Cookies b4 Nooky!

Let's face it, food comes before most things and when you're spending Valentines alone, cookies are the best kind of date. 

Chocolate Chip and Cranberry Cookies!
Makes 20-30 (depending on dollop size)

What you'll need:
-150g butter
-150g light brown sugar
-1 egg
-1tsp vanilla essence
-300g plain flour
-1/2tsp baking powder
-100g dried cranberries
-100g milk choc chips

The Baking Of:
-Pre-heat oven to 200c
-In a large bowl: cream together the butter and sugar, beat in the eggs and add the vanilla
-Fold in the flour, cranberries and choc chips until they're all mixed in evenly and you've got gooey consistency. 
-Using a tsp, take small spoonfuls of the dough, roll with your hands and place onto a greased tray. Press down on them lightly and repeat. 
-Pop in the oven for approx. 12mins. Or until golden brown. 

If you're also on your own this year, don't worry about holding back - I'll never judge a fellow cake lover! 

HAPPY (slightly belated) VALENTINES TO YOU ALL! <3 

Cakes b4 Dates

Another year, another Valentines spent eating cake and working. Not a single Valentine in sight (excluding the one from my best friend). As much as I'd like to be wooed - yes, wooed, eating cake is so much easier. Plus, you know it's always going to be there; unlike the opposite sex. 

This year I did double baking; buns and cookies. Dead easy, but satisfyingly good. 

First up: Hazelnut & Chocolate buns.
Makes 12

What you'll need:
Sponge:
-4oz butter
-4oz caster sugar
-2 eggs
-4oz self raising flour
-2tsps of Starbucks hazelnut syrup (I must find out if there's a HN alternative!)
-And as much cocoa powder as you like
Icing:
-4oz icing sugar
-2-3tbsps hot water
-Even more cocoa powder

The Baking Of:
-Pre-heat the oven to 160c
-In a large bowl: cream the butter and sugar, beat in the eggs and add the flour. Stir in the syrup and powder. 
-Pour the mix into cupcake cases, whack in the oven and bake for approx. 20mins. Or until they spring back when prodded. 
-Whilst they're cooling you can get on with the icing: In a bowl, sift out the icing sugar, gradually add the water (until you have the right consistency) and then mix in the cocoa powder. 
-Once the buns are done, lather on the icing and for a finishing touch; add a Love Heart sweet. It's valentines after all!

Boys? Psshh!

It's Tuesday the 14th. For girls that have a special someone they're most likely spending their day frolicking around in an overly romantic manor. Me on the other hand, I'm single, have been for the majority of my life and I've never had a Valentine. Cards from parents do not count.

So on this day of overspending ridicule, my date was not a boy, it was a white chocolate muffin. 12 in fact. All home made and crazy delicious.

I mentioned yesterday that I would be making them and posting the recipe, so here it is:

What you'll need:

- 2 large eggs

- 2 cups of self-rasing flour

- 1/2 cup of caster sugar

- 2 tsps of baking powder

- 1 1/3 cup of milk

- 1/3 cup of oil

- 1 tsp of vanilla essence

- 1/2 tsp of salt

They're your basic ingredients, you can obviously add ay extra flavourings of your liking. Add as much or as little as you like! I added a large bar of white chocolate-broken up of course, and another tsp of vanilla.

Step one: Turn on oven and pre-heat at 200c/400f/gas 6

Step two: Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla and any additional flavours.

Step three: Beat the eggs, milk and oil in a separate bowl, then add to the dry mix.

Step four: Pour the mix into muffin cases and then pop into the oven. Leave for approx. 20mins. Until spongey and golden brown.

Step five: TUCK IN!

Before going in the oven

Out of the oven

I don't have a muffin tin, so they're a little flat, but they're fat and yummy so I can't really complain.

Seriously, who needs boys when you have cake?!

x