Oatmeal and Raisin Cookies

August 11, 2014 By

I don’t know why, but this weekend I had a sudden urge for oatmeal and raisin cookies. I know these aren’t exactly the most exciting cookies, mainly because they don’t contain delicious chocolate bars like tasty snickers cookies. However, these thick and chewy old fashioned goodies are delicious and perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.

Whilst writing this post I was trying to find the right words to describe these cookies, so I thought some extra taste testing would help – these cookies are thick and chewy from the traditional oats, spicy from the cinnamon, crunchy from the walnuts and sweet from the brown sugar and raisins.

To add an extra crunch to these cookies, Brooke added some chopped walnuts, which she quickly toasted before adding to the mixture. However, you could easily substitute the walnuts with some choc chips or dried apple for anyone who doesn’t like walnuts or has an allergy.

To ensure you have nice thick and chewy cookies you need to use traditional rolled oats, not quick oats and also leave your dough to chill for around one hour. Once your dough has chilled, you can bake your cookies for 13 to 15 minutes in a moderate oven till your house has filled with delicious cinnamon aromas! Be careful not to over bake your cookies as they will end up more crunchy then chewy!

Looking for other recipes for cookies and biscuits Easy Afghan Biscuit Recipe, Florentine Biscuits, Ginger Nut Biscuits, Melting Moments with Jam, Choc Chip Snickers Cookies.

Oatmeal and raisin cookie ingredientsOatmeal and Raisin CookiesOatmeal and Raisin Cookie IngredientsOatmeal and Raisin Cookies RecipesOatmeal and Raisin Cookies

Tasty Oatmeal and Raisin Cookies – Recipe Instructions

Oatmeal and Raisin Cookies
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
These oatmeal and raisin cookies are thick and chewy from the traditional oats, spicy from the cinnamon, crunchy from the walnuts and sweet from the brown sugar and raisins.
Author:
Recipe type: Cookies
Cuisine: American
Serves: 18
Ingredients
  • 115 g butter
  • 125 g brown sugar
  • 
1 egg
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • 95 g plain flour
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 
1/2 tsp salt
  • 120 g rolled oats
  • 120 g raisins
  • 65 g walnuts, chopped (toasted optional)
Instructions
  1. Cream butter and brown sugar. Mix in egg, and vanilla.
  2. In another bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
  3. Stir butter mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts. Allow dough to chill for around an hour.
  4. Preheat oven to 180°C. Scoop large tablespoons of dough, and portion onto lined baking trays. Roll dough with your hand and flatten a little bit.
  5. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges are golden, but the centers look a bit underdone. Overbaking them will result in less chewy cookies.

 

Filed Under: Baked Goods Tagged With: , , , ,

Clementine Cake

August 3, 2014 By

Last week we went and visited some friends and were given a rather large bag of clementine’s from them in the hope we might turn it into something delicious for the blog. “Challenge accepted!” we said and proceeded to create this homemade clementine cake recipe.

Clementine’s are a great combination of mandarin and orange, and after doing some research they are also a popular citrus fruit used for making tasty treats in the UK. Courtesy of Nigella Lawson’s reputable recipe, Clementine Cake, Brooke used this recipe to use the tangy fruit.

Firstly you must allow some extra time to boil the fruit whole, for at last two hours. Luckily if there is someone already home you can kindly ask them to put them on a light boil ahead for you. Once the clementine’s have boiled for two hours you need to blitz them in the food processor – skin, pith, fruit and all! Just simply check the fruit for seeds first before giving them a blitz. From there it is simply just combining the remaining ingredients and stirring in the clementine puree. This cake does take up to an hour to bake and you may need to protect the top with a bit of foil to stop it from burning.

Once the cake is cooked and allowed to cool, you can sprinkle with a little icing sugar or make an easy icing with the juice of one clementine and 1 cup of icing sugar. For me this cake is dense, moist and flavorful on is own and perfect for these cool months with a cup of tea, coffee or warm drink!

Looking for some more dessert recipes then check out our recipe for Homemade No Bake Mars Bar Slice or Fruit and Custard Tart.

Clementine Cake IngredientsBoiled ClementinesClementine Cake MixtureClementine Cake RecipeClementine Cake Recipe

Homemade Clementine Cake – Recipe Instructions

Clementine Cake
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Delicious Clementine Cake made with just 5 ingredients.
Author:
Recipe type: Baked Goods
Cuisine: British
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 400 g clementine’s (approx. 4 small-sized ones)
  • 6 large eggs
  • 225 g white sugar
  • 250 g ground almonds
  • 1 tsp baking powder
Instructions
  1. Put the clementine’s in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 2 hours. Drain and, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the pips. Dump the clementine’s - skins, pith, fruit and all - and give a quick blitz in a food processor.
  2. Preheat the oven to 170ºC. Butter and line a 21cm / 8 inch Springform tin.
  3. Add all the other ingredients to the food processor and mix. Or, you can beat the eggs by hand adding the sugar, almonds and baking powder, mixing well, then finally adding the fruit puree.
  4. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for an hour. Check the cake with a skewer that it comes out clean.
  5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

 

Filed Under: Baked Goods Tagged With: , ,

Pumpkin and leek tart recipe

July 28, 2014 By

Since returning from our holiday we have had a very busy weekend catching up with friends and family. Luckily we managed to find a bit of time yesterday to get back into some humble home cooking and Brooke made this delicious pumpkin and leek tart recipe.

Whilst being away we have definitely eaten our fair share of delicious Vietnamese food, but now that we are home in the middle of Perth’s winter I am craving some simple winter food.

With pumpkin and leek in season, Brooke made one of my favourite recipes, pumpkin and leek tart. This tart is delicious and if Brooke can be bothered tackling homemade short crust pastry is a great winter warmer.

Cook the pumpkin slightly in the pan first with a little butter and garlic for added flavour, then combine with the sliced leeks, some fresh tomatoes for colour, dried onion flakes, cheese and an egg and cream filling. Bake it in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Served with a simple salad this tart is great for a light lunch or dinner or in the warmer months for a picnic!

Looking for some more savoury baked goods then check out our recipe for Ham and Cheese Croquettes or Zucchini and Bacon Slice. I like to pair this pumpkin and leek tart with our Roasted Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup recipe.

Tart Pastry IngredientsPumpkin and Leek Tart IngredientsPumpkin and leek tart recipePumpkin and leek tartPumpkin and leek tart recipe

Healthy Pumpkin and Leek Tart – Recipe Instructions

Pumpkin and Leek Tart
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Pumpkin and Leek Tart great for a light lunch or dinner.
Author:
Recipe type: Baked Goods
Cuisine: French
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Pastry
  • 1⅔ cups (250g) plain flour
  • 125g unsalted butter, chilled, finely chopped
  • 1 egg, chilled
  • 1 Tbsp cold water
Tart Ingredients
  • 300g pumpkin, cubed
  • 1 leek, washed and sliced
  • ½ cup cheese, grated
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 – 4 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
  • 120 ml thickened cream
  • 2 tbsp onion flakes
  • 1 tsbp butter
  • 1 tsp garlic, crushed
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. To make the pastry, place the flour and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and water and process until the mixture just comes together. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for 15 minutes to rest.
  2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the pumpkin and garlic and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes or until soft. Remove from heat.
  3. Preheat oven to 200°C.
  4. Roll out the pastry into a 3mm thick rectangle or disc. Line a round 23cm (base measurement) fluted tart tin or a 33cm x 9cm rectangular tart with removable base with pastry and trim any excess. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to rest.
  5. Cover pastry with non-stick baking paper and fill with rice or dried beans. Place on a baking tray. Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Remove paper and rice or beans, and bake for a further 8 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 180°C.
  6. Fill pastry base with pumpkin, onion flakes, leeks, cheese and tomatoes.
  7. Whisk cream and eggs together in a jug. Spread over pastry base.
  8. Bake in oven for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

 

Filed Under: Baked Goods Tagged With: , , , , ,

Singapore Sling

June 30, 2014 By

Brooke and I are finally overseas on a well deserved holiday in Asia for the next three weeks. However, after a recent accident, I wound up fracturing my elbow a week before we were due to leave resulting in me needing to wear a sling for the next couple of weeks. Not exactly an ideal situation to be in but what are you going to do?

Well if you’re in Singapore like us, you try and find the funny side and head to the Raffles Hotel to enjoy a Singapore Sling in your sling! After a short taxi ride, we pulled up out the front of the beautiful colonial-style hotel where we felt like the ultimate tourist asking where the Long Bar was for the famous cocktail.

The Singapore Sling was created at the Raffles Hotel at the turn-of-the-century by Hainese-Chinese bartender, Mr. Ngiam Tong Boon. As history says the recipe was originally created for women, given its attractive pink colour and fruitful flavour. Due to the volume of tourists that visit the bar, it is definitely a drink enjoyed by all.

If you do decide to make the special trip for a taste of this historic drink, be sure to eat your value in the free peanuts, as unfortunately, this tourist attraction doesn’t come cheap!

Check out some of our other food adventures including our Hoi An Cooking Class and Timboon Railway Distillery.

Raffles Hotel SingaporeLong Bar Raffles Hotel SingaporeLong Bar Original Singapore SlingSingapore Sling RecipeSingapore Sling Raffles HotelOriginal Singapore Sling Recipe

Singapore Sling
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Singapore Sling made with a combination of Gin, Heering Cherry Liqueur, Pineapple juice, Lime juice, Cointreau, Dom Benedictine, Grenadine a dash of Angostura Bitters and garnished with a slice of pineapple and a cherry.
Author:
Recipe type: Drinks
Cuisine: Asian
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 30 ml Gin
  • 15 ml Heering Cherry Liqueur
  • 120ml Pineapple juice
  • 15 ml Lime juice
  • 7.5 ml Cointreau
  • 7.5 ml Dom Benedictine
  • 10 ml Grenadine
  • A dash of Angostura Bitters
  • Garnish with a slice of Pineapple and a Cherry
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients into a shaker with ice.
  2. Shake and strain into an ice filled Collins glass.
  3. Garnish with a cherry and slice of pineapple.

 

Filed Under: Drinks Tagged With:

Apple and Rhubarb Crumble

June 23, 2014 By

After another cold and wet week here in Perth, I am sure I am not the only one who is wishing for clear blue skies and warm days again. If the Sticky Date and Banana Loaves weren’t enough of a winter indulgence last week, how about a humble Apple and Rhubarb Crumble?

I love apple crumble and when rhubarb is in season, its vibrant colour, and tartness is a great accompaniment to sweet dishes such as tarts, cakes and classic crumbles. After a quick trip to the markets, we managed to nab the last bunch of beautiful rhubarb for our crumble.

After chopping the apples and rhubarb into rather large chunks, Brooke simply added a little brown sugar to the fruit then made a basic crumble using butter, caster sugar, plain flour and some rolled oats. Within a couple of minutes the crumbles are prepared and ready to be cooked in a moderate oven.

Once the crumbles are golden brown on the top they are ready to be served. Of course these will be very hot when they come out the oven so to serve we had some fresh thickened cream, or some custard or ice cream would definitely be an excellent addition!

Looking for other fruit-based desserts then check out our Fruit and Custard Tart Recipe or Lemon and Blueberry Loaves.

Apple and Rhubarb Crumble IngredientsApple and Rhubarb Crumble MixtureMini Apple and Rhubarb CrumbleApple and Rhubarb Crumble RecipeApple and Rhubarb Crumble Recipe

Tasty Apple and Rhubarb Crumble – Recipe Instructions

Apple and Rhubarb Crumble
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
The ultimate in winter indulgence. A humble Apple and Rhubarb Crumble served with fresh thickened cream.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 4 larges green apples, peeled and chopped
  • 1 bunch of rhubarb, approx. 5 stalks, chopped
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • ½ cup rolled oats
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 125g butter, at room temperature
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly grease 4 ramekins or a large baking dish.
  2. Place the prepared apples and rhubarb in a bowl and stir through brown sugar.
  3. Place the flour, butter, caster sugar and oats in a medium bowl. Use your fingers or a fork, rub in the butter until well combined and large crumbs form.
  4. Spoon the fruit into the prepared dishes, sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the fruit. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
  5. Serve with cream, ice cream or custard.

 

Filed Under: Desserts and Sweets Tagged With: , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »