As requested Christmas goodies thread (recipes)

[Aaleigha]

I strongly urge you to only visit this thread on an UD and to only make the recipes on an UD unless you are very strong and can resist taste testing

here is the peanut treat recipe

Peanut treats

3/4lb salted peanuts
2.5 mugs of cornflakes
1 mug sultanas
1 tin condensed milk

Mix all together
Place spoonfuls in mini cake cases and cook on 160c gas mark 3
15 mins
Or place spoonfuls on to tin lined with baking parchment



piped intense chocolate morsels


Ingredients
125g/4oz dark chocolate
150g/5¼oz plain flour
30g/1oz cocoa, sifted
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
125g/4oz unsalted butter, softened
75g/2½oz light brown sugar
50g/2oz caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 free-range egg, cold from the fridge


Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.
2. Break the 125g/4oz dark chocolate into pieces and place into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until melted.
3. Place the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl and mix well.
4. In another bowl, cream the butter and two sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the melted chocolate and stir well.
5. Beat in the vanilla extract and crack in the egg, then mix in the dry ingredients.
6. put mix into a piping bag and pipe into petites fours cases or pipe onto baking parchment
7. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then test with a skewer - it should come out semi-clean and not wet with batter.
8. Leave the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to harden as they cool.

 

[Aaleigha]

Chocolate Fudge

today I used this recipe but I have several

Fudge

Ingredients:
200ml milk
250g butter
1kg granulated sugar
5 Tblsp golden syrup
400g condensed milk

Method:
Put all the ingredients into a heavy based saucepan and bring to boil stirring constantly . Boil on low heat for 15-20 mins until it reaches 115 degrees centigrade keep it stirred. If you do not have a sugar thermometer test for soft ball stage by putting a little in a bowl of cold water and see if it moulds into a soft ball - if not give it longer (it will have changed colour slightly) once soft ball stage has been reached put the pan in a sink of cold water to stop the cooking process

decided on flavourings - this time I split this mix in half and to one half I added 50g of melted plain chocolate and the other half three (but in future would use more 5?) crushed maryland cookies


the fudge needs to be beaten until it starts to lose its gloss (I use a hand held mixer for this ) when it loses its gloss and starts to look grainy add the magic ingredient 1tspn of cream of tartar
and beat and add your chosen ingredient

when well mixed pour into a suitable container to cool (I place baking parchment on the bottom to aid removal)
pop in fridge when set cut into bit sized chucks and share

 

[Aaleigha]

here are todays offerings
1Kg prepared onions (peeled 1/4 and sliced finely - I used my processor)
1 bottle of red wine vinegar
2 cups of molasses brown sugar
small amount of olive oil
pickling spice (half a sachet tied into muslin)

gently sweat the onions in the oil for about five mins - turn often
then add vinegar sugar and stir till dissolved add in muslin bag of spices and bring to the boil
turn down and simmer for at least an hour - the juice will become more syrupy
pour into prepared jars and seal and leave for at least a month for the flavours to develop - its ok to use it now - its just better later

see Miss JT this is not rocket science - its a recipe where you dont have to be exact - just chuck it all in a pan and cook for 1-1.5 hours before popping into jars - dont forget to label them makes a great christmas pressie -
why not make a hamper with some crackers some brie and a jar of your home made chutney

 

[Aaleigha]

mars bar cups

3 mars bars
60g mini marshmallows
60g honeycombe -bashed and broken up(can get both of those from julian graves)
4 tablespoons butter
melt the mars bars and butter very very gently in a bowl over hot water
then add the other ingredients

pop into petite four cases and leave to set

 

[Aaleigha]

These are so delicious eaten as they come out of the over - becareful not to burn yourselves

peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips
4oz crunchy peanut butter
3 oz butter, at room temperature
4 oz soft brown sugar
6 oz plain flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
6oz chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to GM4, 180c.

With an electric whisk thingy, or just a wooden spoon and some elbow, beat together the butter, peanut butter, and sugar until well combined. Add the flour and the egg and chips mix thoroughly to create a stiffish dough.

Cut or break the chocolates into individual squaresl you'll need somewhere between a dozen and 20, depending onthe size of your cookies.

Break off a walnut-sized piece of dough (or thereabouts) Place on a greased baking sheet, or one that's lined with silicon paper/baking paper and press slightly to flatten (they will spread) . Repeat with the rest of the dough. They will spread and flatten as they cook, so leave some space between them.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until they start to crack across the top and feel firmish on top when you prod them with a finger.
Let them cool for a couple of minutes on the baking trays, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool a bit more. But do make sure you eat at least one while they're still warm.

The chocolate stays gooey for three or four hours after they're baked, and even after that they're pretty good, but they're at their best when fresh.

 

[miss jelly tot]

see Miss JT this is not rocket science

Hehe depends if you cook like me When its burnt its done

 

[Stirky7]

The fudge and mars bar cups sound divine! Might have to try them, although I love fudge I can only usually eat a VERY little of it as it gives me a headache for some strange reason!!

 

[miss jelly tot]

Ohh just cooking the peanut butter cookies but didnt have any chocolate, so used raisins. Think today may be a MD

 

[Aaleigha]

peanut butter and raisins sounds good
need to add some shortbread recipes


Shortbread
Ingredients

125g/4oz butter
55g/2oz caster sugar
180g/6oz plain flour
Method

1. Heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2. Beat the butter and the sugar together until pale.
3. Stir in the flour to get a smooth paste. Turn on to a work surface and gently roll out until the paste is 1cm/½in thick.
4. Cut into rounds or fingers and sprinkle with a little extra caster sugar. Put on a baking sheet and chill for 20 minutes. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until pale golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Variations
Vanilla seeds or extract one pod or one teaspon
2 hightlights and 2oz choc chips
Orange zest
Ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons
Raisins (half by weight of flour)

 

[miss jelly tot]

They were lovely warm. I think I did over cook them I think as they went like bullets cold . Told you i was a cr*p cook lol.
I wasnt sure either when to put in the bicarb so put it in with the flour. Will def do them again

 

[Aaleigha]

Miss JT cut the cooking time down a bit
all ovens vary and yours could be a bit hotter than mine - however in this house if it is known I am cooking them they dont often have long enough to get cold and be bullet like

the thing is though people ate them and liked them - that is success
you are are now a cook

 

[emmasmum]

Thanks again for these recipes. I'm going to try some of them out this week as have decided to make a hamper formy parents. Any other recipes that you use for yours would be gratefully received. How do you wrap the shortbread (mum's fave!) and how long will it keep for?

 

[Stirky7]

My oven is working again at last!!! So I'm going to do some baking, yay it's been a long time!!!