Fruit and Nut Chocolate Drops

I haven't done a post since last year as I have been busy completing a professional wine course, but I am back and ready to give you a wonderful recipe for some homemade choccies!

I made these a lot at Christmas to give to friends as presents, they are so versatile and easy to make. You can change any of the ingredients to what you have available, and they look great too which is always a plus!

How to make: (makes about 24)

- 200g Good quality Dark or Milk chocolate

- Roasted Pistachios

- Mixed roasted nuts

- Dried Cranberries

- Other dried fruits

- Pinch of salt

(You can use any kind of nuts or dried fruit that you like)

Recipe: 

- Start by chopping up your nuts and dried fruit in to smaller pieces and arrange on a plate so you have them ready to use.

- Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Then melt the chocolate over a pan of boiling water (or in the microwave if you prefer). Leave to cool slightly.

- Drop spoonfuls of the melted chocolate on to the lined trays and then sprinkle over a little salt on each drop. Drop the chopped nuts and fruit on top and then leave to set in the fridge- about an hour should set them.

- I put the chocolate drops in to clear bags and tied them with a bow- perfect for a present at any time of year!

* You don't have to use fruit and nuts at all, I have used mini marshmallows, chopped up chocolate bars and sprinkles on them which work great too. 

Photo how to:

Enjoy! 

xXx

Healthy Banana, Oat and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am currently living down in the south of France as I am doing a French and Wine course! Our cooking facilities are not terribly fantastic so I haven't been able to do much baking, but I eventually got around to making some 'cookies' this afternoon. They are not your typical cookie, as they are healthy! I originally saw the recipe on Blogilates website but I wanted to make my own version using some chocolate chips. 

They are ridiculously easy to make and only have around 50 calories per cookie (depending on what size you make them!). The other upside to these cookies are that there are only 3 ingredients needed- and they're the kind of ingredients that one always has lurking in the cupboard. They have a soft texture with a slightly crisp outside, and the chocolate chips are perfect with the banana flavour - give them a go! 

Recipe: (makes 16)

- 1 cup of Oats

- 2 very ripe Bananas

- Good handful of Chocolate chips ( I used dark)

- Handful of Raisins (optional)

How to make:

- Preheat the oven to 200c and line and grease a baking tray.

- Firstly mash the bananas until they are almost a liquid consistency. Then add the Oats, Chocolate chips and raisins if using. 

-  Mix throughly until combined and then using a spoon, dollop the mixture on to the making tray. Then bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, but keep an eye on them to check they dont burn around the edges. When ready they should have a golden top.

- Leave to cook and then enjoy with some tea for a healthy treat! 

Cookies ready to go in the oven!

Close up!

xXx

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

I hadn't really appreciated how easy it was to make soup until yesterday! I was with my beautiful friend Rosie and she suggested that we made soup for lunch as she had lots of ripe Tomatoes and Peppers to use up.

I didn't realise how simple it was to do - just roast a load of vegetables (any selection would taste delicious I'm sure) with some garlic and spices, add some stock and then blend in a food processor and re-heat before serving with some fresh crusty bread!

So all credit goes to Rosie for this wonderful recipe! 

Recipe: (serves 2, but can be easily doubled or tripled)

- 8 medium vine Tomatoes

- 2 large red Peppers

- 1 red onion or 2 shallots

- 3 cloves of garlic

- 1 fresh Chili or a sprinkle of Chili Flakes

- Few sprigs of fresh Thyme

- Splash of Olive oil

- Salt and pepper for seasoning

- 1 Stock cube (Vegetable or Chicken)

- 200ml of boiling water

How to make:

- Chop all your veggies up in to large chunks, pop in to a large baking tray and scatter the garlic cloves, olive oil, spices and seasoning over the vegetables and give it a good mix.

- Roast in the oven for about 30-40 minutes, until all the vegetables are looking cooked and slightly charred in places (this gives it a slight smokey flavour).

- Put the roasted vegetables in to the food processor and blend until it looks like a thick and chunky tomato sauce. Make the stock and then pour in to the vegetable mixture and then whizz again until fully mixed in, but be careful not to whizz too much as you still want to have a thick texture.

- Pour the soup in to a saucepan and re-heat until steamy, then serve with some crusty bread and cheese!

- Enjoy!

The veggies ready for roasting

The roasted vegetables ready for the food processor

Before blending

Soup is ready, along with crusty fresh white bread and cheese!

xXx

Chocolate and Pistachio Biscuits

I absolutely love biscuits and these are particularly moreish and buttery! The pistachios add a fantastic crunch in such a crumbly, short biscuit. These are very easy to make, you can also freeze some of the dough and just cut rounds off when you have someone coming over! The chocolate and pistachio works really well together- you must give them a go!

Recipe: (makes about 35-40)

- 220g unsalted butter (very soft)

- 80g Icing sugar

- 280g Plain flour

- 30g Cocoa powder (I use Green & Blacks)

- Pinch of Salt

- 70g chopped blanched pistachios 

How to make:

- Cream the butter, salt and icing sugar together in a large bowl until creamy and combined. Then add the flour, cocoa powder and pistachios and mix until fully combined. 

- Try and mould the dough in to the shape of a long roll and wrap in cling film. Pop it in to the fridge or freezer for an hour (I put it in the freezer as it goes harder and is easier to cut).

- Heat the oven to 190c and grease 2 baking sheets. Take the dough out of the freezer and unwrap. Then cut the dough in to rounds of about 5mm and put on to the baking sheets.

- Bake for about 12 minutes, but keep an eye on them so the edges don't burn. Allow to cool a little on the baking sheets first before moving to a cooling wire. 

- Enjoy with coffee! 

Photo how to:

The dough

The biscuits ready to go in to the oven

Fresh out of the oven, cooling on the wire rack

xXx

Spanish Style Pizzas

I have been away in Dorset for a few days and whilst we were there we made these delicious Spanish style Pizzas. They are very easy to make as you just use a ready made bread mix and they don't need much time to rise either, which is always useful. These were spanish style as I used Manchego cheese and italian meats on them but you could use any toppings that you liked- thats the good thing about pizzas!

Recipe: (makes 4 pizzas)

- 500g bag of ciabatta bread mix

- Jar of good quality pasta sauce

- Cubes of Manchego cheese

- Stuffed Olives

- Selection of Spanish ham- Chorizo, Palma ham, Salami etc

- Seasoning 

- Fresh herbs for sprinkling on top (I used basil)

How to make:

- Make the ciabatta dough by following the instructions on the back of the bag. Knead for about 5 minutes until smooth. Then separate the dough in to 4 balls and roll out with a rolling pin to about 5mm thick. 

- Place the rolled out pizza bases on to 2 oiled baking sheets and lightly cover with cling film. Allow them to rise in a warm place from 15- to an hour (whichever you have more time for!)

- Once they have been allowed to rise then cover them with the pasta sauce for the base, and then add the Manchego cheese, olives, ham and the seasoning. 

- Bake in the oven at 200c for about 15 minutes- but keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn.

- Then enjoy hot from the oven! Yummy!

Photo how to:

4 balls of pizza dough

Rolling out the dough

Pizza bases rising 

Tomato sauce on the bases

Ready to go in the oven

In the oven!

Pizza ready for eating! 

xXx

Crumbly Date Squares

As much as I love to try baking healthy things, sometimes you just have to bake something really naughty and buttery, and these crumbly date squares are just that! I found the recipe in a baking cookbook and decided that it would be just the thing to bake for afternoon tea with my family. 

They are really easy to make and taste delicious! They have a lovely crumbly texture on the top and bottom with sticky, gooey date inside them. They are terribly moreish! Give them a go, its hard not to devour them all at once.

Recipe: (makes about 20 squares)

- 300g chopped Dates 

- 250ml water

- 200g soft butter

- 200g light brown sugar 

- 260g plain Flour

- 150g rolled oats

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

To make: 

- Preheat the oven to 180c and grease and line the bottom and sides of a baking tin.

- Put the chopped dates and the water in a small saucepan, and on a medium-low heat, cook until all of the water has been absorbed. This should take about 10 minutes, then leave to cool.

- Meanwhile start making the crumble. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Combine the Oats, flour and baking powder together and then add to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix until fully combined- the mixture will be quite crumbly and short. 

- Put half of the crumble mixture in to the bottom of the baking tin and squash down with your hand or the back of a spoon. Then spoon on the date mixture on top and smooth out to the edges. Lightly top with the remaining crumble mixture. 

- Bake in the oven for about 30-35 minutes until golden brown on top. Keep an eye out for it browning too quickly!

- Allow to cool fully in the tin and then lift out and cut in to squares or fingers- whichever you prefer!

Photo how to:

The dates and water mixture ready for heating

The finished date 'jam'

The crumbly mixture

The crumble mixture squashed in to the tin

The date mixture on top of the crumble

The finished crumbly date squares

Enjoy!

xXx

Hazelnut, Chocolate and Raspberry Pavlova

Pavlovas are so easy to whip up for a really impressive looking pud, and they taste divine which is always a plus! I confess I cheated a little with this pavlova, as I bought the meringue from my local farm shop as I didn't have time to make one myself, but you can certainly make your own! 

Pavlovas are great as you can use pretty much any sweet flavours you like- I decided to make mine a chocolate and raspberry one with a little Godiva chocolate liqueur added to the cream to give it a bit of a lift. But peach, mint, strawberry, banana etc would also taste great- they're good fun to play around with the flavours. 

Recipe: (serves 8, depending on the size of the slice!)

- 1 x ready bought Meringue (top and bottom), mine was hazelnut flavour

- 1 x 250ml pot of double cream

- 1 x tray of raspberries 

- 2 tbsp Godiva chocolate liqueur

- Good hand full of chocolate chips/ buttons

- Cocoa powder, for dusting on top 

To make:

- Lay the meringue base of your pavlova on the plate that you want to serve it on as you can't move it once its finished as its very delicate!

- Then start by whipping the double cream with an electric whisk until it becomes thick and spreadable. Add the 2 tbsp of chocolate liqueur and a few raspberries to the cream and whisk further to mix them in. Now spread half of the cream on to the base of the meringue with a spatula, making sure it is even all over. 

- Break up a few of the raspberries and lay over the cream, covering it evenly. Chop the chocolate chips/ buttons up and sprinkle over the cream/raspberry mixture. 

- Put the top of the meringue on the base, and cover with the rest of the cream using a spatula. Now decorate the top of the pavlova with more raspberries, and I also used some blackberries that I had lurking in the fridge. 

- Finally dust the top of the pavlova with some cocoa powder using a sieve.

- Serve the pavlova on the same day as the cream tends to make the meringue a little soft if left for too long! Enjoy!

Photo how to:

The ingredients 

The cream mixture with raspberries and chocolate liqueur 

The Godiva liqueur that I used

Spreading the cream on to the base of the pavlova

Putting the soft raspberries on to the base

Chopping the chocolate buttons to go in the middle

The base of the pavlova

The top of the pavlova with the cream spread evenly

The finished pavlova, looking delicious!

Enjoy!

xXx