Almond and Cranberry biscuits (cookies)

This is almost my own recipe, it's adapted from a recipe for macadamia cookies from book called 500 Cookies by Philippa Vanstone. I keep meaning to try a variation with macadamia, orange and chocolate (or pecan and maple syrup!) but the almond and cranberry one is so good that there is just no motivation to try any others.I'm making these biscuits today to take to my inlaws for our Diwali celebration tomorrow. The biscuits come out chewy and nutty, not unlike some Indian sweets, so my father-in-law really appreciates them.

I do this recipe in two parts - I make the dough and roll it into biscuit sized balls first and put them in the fridge (or freezer!) and cook them later, usually when the oven is on for something else.

Ingredients

• 150g almonds (blanched, and they can be slivered or whatever, because they are going to be blitzed)
• 2-3 tablespoons milk
• 100g raw sugar
• 50g brown sugar (coz I like mine chewy rather than crunchy)
• 1 egg
• 75g dried cranberries
• 150g plain flour
• 1/4 tsp bicarb of soda
• 75g granulated sugar (for rolling the biscuits in)
• 1tsp vanilla essence (I sometimes use almond instead)

Method

Blitz the nuts and milk together till they form a type of paste. You can do this with the food processor attachment of the stick blender but if I'm doing double quantities (like today) I use the food processor itself.

Add the sugar, egg and essence and beat well (I just tip these ingredients into the food processor), then I add the cranberries and give a few pulses to cut them a bit and mix them through the dough.

Sifted flour and bicarb come next. Ideally you will transfer the mixture to a bowl and gently fold the sifted ingredients in but if you are lazy or short of time you can tip them down the funnel as well, just make sure to only pulse the machine until the ingredients are combined.

Roll the mixture into balls (mine are usually about the size of a superball, slightly smaller then a walnut) and give them a little roll in the granulated sugar.

When you are ready to cook them preheat the oven to around 175C and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Never Fail Chocolate Cake

Ok Keda, here it is!

I have been making this cake since I was about 6yrs old and as the name suggests, it never fails. It originally came from the 1980 St Gerards Primary school cookbook (the school next to my primary school) and was contributed by a Mrs Gwen Ilic, bless her. The page is covered in chocolate cake, which is further proof of what a favourite it is. It is incredibly easy and makes a beautifully moist rich chocolate cake without being too heavy or sickly, allowing you to go back for that second or third cupcake hehehe. The mix makes enough for two cakes to be sandwiched or a deep round or probably 18 cupcakes. Next tasting will be at the kids 3rd birthday party, unless Keda whips one up first ;) .

2 1/4 cups S.R Flour
1 tsp bi carb
2/3 cups cocoa
1 3/4 cups castor sugar
5oz butter (141g) that's how old the recipe is
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs

Sift dry ingredients into mixer bowl. Add softened butter, water and vanilla. Beat on med for 3mins. Add eggs, increase speed for further 3 mins. Pour into well greased tin/s and bake in mod oven. Enjoy!

Chocolate Brownies

I think this recipe came from a magazine many years ago. It was probably Cleo or Cosmopolitan something (does Cleo still exist?) but it has been my 'go to' Brownie recipe for so long I consider it mine. I will write it out here the way I do it, which I believe is superior!

When Sanj and I make this together it takes us less than 10 minutes to put together and around 20 minutes in the oven and because the ingredients are all usually kicking around our kitchen we make this recipe pretty quickly.

INGREDIENTS

• 100g good quality chocolate - this *must* be 40% cocoa or more, but I find the 80% Lindt slightly too bitter so we usually use a mix of whatever we have lying around.
• 2 large eggs
• 150g caster sugar - I either use vanilla sugar or put half a teaspoon of vanilla in
• 100g plain flour
• 125g butter
• 100g shelled walnuts - feel free to use any nuts you like here. I'm not particularly fond of walnuts, though they do make a nice grown-up flavoured brownie. I usually use hazelnuts for a kind of Nuttella richness or macadamias because the texture goes so well. The recipe doesn't specify using toasted nuts, but the flavour and texture are both superior if you do. If I have no nuts at home or there are going to be kids eating the finished product I use chunks of chocolate or even, on one memorable occasion, Smarties!

METHOD

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C
• Melt the chocolate and butter carefully in a glass or ceramic bowl in the microwave. You can of course use the traditional stovetop method if you don't have a microwave, but it isn't as easy.
• Carefully grease and flour the 25cm square tin. If I'm having the kind of day where everything is going wrong I might partially line the tin with paper so I can be a bit more confident it won't stick.
• Whisk the eggs, either by hand or preferably with an electric mixer. Add the sugar (and vanilla if you're using it) and if you are using a powerful stand mixer remember you aren't trying to make meringue.
• Stir in the flour.
• Stir in the nuts (or chocolate!)
• Pour all the mixture into your prepared tin and pop it in the oven.
• It should be done in around 20 minutes, coming away from the sides, looking cooked, not wobbling when you shake it and smelling delicious (and the skewer should come out relatively clean).
• Let it cool in the tin