Back to school they go – under duress maybe but the children are back to norm and so am I. There is so much to catch up on which I haven’t managed to get done this week so I am looking forward to the tasks ahead. Something had to give in order to spend some time with the children in the half term holiday especially with the lovely weather we had too. My main job to get finished is to get my next recipe book finished so that I can have it published before “National Picnic Week” which starts on the 16th June. There is not much more to be baked before I have all the photos I need so in the meantime I am going to finish the writing and add the remainder of the photos at a later date. Once I have everything prepared I will enrol my husband as my chief proof reader and editor before I put the book in for publishing.
As an after school treat, I am making some cookies for the children some are laced with yummy caramel and some with [amazon_textlink asin=’B002Z4YMKI’ text=’jelly beans’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’wwwlovetobake-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’f07dc8bc-49db-11e7-97e4-2fc004176c49′]. 🙂 That will make them smile.
Jelly Bean Cookies and Caramel Cookies made using a cookie recipe which I haven’t used in a long time where the resultant cookies are soft and gooey on the inside, melt in the mouth delicious but still slightly crunchy on the outside. Rather like the infamous Millie Cookies but so much better as they are homemade. This recipe which I use has three different types of sugar in it (but in small amounts) as over the years I have changed this recipe and now feel that it is just right. From this basic recipe I add different flavours so the family never know what I am going to make next. Today I shared the cookie dough between jelly beans and caramel sauce (which had been stored in the fridge). Thankfully I managed to take a photo before the children had eaten one sort of cookies. Unfortunately the caramel cookies are just crumbs now.
[lt_recipe name=”Jelly Bean Cookies” servings=”20″ prep_time=”10M” cook_time=”17M” total_time=”27M” difficulty=”Easy” summary=”Any flavour can be added to the dough, e.g., smarties, buttons etc. Nutritionally, one cookie contains 126 calories, 4.6g total fat (6% daily total fat), 19.4g ttoal carbohydrate (7% daily total carbohydrate), 0.4g fibre (1% daily fibre) (based on a 2000 calorie diet). ” print=”yes” image=”https://www.love-to-bake.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/jelly-bean-cookie12-1.jpg” ingredients=”250g plain flour;1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda;1/2 salt;100g butter (melted);50g light muscovado sugar;50g dark brown sugar;50g granulated sugar;1tsp vanilla essence;2 eggs;50g jelly beans” ]Preheat the oven to Gas 3.;Line three baking trays.;In a mixing bowl, weigh out the dry ingredients (not the beans).;In a pan melt the butter before adding it to the bowl along with the vanilla essence and eggs.;Mix together to form a dough.;Add the jelly beans and mix again.;Spoon the dough onto the trays but leave plenty of space as the cookies spread alot.;Bake for 15 – 17 minutes.;Remove and allow to cool as the cookies firm up on cooling.[/lt_recipe]
This week on the food calendar there is a wonderful “World Gin Day”, which if you like [amazon_textlink asin=’B004LLZP3Q’ text=’gin’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’wwwlovetobake-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’072a8884-49dc-11e7-bc12-7be8f22e1e96′] is a great excuse to drink it as it is or maybe try something different. I have seen recipes and ideas for using gin in a scone. It was on Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen blog – she made scones flavoured with gin and lemon. As I don’t like gin I am not sure what I will be making to celebrate that day.
Also, it is “Newcastle Vegan Festival”, so I am sure I will be able to create a vegan recipe as I probably eat mainly vegan meals myself as it is with being a vegetarian. I will get back to you on that one. For today, it is a cookie making day plus I am going to make a Vegetable Broth, one, to use up some vegetables, two, it is a chilly day here today and, three, I fancy something different for my dinner tonight.