Chocolate Chip Biscuits

Choc Chip Biscuits

You could also use white or dark chocolate, or even lollies like smarties.
225g butter, softened
½ cup sugar
¼ cup Nestle Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
¾ cup Nestle Milk Choc Bits
Preheat oven to 190
Cream butter and sugar in a medium bowl.
Beat in sweetened condensed milk. Cream until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Sift flour and baking powder.
Stir into butter mixture with choc bits.
Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls. Place on a lined oven tray.
Press biscuits down with a fork to flatten.
Bake in preheated oven for 15mins or until the biscuits are golden brown. oC.

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry Muffins

You could substitute the same amount of another fruit in this recipe too.
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
¾ caster (superfine) sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
1/3 vegetable oil
1 ¼ cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 180
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the sugar and stir to combine.
Place the sour cream, eggs, lemon rind and oil in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Stir the sour cream mixture through the flour and sugar mixture until just combined.
Sprinkle over the blueberries and stir once.
Spoon the mixture into 12 x ½ cup capacity non-stick muffin tins until two-thirds full.
Bake for 12 mins or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
Makes 12.
Hints:
For tender muffins that rise well, stir the mixture evenly and only until just combined. Do not overwork the mixture. oC.

Gingerbread Biscuits

Gingerbread Biscuits
Make them ladies, men, stars, free form....

¾ cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 ½ teaspoon bi-carb soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 egg
½ cup golden syrup
3 ¼ cups plain flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and syrup and beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients.
Roll pastry on a floured board and cut into shapes.
Bake 180
This recipe can be made without eggs and ginger and it still works. oC until golden.

Anzac Biscuits

Anzac Biscuits

A classic!
110g (1 ¼ cups) rolled oats (Uncle Toby’s)
150g (1 cup) plain flour, sifted
65g (¾ cup) desiccated coconut
150g (¾ cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
125g butter, cubed
60ml (¼ cup) water
2 tblsp golden syrup
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Preheat oven to 150
Combine the rolled oats, flour, desiccated coconut, sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl, and mix well.
Combine the butter, water and golden syrup in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Add immediately to the dry ingredients and use a wooden spoon to stir to combine.
Roll walnut-size portions of mixture into ball s and place on the lined tray about 5cm apart (the biscuits will spread during cooking). Flatten each ball slightly.
Bake in preheated oven for 22 – 25 mins or until cooked through and beginning to darken around the edges. Set aside for 2-3 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Hints: Use the base of a glass to flatten these biscuits.
For chewy Anzacs, bake the biscuits for 18 minutes.
Makes 50 (approx) oC. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Basic Patty Cakes

Basic Patty Cakes
Whip them up and go to town with the decoration!

125g butter, softened
1 teas vanilla extract
2/3 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/4 cup milk

Preheat over to 180 degrees. Line two deep 12-hole patty pans with paper cases.
Beat butter, extract, sugar, eggs, flour and milk in  small bowl of electric mixer on low speed until ingredients are just combined. Increase speed to medium, beat about 3 minutes or until mixture is smooth and changed to a paler colour. Drop slightly rounded tablespoons of mixture into paper cases.
Bake for about 20 minutes.

Coconut Yogurt Cake

Coconut Yogurt Cake

Boring name, but a beautiful cake.

125g butter, softened
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup plain flour
200g greek yogurt
2/3 cup milk

icing
2 cups icing sugar
1 1/3 cups desiccated coconut
2 egg white, beaten lightly
pink food colouring

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease deep 23cm square cake pan and line base with baking paper.
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy in a small mixing bowl. Beat in eggs one at a time. Transfer mixture to a larger bowl and stir in coconut, sifted flours, yogurt and milk in two batches. Spread mixture into pan and bake cake about 40 minutes. Stand in pan for five minutes before turning out.
To make the icing sift the icing sugar into a medium bowl (just to ensure you've now used every bowl in your kitchen), stir in coconut and egg white. Place half the mixture in a small bowl and tint with pink colouring. Mix it all back in together and spread over cooled cake.

Rum Balls

Rum Balls

For those celebrating Christmas in July.

10 Weetbix
Tin of condensed milk
2 tabs cocoa
2-3 tabs rum
1 cup coconut
1 cup minced/mixed fruit

Mix the weetbix, condensed milk, cocoa, rum and dried fruit together. Roll into small balls and toss in coconut to coat.

Banana Bread

Banana Bread
Formerly a lunch box filler, now a status symbol!

8 tabs unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup unbleached, plain flour
1 teas baking soda
1/2 teas salt
1 cup wholemeal plain flour
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 teas vanilla
1/2 cup shelled walnuts

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Cream butter and sugar with eggs. Add sifted flour, salt, baking soda. Fold in bananas, walnuts and vanilla. Spread into a loaf tin and bake for 50-60 minutes.

Berlin Apple Cake

Berlin Apple Cake
This is quite an ordinary looking cake, but you will not find a more perfect companion for a cup of tea.

1 cup white sugar
125g butter at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup self raising flour
40g tin of mixed spice
500g granny smith apples (or 400g tin pie apples), peel & sliced

Prehead oven to 170 degrees. Grease and line an 18cm tin. Place apples in a saucepan, add a little water and cook until soft. Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Fold in flour and spice. Spread half of the mixture over the base of the cake tin. Spread this with the cooked apple in an even layer. Take care not to mix the apple into the cake mix. Layer the apple with dollops of the remaining cake mixture. It won't cover the top completely. Bake for 40 minutes, or until cooked when tested. Cool in the tin before turning out.

Serious Chocolate Slice

Serious Chocolate Slice
Don't worry about the exact amounts in this. Near enough is good enough. There's no limit to how much chocolate you can cram into it either - I've experimented. It's not pretty, but it tastes very good.

1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tabs cocoa
125g butter, melted
400g can condensed milk
250g dark or milk chocolate

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease a lamington tray and line with baking paper. Combine flour, coconut, sugar, butter and condensed milk in a bowl and mix well. Spread into pan.
Press chocolate bits on top and bake for 30 minutes. Gently cut into pieces while still quite warm and sprinkle with icing sugar for decoration once cooled.

Variations: you can add white chocolate to this and leave out the cocoa so it's blonde, add mixed fruit and cherries, add some nuts on top, mix the chocolate in with everything else, use smarties instead of chocolate...anything.

Lemon Butter

Lemon Butter
Call it what you will, lemon curd, lemon cheese, lemon butter - it's delicious! This is technically Stephanie Alexander's Lemon Butter, but I'm sure she won't mind if we use it. For best results, strain your eggs and use loads of fine zest.

2 large lemons juiced
100g unsalted butter
175g white sugar
3 eggs, lightly whisked & strained

Finely grate zest and juice lemons. In a heavy-based saucepan (or double boiler), combine butter, lemon juice, zest and sugar. Stir constantly over heat until sugar has dissolved. Add eggs off the heat and stir to mix well. Cook over gentle heat, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened and coats the back of your spoon, usually about 10-15 minutes. Do not allow to boil or it will curdle. Pour straight into small, hot, sterilised jars.

Lemon butter can be spread between layers of a sponge cake, or dolloped under the cream on butterfly cakes too (it can also be eaten with a spoon straight out of the fridge).