the top, I poked them down again, but again they floated up. Result was a slightly crispy Oreo above a rather under done brownie!!!! Oh well we live and learn. I therefore recommend a slightly stiffer brownie mix if you have your own recipe.

Spotty Praline Squares

This has to be one of my favourite traybakes. It's a bit fiddly to make as it has a few different stages but the results are worth it: gooey, chocolately, caramel loveliness!!

140g butter

80g light muscovado sugar

200g pain flour

25g cocoa powder

40g chopped roasted hazelnuts

250g nutella

2 medium eggs

50g ground almonds

300g caramel sauce or dulce du lech (ready boiled condensed milk)

100g plain chocolate

white chocolate buttons to decorate

1. Heat oven to gas mark 4 or 180 C. Whisk the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and fold in with the hazelnuts. Put in a buttered 22x31cm swiss roll tin and smooth with a spoon. Prick liberally with a fork and bake for 30 ins until firm to the touch.

2. Whisk together the nutella, eggs and almonds; spread onto the shortbread and smooth. Return to the oven until just set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

3. Once cooled, spread with caramel sauce and put in the freezer for 30mins to harden.

4. Melt together the cream and chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Spread onto the caramel layer and decorate with chocolate buttons. Leave until hardened before cutting into 24 squares

Notes: Recipe originally from Essentials Magazine. You may note in the magazine in the picture they manage to get 4 buttons per square. If you can calculate that type of spacing prior to cutting it up then you are a better person that me...or perhaps they cut larger squares...now there's an idea!!!!