I often find that I buy nuts or seeds to make something particular and I get left with a few grams of them here and there. That's where my store cupboard shortbread comes in. This year I am attempting to use up ingredients in my cupboards and I thought I would start by using the last few dregs of cocoa powder and some leftover hazelnuts; I am so glad I did.
Ingredients
Makes 12 pieces of shortbread:
175g plain flour1 tbsp cocoa powder50g Store Cupboard Shortbread
I often find that I buy nuts or seeds to make something particular and I get left with a few grams of them here and there. That's where my store cupboard shortbread comes in. This year I am attempting to use up ingredients in my cupboards and I thought I would start by using the last few dregs of cocoa powder and some leftover hazelnuts; I am so glad I did.
Ingredients
Makes 12 pieces of shortbread:
175g plain flour1 tbsp cocoa powder50g 
In my perfect world, a mince pie would be 70% pastry, 30% mincemeat. It's not that I don't like mincemeat I just don't like too much of it. That's where my mince pie crumble bars come in. A thick layer of buttery shortbread, a spiced mincemeat middle and further crumbly shortbread on the top. Let's be honest, it's mostly biscuit with a hint of Christmas. Perfect.
Ingredients
You will need (for 12 mince pie crumble bars):
300g softened 
I often get left with carrots at the bottom of the fridge. They play an overlooked, but important, base in so many meals: part of a mirepoix, in casseroles and in pies to name a few. Rarely, in my kitchen anyway, do the carrots get to be the star of the dish. So when some beautiful rainbow carrots arrived in the veg box it would have been rude to simply chuck them into various dinners. This time, I wanted to celebrate this lovely root in a rainbow 
When I cut into a lemon I can't help but give it a good sniff. It's the same with lime and grapefruit. There's something about that citrus smell that I just can't wait to inhale; especially if it's a drizzly day. I also love tropical flavours at this time of year: coconut, passion fruit, mango, you name it! Combining a bit of citrus and a bit of tropical was the idea here so I set about baking some lemon and coconut flapjacks.
Sometimes there's nothing better than a sandwich. It could be a properly crusty, thickly sliced loaf filled with simple cheese and chutney, a bagel filled with pastrami, gherkins and mustard or some thin rye bread topped with smoked fish and herbs. I don't think I could ever tire of something that you can just grab and eat with your hands. My salami and mozzarella open ciabatta is just the thing for a simple, no fuss, full of flavour dinner. Don't 
You know those bananas that you keep avoiding in the fruit bowl? The ones which got a bit speckled a few days ago and now are fully fledged brown? Well, throw out your normal go-to recipe because my banana bread with chocolate, oats and honey is the way to go. Adding a few extra ingredients gives it a delicious flavour and texture and I have been very much enjoying having a slice for breakfast each morning. Any excuse to start the day with chocolate.
Minimum fuss and maximum results were the name of the game with my most recent dessert. Another hot day, the last thing I needed was to be baking pastry, so I didn’t, but made a tart nonetheless. My Strawberry and Peanut Tart makes use of a few sneaky kitchen shortcuts to make a delicious and impressive pudding. A chocolate and peanut base smothered with cream and stacked high with fresh fruit it almost seemed a shame to cut into it. But, you know, 
When there's strawberries in the house that's how I know it's summer. I never eat them out of season; I feel like it's worth the wait to abstain from eating strawberries for nine or ten months of the year and then gorge on them from late May until they disappear again. Mostly I just eat them as they are but sometimes I like to make something a little more interesting. This Strawberry, Basil and Shortbread Mess is exactly that. Something that doesn't 
Adding herbs to bakes and drinks is something I really like to do. I like the botanical flavour that herbs can bring to various dishes and I think woody herbs really suit being paired with chocolate. These chocolate, thyme and lemon shortbread biscuits are a delicious combination of flavours if I do say so myself and if you're unsure about adding herbs to a biscuit you'll just have to give it a try!
There are so many delicious cakes and biscuits which appear from the recipe books ready for Easter. Simnel cakes, hot cross buns and Easter egg nest cakes to name a few. Frankly I think it's shameful that all the Easter treats aren't served all at the same time with a huge pot of tea and some excellent company. So that's exactly what an Easter afternoon tea is all about. An excuse to scoff all the tasty cakes and biscuits along with some sandwiches 
