Mars Bar Cornflake Treats : Creative Mondays Blog Hop...

Hello and welcome to Creative Mondays hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judy-H-JS Thought where you can link up all your creative post each week.

This week I made this recipe up using Mars bars, they tasted very sweet,yummy and everybody love them...

Makes 12

Ingredients

100g White cooking chocolate

100g Milk cooking chocolate

 4 x 58g Mars bars

100g Margarine

1 tbsp Golden syrup

150g Cornflakes

150g Dark cooking chocolate

You will need

2 x 6 holes silicon flower or any shaped mould oven trays

Method

Melt the white cooking chocolate in a bowl either in a microwave or in a heat prof bowl over simmering pre boiled water.

In another bowl melt the milk chocolate the same way.

Place the melted chocolate evenly between the 12 holes silicon tray, mixing the white chocolate and milk chocolate slightly together.

Leave to cool whilst preparing the Mars bar mix.

Slice the 4 Mars bars into chunks,  place with the margarine and golden syrup in a heatproof bowl.

Melt over a pan of simmering pre boiled water.

Stir the mixture, first as it melts it becomes thin, keep stirring it as it will start to become thicker.

When everything is melted and mixed in together, remove from the bowl from the pan and mix in the corn flakes straight away.

Crush the cornflakes down slightly with a potato masher.

Leave to cool slightly so not to melt the chocolate in the moulds.

Spoon the mixture evenly into the 12 holes in the trays on top of the chocolate and with the back of a spoon gentle press down.

Melt the dark chocolate and cover the 12 treats.

Leave to cool.

Once cooled place in a fridge for a few hours to set until ready to turn out.

When taking them out, turn upside down onto a place a loosen all sides

slowly lift from the middle, if starting to break they may need to cool more

One turned out the bottoms become the tops.

What I Wore : Layering Up ...

Been a long time since I've done a outfit post, before Christmas it was so so cold that I've been wrapping up warm in lots of jumper and wearing my onesie once it turns dark.

Have you been around the sales? I've brought lots of lovely bargains this week from a polka dot skirt at £10-00 to 4 wonderful dresses from Asda at £1-00 each. Also lots of chunky jumpers for around £5-00 to £7-00.

My Polka dot skirt ...



Nipped into my local charity shop looking for a vintage plate stand and came out with 3 little bargain,, the polka dot dress still original price tag on too. No I didn't get a cake stand....

My daughter having fun posing in her new dress and boots.

Jumper- Primark

Dress - Charity shop

Legging - Primark

Boots - Barratts



Jumper - Primark

Dress - Jane Norman

Leggings - Primark

Shoes - Primark

 

 

Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes ...

Make these easy, no cook cheesecakes the night before and leave in the fridge. If you have room, there are some spare for second helpings or just freeze the extras with a little pot of blueberries for another time.

Makes 8

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 4-5 minutes

Chilling time: 5 hours or overnight

Ingredients

Biscuit base

75g (3oz) digestive biscuits

25g (1oz) butter

2 teaspoons golden syrup

Cheesecake

300g (11oz) full fat cream cheese

65g (21/2oz) caster sugar

1 lemon, grated rind and juice

200ml (7fl oz) double cream

Topping

1 teaspoon cornflour

Juice of ½ lemon

2 tablespoons water

40g (11/2oz) caster sugar

 200g (7oz) Chilean blueberries

Method

 Add the biscuits to a small plastic bag, seal the top then crush the biscuits with a rolling pin.

Heat the butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan until melted, stir in the biscuit crumbs and mix together.

 Divide between 8, 75ml (3fl oz) heart shaped sections in a flexible silicone cake mould.

Press the biscuits into a thin layer with the

back of a teaspoon. Chill while making the filling.

 Add the cream cheese, caster sugar and lemon rind to a bowl and whisk together briefly until just mixed.

 Gradually whisk in the lemon juice and the cream until smooth and thick.

 Spoon the cheesecake mixture into crumb lined moulds then spread into an even layer and swirl the tops with the back of a spoon.

 Chill for 5 hours or overnight.

 To make the blueberry topping, add the cornflour to a small saucepan, stir in the lemon juice and mix until smooth then add the water, sugar and blueberries.

Cook over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring until the blueberries are just beginning to soften and the sauce has thickened to become a rich blueberry colour.

 Leave to cool, cover and chill until ready to serve.

 To serve, loosen the edges of the heart moulds and press up from the base, removing the cheesecakes with a small spatula.

 Transfer to serving plates and spoon the blueberries on top.

Cook’s tip If you find the cheesecakes a little tricky to remove from the moulds or haven’t had much time to chill them, freeze for 30 minutes to firm up then try again.

Guest Post Credits - Seasonal Berries

28/12 Link Up Your Favourite Posts This Week : Welcome To The Weekend Hop ...

Welcome to the weekend hop where you can link up some of your favourite post of the week. Simply link up to 3 different post or just your main blog....

Would be great if you could .....

Blueberry Bircher muesli ...

Overnight oatmeal...

First developed by a Swiss doctor back in the 1890’s, this easy, super healthy breakfast can be mixed together the night before, then left in the fridge to soak in a plastic container or smaller individual ones if that suits you better. Stir in grated apple and top generously with blueberries, honey and nuts and you’re good to go.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

500g (1lb 2oz) tub Greek yogurt

200g (7oz) rolled oats

40g (11/2oz) wheat germ

40g (11/2oz) desiccated coconut

50g (2oz) hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

200ml (7fl oz) pressed (cloudy) apple juice

To serve per portion

½ Granny Smith apple, cored but not peeled, coarsely grated

50g (2oz) Chilean blueberries

1 tsp runny honey

Little ground cinnamon

Few extra chopped hazelnuts, optional

Method

Mix the yogurt, oats and wheat germ in a bowl then stir in the coconut, toasted hazelnuts and apple juice.

Transfer to a plastic container, clip on the lid and chill overnight in the fridge.

When ready to serve, stir in grated apple and a few blueberries then spoon into dishes, top with extra blueberries, a drizzle of honey, a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and a few extra nuts, if liked.

The remaining soaked muesli will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days, just add a little apple juice if needed, as the oats will continue to swell.

Cook’s tip - If you are not a fan of nuts or have a nut allergy then simply leave them out. If you are allergic to yogurt made with cow’s milk then use goat’s milk or soak in soya milk instead.

Guest Post Credits - Seasonal Berries 

Caramel poached blueberries with crème fraiche ...

Quick and easy ...

We all love caramel oranges but caramel blueberries are even more delicious. Chill well and swirl through crème fraiche and Greek yogurt. If you can’t wait for them to cool, serve warm spooned over scoops of good vanilla ice cream for a great, speedy dessert.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 9-10 minutes

Ingredients

150g (5oz) caster sugar

3 tablespoons cold water

 2 tablespoons boiling water

150g (5oz) Chilean blueberries

To serve

250ml (8fl oz) pot full fat crème fraiche

250g (9oz) pot natural Greek yogurt

Method

1) Add the sugar and the cold water to a medium frying pan and heat very gently, stirring only occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved – about 5 minutes. Increase the heat and boil for 3-4 minutes without stirring until the syrup thickens and then begins to turn golden around the edges. Watch very closely as the syrup begins to colour and tilt the pan gently from time to time to even this colour out. Cook for a minute or two more until golden all over.

2) Take the pan off the heat and add the boiling water, remembering to stand well back as the syrup will spit. As soon as the bubbles begin to subside, tilt the pan to mix the syrup with the extra water.

3) Add the blueberries and cook for 1 minute or until the juices just begin to run from the blueberries, then leave to cool. Stir the crème fraiche and Greek yogurt together in a bowl and chill until needed.

4) When ready to serve, add alternate spoonfuls of the yogurt mixture and the caramelised blueberries to 4 serving glasses. Serve like this or for a marbled effect, run a small knife or handle of a teaspoon through each dessert to swirl together.

Cook’s tip Resist the urge to stir the syrup as it boils or you may find that it will crystallise into a solid white mass. If this happens, clean the pan and begin again.

Guest Post Credits - Seasonal Berries

Christmas 2012 : Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop ...

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judyh-jsThoughts where you can link up your Wordless / not so Wordless Wednesday photo posts each week...

 

Merry Christmas : Creative Mondays Blog Hop ....

Hello and welcome to Creative Mondays hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judy-H-JS Thought where you can link up all your creative post each week. This week as promised I would feature my favourite Christmas post from last weeks hop. Here they all are-

 

The Crafty Blog Stalker

Life As We Know It By Paula

PENN STATE Pretzels Review And Recipes ...

This week we were pleased to be sent some snacks to review from PENN STATE. My children loves nibbles and we often buy the mix variety party packs with pretzels inside ( but they always disappear first) or just the plain (shops own brand) pretzels, so we were interested to find out what the flavoured Penn State wheat and potato pretzel knots tasted like.

I got sent 3 packs of the classic American snacks to try, 2 limited edition Maple Bacon and a pack of Sour Cream and Chive.

Maple Bacon pretzels limited edition

Each 30g serving contains-

128 Calories
1.7g Sugar
3.0g Fat
0.2g Saturates
0.3g Salt


Sour Cream & Chive Pretzels

Each 30g serving contains-

133 Calories
1.1g Sugar
3.9g Fat
0.4g Saturates
0.5g Salt

We also got a few recipe ideas sent along with the pretzels to try out-

Dip in chocolate

Dip half in icing sugar

Stack and stick with icing sugar until you form a centre piece

Crush and use as a dipping for chocolate covered marshmallows

Crush and put in sprouts to add texture

Use within the base of a savoury cheese cake

Put in a flavour box to give guest as they arrive- Cheep and cheerful

Anything that involves melted chocolate gets my attention straight away!! So I decided to make the children some for when they got home from school-

You will need

Maple Bacon pretzels

Milk chocolate melting chocolate

White melting chocolate

Rainbow sprinkles

Method

In a heatproof bowl melt some milk cooking chocolate

Remove from the heat and place some pretzels into the bowl and cover them in chocolate

Grab the pretzels and dip into a bowl of sprinkles,

Repeat until all chocolate has been used

Leave to set on some grease proof paper

Repeat the first steps again with the white cooking chocolate

They taste great warm as well as set ,the savoury of the bacon and the sweet with the chocolate goes great together.

What I thought of the Penn State Pretzels

I opened a pack of the maple bacon pretzels when my little ones were at school,wrong thing to do as these are so moreish, after I turned my back my oldest son said "woo what are these" and started to munch away too.  They taste delicious with a nice strong taste of bacon and a slight taste of maple these pretzel taste lovely,fresh and crunchy. With the rest of the pack I quickly covered some in chocolate to try some sweet Pretzels with my other 3 children when they arrived home from school. Now they have finished school for the holidays I'm sure we will have fun trying out some of the other recipes.

We opened the sour cream cheese to have with our sandwiches last night at tea time, same as the maple bacon, taste lovely,fresh and crunchy and we all loved the flavour.

 Both flavours taste great and all 6 of us loved both packs the pretzels, which is rare in our house to all give a product the thumbs up.

 Priced at around £1-49 for a 175g big sharing bag of pretzels the delicious baked pretzel knots get a-

 5/5 from all of us for taste,quality and value...



About this review- I was sent 3 pack of pretzels to try out for the purpose of this review. I was not paid for this post and all thoughts on the snacks are my own honest option ...

21/12 Link Up Your Favourite Posts This Week : Welcome To The Weekend Hop ...

Welcome to the weekend hop where you can link up some of your favourite post of the week. Simply link up to 3 different post or just your main blog.

Blueberry clafoutis ...

Super simple : A real French classic, the batter is like a rich, sweet version of Yorkshire pudding and tastes delicious dusted generously with sifted icing sugar and topped with a scoop of just melting vanilla ice cream. If you don’t have any double cream then use an extra 150ml (1/4 pint) milk instead.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes

 Cooking time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons caster sugar to line the dish

 200g (7oz) Chilean blueberries

100g (4oz) plain flour

 Pinch salt

75g (3oz) caster sugar

1 lemon, grated rind only

3 medium eggs

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence 150ml

 (1/4 pint) milk

150 ml (1/4 pint) double cream

 Sifted icing sugar to decorate

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC/350oF/Gas Mark 4.

Grease a 1.5 litre (2 ½ pint) ovenproof dish that is 5cm (2 inches) deep with the butter, sprinkle with the sugar then add the blueberries.

Mix the flour, salt, sugar and lemon rind together in a mixing bowl.

Add the eggs, egg yolk and vanilla and whisk until smooth then gradually whisk in the milk and cream until a smooth batter.

Pour over the blueberries so that the dish is half full then bake for 30-40 minutes until the pudding is golden brown, risen around the edges and just set in the centre.

 Dust generously with sifted icing sugar and serve immediately.

Cook’s tip The baked batter will fall as it cools so put the pudding in the oven to bake while you eat your main course then serve up the minute it comes out of the oven.

 Guest Post Credits - Seasonal Berries

Designated Driver Christmas Play List ...

It's the time of year to get into the Christmas spirit and change your play list into something fun and festive. What would pick to be on your play list? Something old something new?

 Over at Brit Mums Blog they have come up with the #FestivePlaylist Linky that is sponsored by Coca-Cola and its special Designated Driver programme, which helps promote the positive role that soft drinks can play as credible alternatives to alcohol.

 Here is whats on my playlist-

My favourite song-

 Muppet's Christmas Carol-

I love this one, it reminds me of my oldest 2 children being babies ( gulps now they are 18 and 16 ) and how much fun we use to have waiting for Santa. Now we watch it my little 2 who loves it as much as they did....

Wish it could be Christmas everyday-

Was No.1 the year I was born and Christmas wouldn't be the same each year without it...

Rockin around the Christmas tree-

I blame Kim Wilde for my polka dot dress obsession, I loved this drees when I first seen it all those years ago and still do...

Last Christmas-Wham, how cool was George Michael here

And for something new Gabrielle Aplin - The Power of Love

   

About this post- I'm entering this post into the Coca Cola competition to be entered in a draw in which -Two lucky people will receive iPad Minis. Five will receive a case of their favourite Coca-Cola drink!

Coca Cola Designated Driver Pub Finder

Watermelon,Banana,avocado And Orange Smoothie ...

Getting some recipes ready for juicing my way through 2013. With starting my London marathon training after Christmas what better way to get some added vitamins inside you than a smoothie? I have been writing down lots of smoothies recipes to try ( Healthy and some no so  healthy!!) Some packed full of fruit, some with ice cream and some with cream in, so many good ideas I can't wait to try them all. This is the first time as an adult I have tried an avocado and I am now in love with them, I remember trying one at my aunties house when I was little and not liking them so I was surprised how yummy they are...

Serves 1-2

 

Ingredients

250g Watermelon

1 large banana

1 small avocado

1 orange

100ml concentrated orange juice

Few handfuls of ice

1 Tsp honey to taste

Method

Remove the skin and seeds from some watermelon , peel the banana, take the stone out off the avocado and peel ,remove the orange peel and take out any pips.

Chop the fruit and place in a smoothie maker

Pour in the orange juice and ice cubes

In a smoothie maker place the settings to mix for 30 second smoothie for 30 seconds

Serve straight away

Now What To Fill Them With? : Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop ...

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judyh-jsThoughts where you can link up your Wordless / not so Wordless Wednesday photo posts each week...

 

White Chocolate Caramel Snowmen And Trees ....

Finding something we all love to eat with a bit of everyone's favourite ingredients inside. White chocolate check, caramel check, Christmas sprinkles check, biscuits check. I had to do most of the work due to very hot pans but my daughter helped with the important bit at the end sprinkles and tasting ....

Makes 12

Ingredients

Base

100g Margarine

250g oat wholemeal biscuits

Filling

80g  Margarine

55g golden caster sugar

1 tbsp golden syrup

200g  half a can of condensed milk

Topping

150g White cooking chocolate broken into pieces

Coloured sugar sprinkles

You will also need 2 x 6 holes seasonal silicone muffin trays

Method


Place the oat biscuits in a food processor to make into fine crumbs

Place 100g margarine in a pan and slowly melt

Add the biscuit crumbs and mix well

Place evenly into the 12 holes of the muffin trays

Push down firmly with the back of a spoon to compact all the mix together and leave to set

To make the filling

Place the margarine,sugar,golden syrup and condensed milk in a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.

Slowly bring to the boil and simmer for 6-8 minutes,stirring constantly,until the mixture becomes very thick.

Pour over the shortbread base and leave to cool.

When cooled put in the refrigerator for a few hours until firm.

To make the topping.

Melt the milk chocolate in a bowl over some simmering pre boiled water or in a microwave according to instructions on pack.

leave to cool but not set

Then spread over the caramel.

Spoon the coloured sprinkles over

Chill in the refrigerator until set.

Christmas Bumper Creative Mondays Blog Hop...

Hello and welcome to Creative Mondays hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judy-H-JS Thought where you can link up all your creative post each week.

All week and weekend we have been rushing around getting ready for Christmas so this week I'm sharing some pictures from today when we went to Nottingham to visit Santa.

This week we would like you to link up as many Christmas recipes/crafts/style etc as you would like as its the last full week before Christmas to share what you have been making. And as usual link up anything thats got you creative this week. I will be featuring all my favourite Chrismas post next week....

Weight Watchers Mulled Martini ...

This spiced Martini is a delicious fruity cocktail with a subtle hint of spice, perfect to kick start a winter’s evening celebration. Made with Weight Watchers Italian Red Grape & Pomegranate Cordial, this fruity, spiced Mulled Martini is a great twist on a classic.

The orange-flavoured liqueur combines with the luscious grape and pomegranate to make a sophisticated fruity mix, with a pinch of mixed spice providing the distinctive mulled flavour.

Ingredients

2tbsp Weight Watchers Italian Red Grape & Pomegranate Cordial

1tbsp Cointreau or Triple Sec

1tbsp vodka

2tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

Good pinch mixed spice

Cubed ice

Pomegranate seeds or small red grapes to garnish

Method

1. Shake all ingredients together with lots of ice for a minute, then strain into a chilled martini glass.

2. Add fruit to garnish and serve.

Guest Post Credits- Weight Watchers

Vistamar Late Harvest Moscatel Wine review ...

This week I was sent a bottle of  Vistamar Late Harvest Moscatel wine to review. Me and my husband love to have a glass of wine or 2 especially over the weekends with a little food at supper time. We always go for dry wines that are suitable to go with savoury foods so I was very interested in trying a dessert wine out. I have such a sweet tooth and this sounded a great idea to me ...

About the wine

Colour -White wine

Grape- Pink Moscatel

Origin- This dessert wine comes from Limarí valley in northern Chile, where the long ripening season produces wines with great fruit concentration.After harvesting, the grapes are partially sun-dried, reducing their water content and thus concentrating the sugars.

Taste- Straw yellow in colour, with golden highlights.

Aromas -White flowers, peach, apricots and quince carry through to a palate of more ripe stone fruits and dried fig flavours.

Enjoy- Match with sticky toffee pudding, sweet fruit cheesecake, or rich blue cheeses.

Style- Dessert wine

Closer- Natural cork

ABV- 12%

Price- £6.49

Size- Half bottle 375ml

This first thing I noticed when I opened the bottle and took a deep whiff of the wine was how strong, sweet,fruity and lovely it smelt. I poured the wine into my glass and swished it around to watch the drop-lets to see how much alcohol the wine had in it and to see how slowly they fell. (some tips I picked up earlier this year )

The wine reminded me of a pale sherry with the strong flavor and you can really taste and smell the fruit-
Mango came to mind. With just a small glass it warms you up nicely inside and out ,leaving me with nice rosy cheeks. It is perfectly matched with desserts and I tried a small glass with a mince pie. I actually preferred my wine with some chopped mango when I had another glass later,better than with the cake earlier as for me it really brought out the flavours.

My husband still prefers dry wine as this was a little to sweet for him, as for me I really liked the wine and would definitely like to try some more.

The half-bottle 2011/2012 Limarí Valley 375ml Bottle is priced at special off from £6.49 to £6.24 or buy 2 for only £4.99 each at Majestic

About this post- I was kindly sent a bottle of Vistamar Late Harvest Moscatel wine to review,I was not paid for this post and all thoughts are my own honest opinion

14/12 Link Up Your Favourite Posts This Week : Welcome To The Weekend Hop ...

Welcome to the weekend hop where you can link up some of your favourite post of the week. Simply link up to 3 different post or just your main blog....

Truvia Mince Pies ...

Serves: 8

Prep time: 35 mins

Bake time: 20 mins

Ingedients 

For the pastry

225g Plain flour

115g Low fat butter or margarine, cold

1 pinch salt

75ml cold water

For The Mincemeat


225g Bramley apple, grated

225g sultanas

225g raisins

225g currants

65g Truvia

1tsp mixed spice

1 orange, zest & juice

60ml Brandy – optional

Method

To make the pastry place the flour, salt and butter in a bowl and rub in using your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the cold water a little at a time, mixing with a knife until it starts to come together.

 Use your hands to bring the pastry together into a ball, then knead on a lightly floured surface until the dough is smooth.

Wrap the pastry in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 mins.

Meanwhile to make the mincemeat, mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl then place in sterilised jars until you need it.

Now preheat your oven to 180°C/Gas 4 and lightly grease a muffin or tart tin.

Next roll out the pastry until it is the thickness of a £1 coin, then cut out 8 discs using a 7.5cm round cutter, then cut out 8 star shapes for the lids.

You could use slightly smaller discs if preferred.

Place the larger discs into the tin, then spoon in approximately 1 teaspoon of mincement into each base then place the lids on top.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until the pies are golden brown, remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Guest Post Credits- Truvia

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie ...

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, great to enjoy throughout the day or as a great alternative dessert after a Christmas Roast.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (75 g) pumpkin, fresh or canned

1 cup (240 ml) milk

1/3 cup (80 ml) sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon vanilla yogurt

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 cup (240 ml) ice cubes

Directions

1. Place all ingredients into the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure lid.

2. Select Variable 1.

3. Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to Variable 10, then to High.

4. Blend for 45 seconds or until desired consistency is reached. Top with whipped cream and a dust of cinnamon.

Guest Post Credits Vitamix

How To Make A Christmas Stocking ...

What you will need

Craft Factory Acrylic Glitter Felt

Needle

Embroidery thread

Fabric glue

 Embellishments – selection of buttons, beads, bells etc.

Instructions

1. Cut your red/white felt into two stockings with pinking shears, approx. 40 cm (top to heel)

2. Cut out a square piece of felt the same length of the top of your stocking in a contrasting colour then lay it on top of one of the stockings and attach by using a simple running stitch, 1cm in from the edge, in red or white thread.

3. Decorate the tops of the stocking by sewing/gluing on a selection of different embellishments to personalise

4. Join your stocking by stitching both pieces together, finishing off by sewing on some ribbon for hanging.Bottom of Form

Guest Post Credits -  Dunelm Mill

Stockist – 0845 165 6565

Meringue Topped Mince Pies ...

This twist on the traditional mince pie recipe includes a light, fluffy meringue top.

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Baking Time : 20 minutes

Portions : 12

Meringue Topped Mince Pies Ingredients

250 grams plain white flour

100 grams butter (cold and cubed)

25 grams lard

3 tbsp golden caster sugar

400 grams mincemeat

Ice sugar (to dust)

Topping

2 free range eggs (whites only)

Pinch salt

125 grams golden caster sugar

1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Almond Extract

Directions

Place the flour in a large bowl and using your fingers, gently rub in the butter and lard until it resembles breadcrumbs (or place in food processor and whiz until it resembles breadcrumbs).

 Add 2-3 tbsp of ice cold water, a little at a time, until it comes together in a soft dough.

 Knead gently into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill for 15 minutes.

 Preheat the oven to 220 °C (fan 200°C, gas mark 7).

 On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the pastry until 3mm thick.

Take a 7.5 cm fluted cutter and stamp out 24 circles and use to line a 12 hole bun tins.

Place a heaped tsp of mincemeat into each pastry case.

Bake 15 minutes until golden brown.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites and a pinch of salt to medium peaks in a mixer, then gradually add the sugar and the almond extract.

 Whisk until stiff and glossy.

Spoon the meringue onto the pies and bake for 3-4 minutes until meringue is lightly golden.

Guest post Credits - Nielsen-Massey Almond Extract

Ready For Christmas : Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop...

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judyh-jsThoughts where you can link up your Wordless / not so Wordless Wednesday photo posts each week...

 

Christmas Chocolate Trees : Creative Mondays Blog Hop ...

Hello and welcome to Creative Mondays hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judy-H-JS Thought where you can link up all your creative post each week....

Looking for a small handmade gift to make?

I made this recipe up yesterday and was very pleased with them - they look sweet, taste great and don't cost much to make.... with no baking involved!!

Makes 6

California Prune and Armagnac Trifle ...

Serves four

Ingredients

200g California prunes chopped

75ml Armagnac

300ml fresh vanilla custard

 75g homemade meringue roughly broken

150ml double cream whipped

Chocolate powder to serve

Method


Place the prunes in a small bowl and pour over the Armagnac

Leave to marinate for 1 hour

Divide the marinated prunes in half then divide one half into four glasses

Top each with the custard then the remaining prunes

Sprinkle over the roughly broken meringues then top with whipped double cream

Add a sprinkle of the chocolate powder and serve immediately.

Nutritional information (per serving)

495 kcal
 protein 4.8g
carbohydrate 58.5g
fat 22.4g
saturated fat 12.9g
fibre 3.5g
sugar 47.2g
salt 0.165g

Guest post Credit- California prunes

07/12 Link Up Your Favourite Posts This Week : Welcome To The Weekend Hop ...

Welcome to the weekend hop where you can link up some of your favourite post of the week. Simply link up to 3 different post or just your main blog....

Persil Warm Spice Review And Christmas Recipe Challenge ...

Last week I was kindly invited to take part in a Blogger Christmas cooking challenge. Persil Washing Up Liquid have teamed up with Ruth Clemens (blogger at The Pink Whisk and runner-up of the Great British Bake Off) to create some festive family recipes.

Along with some other bloggers I was given a chance to re create one of Ruth's recipes and also be entered into an opportunity to win a prize of £300 worth of kitchen vouchers from selected retailers.
(I was excited enough to be baking a plate full of treats so this was an added bonus).

Ruth’s festive recipes include-

Chocolate Orange Trifle
Christmas Biscotti
Mini Sausage Twirls
Orange Fig Glazed Ham
Spiced Apple Chutney
Candy Cane Meringues
Christmas Biscuits
Florentines




I decided to go with the Florentines as I thought they looked amazing and have never got around to making any up for myself yet so this itself would be a challenge ...

Here is Ruth's video on how to make them-

Makes 12

Ingredients:

50g golden syrup

50g Stork Baking Liquid

50g demerara sugar

50g plain flour

8 glace cherries, chopped

45g flaked almonds

40g mixed peel

50g sultanas

150g milk chocolate

Oven Temperature:

160c(fan)/180c/Gas Mark 4.

Bake Time: 8-10 minutes

Equipment Needed: Scales, small pan, silicone spatula, medium and small mixing bowl, chopping board, knife, cutlery – knife & spoon, 2 x baking trays, non-stick baking paper, wire cooling rack, teaspoon, pastry brush

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160c(fan)/180c/Gas Mark 4 and line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Add the golden syrup, demerara sugar and Stork Baking Liquid to a small pan. Heat the pan over a gentle heat, stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves.

Remove from the heat and add the flour, flaked almonds, mixed peel, sultanas and chopped glace cherries into a bowl and stir to mix evenly.

Place spoonfuls of the mixture well spaced apart as they will spread, creating 6 Florentines on each tray.

Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden brown.

 Allow to cool on the trays for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled melt the milk chocolate gently in the microwave or over a pan of steaming water.

Coat the back of each Florentine with melted chocolate, allow to set.

Serve. Tips/Alternatives: Use white chocolate to coat the Florentines if preferred.

I was very pleased with how the Florentines had turned out as they looked and tasted delicious (I should know I had more than my fair share).

Chocolate Shop Mulled Wine ...

Ingredients

1 bottle of ‘Chocolate Shop’ wine

 100g caster sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

 

5 star anise

8 cloves

2 small oranges (eg. clementines or satsumas)

 

A sprig of rosemary

 

Method

Pour the bottle of ‘Chocolate Shop’ into a saucepan with the sugar and spices and warm gently until the sugar has dissolved.

 

 Chop the un-peeled oranges in half and add them to the pan with the sprig of rosemary.

 

Continue to warm gently over a low heat for 5 – 10 mins to allow all of the flavours to infuse.

 

Serve warm. 

Guest Post Credits - Chocolate Shop wine

Sausage And Tomatoes Envelopes ...

Makes 12

You will need for the pastry

1 tsp mixed herbs

225g sieved flour

Pinch of salt

50g Lard

150g Margarine

Cold water to mix ( about 3-4 tbsp )

For the filling

6 sausages cut into half

2 large tomatoes cut into 12 slices not including ends

For the glaze

1 egg mixed together

1 tsp of mixed herbs

Method

In a bowl mix the flour,herbs and salt together

Cut lard and margarine into cubes and stir in

Slightly rub together

Add water a tablespoon at a time until all mixed together

Roll out onto a floured surface into a long rectangle

Fold into 3

Repeat this 3 times

Cover pasty and leave in fridge for about 15 minutes

Grease 2 baking trays

Roll pasty into long rectangle

Lay 12 piece of tomatoes onto pasty spacing well and place sausage on top of tomatoes

Cut pasty into 12 pieces

Slightly roll each pasty out so you can cover sausage with 4 corners like a envelope

Glaze corners to stick down

place envelope sides down on baking trays and glaze tops

Prick the tops of parcels with a fork

Sprinkle few herbs over

Bake on a pre heated oven 200c  for about 25 - 30 minutes until golden

Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop ...

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judyh-jsThoughts where you can link up your Wordless / not so Wordless Wednesday photo posts each week...

Chocolate Chip And Cherry Bread Pudding ...

 

Bread and butter pudding made with French chocolate chip brioche loaf, cherries and topped with flaky chocolate. So yummy....



You will need

Margarine for spreading onto bread and greasing

8 slices of French chocolate chip brioche loaf

50g Glazed cherries

2 tsp Cinnamon

350ml Milk

100 ml Double cream

3 Eggs

40 g Caster sugar

2 Small twirls or small piece of flake

Method


 Grease a medium size dish with some margarine

On a plate trim the crusts off the Brioche loaf, spread one side with margarine and cut into 2 triangles

Arrange 8 triangles at the bottom of the dish butter sides upwards

Sprinkle 10g sugar,1 tsp cinnamon and 50g of cherries evenly over the bread

Place the next 8 half's of bread over the mixture and sprinkle 10g of sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon over and set aside

Gently warm the milk and cream over a low heat,making sure it don't boil

Meanwhile whisk the 3 eggs and 20g sugar together until pale

Take the milk of the heat just before boiling and mix with a wooden spoon into the eggs and sugar

Sieve the mixture to remove any lumps

Pour the custard mix over the bread and butter pudding

Break the mini chocolates over and leave to soak in for about 20 minutes

Place in a pre heated  oven 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 for about 30 - 35 minutes until golden

Remove and leave to stand 10 minutes before serving

taste great with a little pouring cream