Twelve Weeks Of Christmas "Cookies": Week Seven

The Edmond's Cookbook is a Kiwi icon. It was the only cookbook in my mother's house and I used to stare at the pictures of the party cakes all the time. Something about the pretty cakes, happy children's faces and  the variety of goodies in the picture made me dream a little as a kid.   The edition I have has different pictures now though. It is sold in pretty much all bookstores under the cookery section and it is also sold in most supermarkets, not in the book section but in the bakery section.

It says:

"The essential cook book for very kitchen, the Edmonds Cookery Book enables the user to cook with confidence and pride. With over 3 million copies sold to date the Edmonds Cookery Book is the biggest selling cook book in New Zealand's history"

Now the reason I'm telling you all this is because my recipe this week comes straight out of the Edmonds Cookery Book. I mentioned last week that I found several ways to make truffles and this one was the first recipe for truffles I had known. I remember making this recipe for the first time about 15 years ago on Christmas Eve for the family so we go way back.

Honestly, I like the truffles from this recipe better than the recipe from last week. They are a lot sweeter, but have a more chocolate fudge taste which definitely has more mainstream appeal.

Without further ado....

Chocolate Truffles 

(part deux)

50g butter

100g dark chocolate

1 cup icing/confectioners sugar

1 Tbsp rum

1 tsp cocoa

coconut

chocolate sprinkles

Put butter and chocolate into a saucepan. Heat gently, stirring until butter and chocolate have melted. Add 1/2 cup of the icing sugar. Stir until mixture is thick enough to handle. Stir in rum and coca. Add enough of the remaining icing sugar to make a stiff mixture. Shape mixture into balls. Roll in coconut and chocolate hale. Chill until firm. Makes about 15

Stay tuned next week on Week Eight for yet another version of Christmas Truffles from me.  This one is a healthy version and will definitely be a bit of an experiment for me as I've never made anything like it before!

Check out what everyone else made this week!

Twelve Weeks of Christmas "Cookies": Week Six

I steered away from a Christmas Cookie recipe this week and instead opted for a Christmas treat that can also be given as a gift: Truffles.  There are several ways to make Christmas truffles, the traditional method seems to be just a simple mixture of cream and dark chocolate with perhaps some flavouring in it.  I've always known truffles to have some kind of alcohol flavouring in it, so that's what I went for.  It seems the best concoction comes from almost a 1:1 ratio of cream (in ml) to dark chocolate (in grams).  This recipe is a mixure of different recipes I researched on the web for this week.  I also decorated my truffles whereas the traditional presentation seems to be to roll them in chopped nuts, flaked chocolate or coconut. Any opportunity to make things pretty!

Christmas Truffles 

150ml heavy cream

200g dark chocolate (70%)

20g unsalted butter

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp rum or brandy

 

Place cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil.  Add vanilla extract, stir then take off heat and let cool slightly.  Heat chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water until melted.  Beat in unsalted butter and rum until smooth.  Add cream mixture and beat until smooth.  Place bowl in the refrigerator for several hours until chocolate mixture is firm, but not rock solid.  Form into small balls and decorate or roll in nuts, or coconut.  Keeps in the fridge for about a week.

Check out what everyone else made this week!

Twelve Weeks Of Christmas Cookies: Week Three

Another chocolate cookie recipe for me this week. No surprise in the middle this time, just a chocolate cookie with a twist: a chili twist! Sounds a bit weird but I promise you it's good. What better way to warm up around the Christmas tree than indulging in a cookie hidden with a warming spice like chili? This recipe was inspired by a couple of things. I had never heard of chili and chocolate together until I moved to Australia and worked next to a gourmet sweet store. They used to sell an array of gourmet chocolates, one of which was a little chocolate infused with chili flavour. My work mate used to absolutely love this chocolate; I used to turn my nose up at it until she made me sample it one day. Wow.... wonderful! 

Source

The second thing that inspired me was Lindt's new chili chocolate. It's not exactly new new, but it came out a couple of years ago here and it's probably one of the only chocolate bars I buy regularly.

Source

Anyway, enough chatting...onto the recipe!

Chili Chocolate Cookies

2 cups of flour

2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup cocoa
50g dark chocolate

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp* chili

3/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

a few Tbsp sugar

red food colouring

*You can use anywhere from 1/2 tsp for a slightly warming flavour to 1 tsp for a definite chili finish.  I wouldn't go below 1/2 tsp though

Method

Preheat oven to 350F

Prepare decorating sugar by placing a few tablespoons of white sugar in a small bowl and adding a few drops of red food colouring. Mix until it is evenly distrubuted.

In a clean bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Crack in the egg and add vanilla extract then beat until smooth. Sift dry ingredients into a separate bowl and mix until well combined. Add dry ingredients to butter and sugar mixture and combine with a metal spoon. Shape the dough into balls approx 1.5-2" diameter.

Smear a dab of butter all over the bottom of a glass, then dip the glass in the red sugar. Use the glass to flatten each ball of dough slightly, dipping again into the sugar each time.

Place in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

 Voila!

Here's what everyone else got up to in the kitchen this week, for Week Three:

Twelve Weeks Of Christmas Cookies: Week Two

Chocolate Cherry Surprise Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

15* glace cherries

Method

Preheat oven to 350F

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat again until smooth. Add vanilla extract and beat in until combine. 

Sift all dry ingredients into a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to the sugar and butter mixture and mix with a metal spoon. The next part is the messy part; using a spoon, put a small blob of the chocolate batter between your fingers and flatten slightly. With your thumb, make a small hollow and place one cherry in the hollow. Using your fingers, gather up the sides of the batter around the cherry, then cover the cherry with extra batter. Roll the batter between your palms to make a smooth ball then place on a non stick baking sheet. Repeat until all your batter is gone.

Place in the oven and bake for 10-11 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before dusting with powdered sugar.

I love the pattern the powdered sugar leaves behind

*Approximately. The above mixture made 15 cookies for me, but depending on how large you make the balls you may need more or less. I had both green and red glace cherries, but I only used the red ones this time. For an extra Christmas-y feel, use both the green and red cherries: the Christmas colours.

I didn't make a frosting for this cookie because I didn't think it really needed it.  The glace cherry in the center made it sweet enough.  I was toying with the idea of a chocolate brandy frosting, but decided to leave it as is.

After Work Report:  I came home from work today after leaving the cookies in the bread bin and they had almost all been eaten!  My husband left me two out of the fourteen that I left there.  They must have been very good :-P

Here's what everyone else made this week:

Almost-Vegan Banana Chocolate Mousse Tart

The Crust

2 Cups LSA (1 cup flax seeds, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, 1/2 cup almonds)

1 cup cashews

1/2 tsp sea salt

6 large Medjool dates

1 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp vanilla extract

The Filling

2 medium ripe avocados, peeled and seeded

4 Tbsp cocoa

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 banana

Add LSA mixture, cashews, vanilla extract, medjool dates, 1 Tbsp honey, 1/2 tsp sea salt into a food processor and process until the crust starts to rise on the sides of the bowl. 

Press crust crumbs onto the bottom and sides of a pie pan to form the crust.  Place a layer of sliced banana evenly on the top of the crust.

Place avocados, cocoa powder, honey, vanilla, cinnamon and 1/4 tsp salt into a food processor and process until completely smooth and creamy. 

Spread the chocolate filling on the top of the bananas, then add a top layer of banana slices.  Chill at least one hour prior to serving.  Can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

The Result:

The Verdict: 

Yum!!  The chocolate mousse was so good!  The creaminess obviously comes from the avocado.  Although avocado has around 14g of fat per 100g, it also has a good amount of fiber which you will not find in regular pudding/mousse. I did think the crust was a little salty; not real salty but just a little bit too prominent.  Next time I'd probably half the amount of salt in the crust. I was surprised the crust held up so good.  It slices really easy and stays together nicely when transferred to a place.

source: adapted from Renata Holicova's original recipe http://fromgreytogreen.co.nz

Baking Club - Episode One

My kitchen this morning was filled with a wonderful aroma. A couple of workmates and I decided last weekend we would start up a baking club where each of us would take turns to make a recipe to share on Saturdays. I woke up early this morning at 6am to specially make my chosen recipe. Butter, cocoa, sugar, caramel, freshly chopped pecans all combined together to create a chocolatey, warm brownie.

The brownies were well received; they had a firm chewy texture on the outside but were warm and soft on the inside. The flavour was perfect: not too sweet and the caramel flavour was quite subtle.

I think I'm going to look forward to work on Saturdays!

Caramel Choc Pecan Brownies

150 g butter
1/2 cup NESTLÉ Baking Cocoa, lightly beaten
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup chopped pecan nuts
3/4 cup NESTLÉ Top'n'Fill Caramel

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line an 18cm x 28cm lamington tin with baking paper.

2. Beat butter and NESTLE Baking Cocoa until combined. Beat in eggs, sugar and vanilla then stir in flour and nuts.

3. Pour mixture into prepared tin.

4. Spoon NESTLE Top ‘n’ Fill Caramel onto brownie mixture and swirl through.

5. Bake 35 minutes until cooked. Cool then cut into squares to serve.

This recipe was taken from the Nestle Australia website and features their wonderful, yummy product Top 'n Fill Caramel. This is the first time I have used the product and I will definitely be using it in the future!

Chocolate Brownie Cake

This is a good one. I found it on a fitness forum almost a year ago and have only just made it now! I modified it slightly to suit what I had in the pantry.

No flour, a good amount of fiber and a rich chocolate taste. Using coffee accentuates the chocolate taste, so even if you dislike coffee do not omit it! Using Splenda cuts down on calories and carbohydrates but if you're wary of using artificial sugars you can substitute with regular sugar.

1 can of black beans

1.5 cups of Splenda (or sugar if you wish)

1 Tbsp baking powder

3 Tbsp Baking Cocoa

3 Tbsp espresso or strong coffee

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

3 Tbsp nut butter

1 handful of chopped nuts

Rinse the black beans well in water and set aside.

Separate the eggs and place the yolks in a food processor. Add baking powder, coffee, cocoa, vanilla bean paste and nut butter (your choice - I used cashew butter as that's what I had in the pantry). Blend until smooth. Add the black beans and blend again until smooth. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a clean bowl.

In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.

With a clean metal spoon, fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.

Pour cake batter in a greased cake tin and cover with chopped nuts (your choice - I used macadamia nuts, but walnuts would also be good). Place in an oven @ 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Wait until slightly cooled before cutting and serving.

Voila!