Cheeeeesy Twists

There are two things that will always taste fantastic together, and they are cheese and pastry! I love making cheese biscuits using my Granny's recipe, but this time I decided to try something a bit different and use puff pastry instead of short crust. 

I love cheese straws, but I have never made them before as I usually buy them so I thought I would give it a go. It turns out that they couldn't be much easier to make! They tasted delicious and were gobbled up in a day so make sure to make a large batch if you have lots of mouths to feed!

Recipe: (makes 30 small straws)

- 1 x packet of ready made puff pastry (unrolled and unthawed if frozen)

- 3 x good handfulls of grated Cheddar cheese and Parmesan 

- 2 tsp Poppy seeds

How to make:

- Preheat the oven to 200c and grease 2 baking sheets.

- Unroll the pastry and scatter with a good hanfull of the grated cheddar and parmesan cheese. Then fold the pastry in half and roll out until it becomes the thickness of a £1 coin. 

- Using a large sharp knife, cut the pastry in to long, thin strips and then cut those in half to make about 30 small strips. 

- Twist each pastry stip 3 times and then lay on the baking sheet. Once all are twisted, put some more grated cheese on top of each one and then sprinkle over the poppy seeds.

- Bake in the oven for about 6-7 minutes until golden brown on the top and bottom. Keep an eye on them though as they will burn quickly. 

- Enjoy warm if you can, if not keep them in an air tight container and eat at the earliest opportunity! You won't be able to resist!

Photo how to:

Grated cheddar and parmesan

The folded pastry with the cheese inside, ready for rolling out

Cutting the pastry in to strips for twisting

The twisted cheese straws on the baking tray

These are the finished cheese straws hot out of the oven!

Mmmmmm

xXx

Domestic Goddess Brownies!

So...these badboys are pretty darn amazing. Probably the best brownies I know, and they are thanks to the wonderful Nigella Lawson, a.k.a 'The Domestic Godess'. Its my wonderful friend Ginny's birthday, and I said I wanted to bake her something yummy to celebrate it with, and theres not a lot better than brownies, especially Nigella's brownies.

Brownies are the easiest things to make, and at the end you are left with a gooey stack of chocolate heaven. They are also great as you can add whatever you like to them: nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruit, chopped choccie bars...you get the picture. Below is Nigella's recipe from her baking cookbook, 'How to be a domestic Godess'.

Recipe: (makes 24)

- 180g soft unsalted butter
- 180g good quality dark chocolate
- 250g castor sugar
- 115g plain flour
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 100g white chocolate chips 
- Any other extras, like nuts/ dried fruit etc 

To make:

- Preheat the oven to 180c, and line and grease your baking tray.

- Melt the butter and chocolate together in a pan over a low heat until fully melted. Meanwhile, in a large jug, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract together until combined. And measure out the flour and salt in to a separate bowl.

- When the chocolate/butter has melted and cooled slightly, add the egg mixture and stir. Then add the flour and mix until combined. Now add your chocolate chips/ nuts etc, and pour the mixture in to your greased and lined baking tray.

- Bake in the oven for about 15-18 minutes to ensure a gooey centre to your brownies. They are ready when there is a pale crust on the top of them, and an inserted skewer comes out clean(ish). 

- Allow to cool on a wire rack and then cut up in to 24 small squares. 
And then tuck in! 

Note: If you are using them as a birthday cake - pile them up on a pretty plate and sprinkle over some edible glitter or silver balls. 


Photo how to: 

The best baking book!

Melting the butter and chocolate together

The flour and egg mixture 

Pouring the egg mixture in to the chocolate

Now adding the flour to the mixture

The mixture should be thick and luscious! 

Now add the white chocolate chips/chunks

Ready for the oven

Fresh out of the oven, and the inserted skewer is clean(ish)

Some close ups of the inside of the brownies! YUM!

Enjoy!

xXx