Almond and White Chocolate Cookies

These cookies are another recipe to use up stuff from my pantry and they were well received. I normally bake double or triple chocolate cookies but I figured that the almond and white chocolate combo would shine best if left in a basic cookie mixture. My oven tried to burn the second batch but I saved them just in time and the white chocolate chips that had been touching the tray turned into little caramelised gold nuggets.

I’m not very patient when it comes to letting butter come to room temperature so I usually blast it for 30 seconds in the microwave which nearly melts it completely. Be a better person than me, be patient. Beating room temperature butter and sugar together results in a better textured cookie. If you take out the almonds and white chocolate this is a really good basic cookie recipe, it’s the same one I use for Crack Cookies.

Almond and White Chocolate Cookies

Adapted from Choc-chip Cookies from AWW Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits.

1 cup flaked almonds

125g butter, room temperature

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 3/4 cups self-raising flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 packet of white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180 C and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

To toast the almonds place them in a medium pan over medium-high heat and stir until they are light brown and toasted, set aside to cool.

Cream together the butter, caster sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy then beat in the egg.

Add in the flour and salt, mix well.

Add the chocolate chips and toasted almonds, mix until evenly distributed.

Shape into tablespoon sized balls and place on the prepared baking tray, allowing room for spreading.

Bake for 10-12 minutes then allow to cool on the tray.

Chocolate Coconut Muffins

I first made these on my recent lightning trip to Perth. My cousin and I rustled them up for an impromptu afternoon tea and she chose the flavour combo, one munch and I was hooked. I am a chocolate fiend but I always forget how well it pairs with other flavours, especially nuts and fruits. The coconut that is sprinkled on top gets all toasty and crunchy in the oven, every time I bake these my sprinkling hand gets looser and looser with the coconut.

I’m trying to incorporate wholemeal flour into more of my baking which adds a nice nuttiness to muffins but if you need to whip these up quickly and don’t have any around the house just use all plain flour. Same idea with the brown sugar, I’ve added it for its treacle-y-ness but just use all caster sugar if it’s easier. I added white chocolate chips because my sister pressured me into it, add your favourite chocolate or go for a mixture. What’s next for these muffins? An addition of fresh or dried fruit for a bit of tartness.

Chocolate and Coconut Muffins

Adapted from Rachel’s Classic Muffins over at Rachel Schultz.

1 cup wholemeal flour

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

3/4 cup milk

4 tbsp butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 tbsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup moist coconut flakes, plus extra for sprinkling

1 packet dark choc chips, plus extra for sprinkling

1/2 cup white choc chips, plus extra for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 175 C, line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flours, sugars, salt and baking powder, mix well.

Add in the moist coconut flakes, dark and white choc chips, mix until evenly distributed and set aside.

In a small saucepan over low heat combine the milk, butter and vegetable oil, stir until the butter has just melted then whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.

Divide the batter between the 12 paper liners, sprinkle over the reserved choc chips and coconut then bake for 25-30 minutes.

Brownie Bites

These cookies are basically portable, personal brownies. I came across the recipe randomly on Pinterest and it was the best thing to happen to me all week. I had been scouting for a recipe to make as a birthday present for the Boyfriend’s sister and I knew I had found The One. My suspicions were confirmed when two family member’s who were lucky enough to score some asked me for the recipe. Not to mention that they only have four tablespoons of butter in them, which basically makes them a health food! (Tell me I’m not the only one who tries to delude themselves like this).

Be sure to read the original recipe, I feel like it really highlights the importance of LETTING YOUR CHOCOLATE THICKEN! If your mixture is too soft your cookies will spread and dry out. Apparently they still taste pretty good but don’t have the fudge-y-ness of the cookies done correctly. When I found that my mixture was too soft I let the mixture sit, washed up the dishes, cleaned the kitchen and by the time I was done the mixture had become stiffer and resulted in the lovely thick cookies pictured above. There is so little flour in this recipe so I think I might experiment with almond meal to make a gluten free version. I have listed one packet of dark chocolate chips in the recipe but I also had some white ones so I chucked them in as well.

Brownie Bites

Adapted from Julia’s Outrageous chocolate cookies over at Julia’s Album.

200g 70% dark chocolate, chopped

4 tbsp unsalted butter

2/3 cup plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 packet dark choc chips

Preheat oven to 175 C, line a baking tray with baking paper and spray it with cooking oil.

Heat the dark chocolate and butter together in the microwave in 20 second bursts, mixing in between (you want the chocolate to be just melted, the consistency of peanut butter).

If you melt the chocolate too much and it becomes runny, allow it to sit at room temperature until it becomes very thick (the consistency of peanut butter).

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

In a mixing bowl large enough to hold the finished mixture combine the eggs, sugar and vanilla, beat with a hand mixer until it becomes pale and fluffy.

Mix in the melted chocolate, then mix in the flour until just combined, lastly add the choc chips and mix in by hand.

The mixture should have the consistency of a normal, stiff cookie dough, if it doesn’t hold it’s shape when scooped, allow it to sit at room temperature until it becomes quite firm.

Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto the prepared baking tray, allowing room for spreading.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, checking at 12 mins to see if the cookies have developed a light, cracked crust on them (bake for a few minutes more if the crust hasn’t developed yet).

Cool on the baking paper until they reach room temperature.

Coconut and Cranberry Bliss Bars

I used to have a whole corner of my cupboard devoted to desicated coconut, or as my sister called it once in a slip of the tongue, ‘desecrated coconut’. Every time I needed some for a recipe I would think, ‘Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m out at the moment’ and I would buy some, only to open my cupboard and realise there were five half-used bags languishing behind the flour. I actually check my supply now so it’s not as impressive as it used to be but if you have a similar hoarding problem this is a great recipe to put that coconut to use.

It’s gluten free (check your coconut to make sure, though) and if you leave out the white chocolate it can be refined sugar free. I couldn’t do that to myself though, in fact I increased the chocolate from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup because one thing I never do is skimp on the good stuff.

This recipe comes from Anaya’s Open Kitchen, the food blog of a good friend of mine. She is currently exploring healthy eating and is passionate about organic produce, check it out for easy but delicious vegetarian recipes.

I used half desecrated coconut and half moist coconut flakes because that’s what I wanted to get out of my cupboard but use what you have on hand, it’s a very versatile recipe. I also finely chopped the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries to get an even distribution in the slice.

Note: no coconut was desecrated in the making of this recipe.

Coconut and Cranberry Bliss Bars

Adapted from Anaya’s Coconut bliss bars with white chocolate and cranberries over at Anaya’s Open Kitchen.

1 cup desiccated coconut

1 cup moist coconut flakes

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsps vanilla essence

1/2 cup white chocolate chips, chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped

Preheat oven to 180 C, line a slice tin with baking paper.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well until everything is evenly distributed and moistened.

Press into the prepared slice tin, bake for 10-15 mins or until lightly browned.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before slicing.