All That I'm Eating

Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.

Oat and Raisin Cookies

By 23 Comments

Oat and Raisin Cookies close up

I had such a craving for some proper oat and raisin cookies. Ones which are crispy on the outside and gooey in the middle and about the same size as my face. I’ve tried several recipes in the past and they’ve tended to be not quite what I’m after in my perfect cookie. Until now. If you’re after a healthy cookie I wouldn’t read on any further.

ingredients

You will need (for 10 cookies):

  • 225g unsalted butter, softened
  • 200g light brown sugar
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 190g plain flour
  • 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 240g rolled oats
  • 140g raisins

Method

I made these in a food mixer but you can make them with an electric hand whisk, or by hand if you prefer. read more

Store Cupboard Shortbread

By 16 Comments

Shortbread in tin

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 flour
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 150g butter, softened
  • 50g chopped nuts, chocolate or seeds

Method

Grease a loose bottomed tart tin, mine was 20cm. Preheat an oven to 160C.

Add all of the ingredients to a bowl or food mixer and beat together until you get a ball of dough. read more

Mince Pie Crumble Bars

By 20 Comments

Mince Pie Crumble Bars, out of the oven

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 butter
  • 100g sugar
  • 400g plain flour
  • 1 small jar mincemeat

Method

Grease and line a baking tray or dish. The one I used was approximately 20cm x 30cm. Preheat an oven to 170C. read more

Chocolate, Thyme and Lemon Shortbread

By 10 Comments

chocolate shortbread after the baking

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!

Ingredients

You will need (for 12 squares):

  • 180g plain flour
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 150g softened butter
  • 50g dark chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1tsp dried thyme
  • Zest 1 lemon

Method

Preheat your oven to 160C and line a baking dish; I used a square one for this batch but round or circular dishes work just as well.

Put all of the ingredients into a large bowl, or mixer, and beat together until they form a dough. Remove from the bowl and knead lightly.

Press the dough into the tin, spreading it out evenly, then prick the top of the shortbread with a fork. Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven, mark into squares then leave to cool before removing the biscuits from the dish.

You can’t go wrong with a dark chocolate shortbread biscuit, and that’s certainly the case when they’re served warm from the oven. The added thyme gives a little warmth and herbal note which coupled with the fresh, zesty lemon is just the thing with a cup of tea. Dried thyme works well in this as I think the oils in fresh thyme might taint a little as it gets baked in the oven. I have previously tried a similar combination of flavours with my chocolate, rosemary and hazelnut biscuits. I would like to try infusing some bay with a white chocolate mousse or sauce at some point in the future too.

Lemon Almond Biscuits

By 19 Comments

Lemon Almond Biscuits with tea

When the nights get darker and colder I reach for two things: one is the big cast iron saucepan and the other is my collection of spices. But for all the big flavours, homely soups, stews and curries that seem so apt at this time of year sometimes I crave a little delicacy. Something subtle, light and simple is what I’m after and these Lemon Almond Biscuits are exactly that. Just the ticket at the end of a busy day with a cup of tea, preferably Earl Grey. These little biscuits take less than half an hour from start to finish; perfect.

Ingredients

You will need (for around 15 biscuits):

  • 150g butter, cubed
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 150g plain flour
  • 25g ground almonds
  • Zest 1 lemon

 

Method

Put all of the ingredients into a mixer or a bowl and combine to form a dough.

Preheat an oven to 150C.

Divide the dough up into small balls, slightly smaller than a golf ball, then put onto greased trays. Leave a little room between each of them so they can spread out. Press the top of each one lightly with a fork.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Leave to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

These aren’t the snappiest of biscuits, they’re not supposed to be. They are ever so slightly soft in the middle and all the better for it. If you would prefer them to be crisper then just press them a little more with the fork to make them thinner. The lemon and almond flavours are subdued and these easy biscuits are the perfect antidote to a busy autumn evening. Uncomplicated to bake, unfussy to eat and with all the comfort of a good shortbread I’ll be keeping some of these in the biscuit tin for the next few months.

Dark Chocolate Orange and Pistachio Biscuits

By 16 Comments

Decorating chocolate pistachio biscuits

I do love the expression ‘fart-arsing around’. When it came to making and decorating these dark chocolate orange and pistachio biscuits I wasn’t going to be fart-arsing around with any of it. An all in one biscuit dough means it’s easy to mix and haphazard throwing around of melted chocolate makes the decoration a breeze. No dunking of biscuits in chocolate for the perfect edge, no placing of individual caramelised pistachios with tweezers and you know what? I think they taste all the better for it.

Ingredients

To make around 16 biscuits:

For the biscuits:

  • 225g butter, softened
  • 50g dark chocolate with orange, grated
  • 275g plain flour
  • 75g light muscovado sugar

To decorate:

  • 50g dark chocolate with orange
  • Small handful shelled pistachios

Method

Throw all the ingredients for the biscuits into a mixer and beat until you have a smooth dough. You can do this by hand if you don’t have a mixer. Whichever way you do it you need to make sure the butter is very soft.

Preheat an oven to 200C. Lightly grease two baking trays.

Flour your worktop and a rolling pin then tip the dough onto the floured surface and roll it out until it’s about half a centimetre thick.

Using a seven inch biscuit cutter cut out as many biscuits as you can and place onto the prepared trays. Gather up and re-roll the dough to cut again and repeat until all the dough is used up.

Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden.

Leave to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack.

Melt the chocolate; either in a bowl over simmering water (being careful not to let the bowl touch the water) or microwave, whichever is your preference.

Blend the pistachios in a food processor or finely chop them.

Spread, dunk, drizzle and brush the chocolate over the biscuits whichever way you wish and then while the chocolate is still melted sprinkle over the pistachio nuts so they stick.

I really like how the biscuits have a speckled effect through them thanks to the grated chocolate. It also means that if you get a bit impatient with the grating, not naming any names *ahem*, then the larger chocolate chunks are a lovely little treat. The orange is really subtle in these but I like that as it lends a delicate rather than overpowering flavour, you could add a little grated orange zest if you wanted to. Green pistachios are always nice to look at; they stand out really nicely against the dark chocolate background and give a fantastic extra texture. These dark chocolate orange and pistachio biscuits are so simple to make and, I can only speak for three days so far, keep very well in an airtight container.

Spanish Fennel Biscuits with Cream Cheese and Honey

By 27 Comments

Spanish Fennel Biscuits with sherry

When I was in Spain I ordered a dessert on the assumption that there had been a translation error on the menu. They can’t mean cheese ice cream, surely, they must mean cheeseCAKE ice cream, that’ll be delicious. Nope. Along came some cheese ice cream with a massive cracker on the side. What a revelation it was. The ‘cracker’ was actually a slightly sweet, very thin, fennel infused biscuit covered in sticky honey, which when dunked in the cheese ice cream was really rather delicious. I wanted to attempt something similar to this at home, so here are my Spanish fennel biscuits served with cream cheese and honey alongside some cracking fino sherry.

Ingredients

You will need (for 12 shortbread triangles):

  • 180g plain flour
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 150g unsalted butter, soft
  • 2 tbsp fennel seeds

To serve:

  • Full fat cream cheese
  • Honey
  • Sherry

Method

Start by making the shortbread. Lightly grease a baking tray or small baking tin. Preheat your oven to 160C.

Mix all of the shortbread ingredients together in a large bowl or food processor until well combined and you have a dough.

If you’re using a baking tray place the shortbread on to it and then flatten the mix out into a round, about the size of a small dinner plate. If you’re using a baking tin, press the mix into the tin. Prick the dough all over with a fork.

Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes then remove and mark into 12 portions while still hot. Remove from the tin onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

Spoon the cream cheese into a bowl and drizzle with honey. Dip the shortbread in or spread the cream cheese onto the shortbread and serve with well chilled fino sherry.

Serving the sherry chilled is the key to this dessert, fino sherry is quite dry but I think you need it to be to cut through the thick, sweet cheese and buttery shortbread. The fennel is just the perfect finishing touch to this dessert; enough to be perceptible but not so much that you feel like you’re nibbling on pure aniseed. It is a dessert for sharing, everyone can grab a biscuit and have a dunk. However, if you’re worried about any double-dipping (eww) you could serve the cheese in individual bowls, then, when all the crumbs have fallen into the cheese you can scoop out the remainder with a spoon and it’s like you’ve made your own cheesecake. If you are really that concerned about double dipping then I suggest getting some new acquaintances.

Double Chocolate and Orange Cookies

By 23 Comments

Double Chocolate and Orange Cookies

After double, these cookies could only be improved by making them triple; perhaps a drizzle or dunk of white chocolate on each. As they stand however, my Double Chocolate and Orange Cookies are just splendid as they are. Especially straight from the oven. The smell as they bake is hard to beat. I like to use dark chocolate when making cookies as sweet as these because I think it adds some welcome bitterness. When it comes to rolling the cookies, for reasons I am not sure of, I always seem to manage to end up with thirteen; a perfect baker’s dozen.

Ingredients

You will need (for thirteen, or fourteen if you prefer, cookies):

  • 100g margarine
  • 150g butter
  • 250g light muscovado sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 325g plain flour
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • Pinch salt
  • 100g dark chocolate with orange, broken into small pieces
  • Zest 1 large orange

Method

In a mixer (or by hand if you’re feeling strong) cream the margarine and butter together then add the sugar and continue to mix together until light and creamy. Don’t rush this step, it’s important that the butter and sugar get properly fluffy.

Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl then add these to the butter mix (with the mixer going) a little at the time until combined.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together then gently mix this into the dough with the salt.

Mix the chocolate and orange zest into the dough then refrigerate for around 30 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 220C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

Divide the dough into fourteen (roughly) pieces then roll each one into a ball; they should be about the same size as a golf ball.

Place each cookie onto the lined baking trays leaving room for them to spread. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Leave to cool slightly before removing from the tray.

I actually quite like that the cookies end up touching at the edges when they spread out on the tray; they break apart very easily once baked. These cookies are, of course, at their very best when fresh from the oven so they are still gooey and the chocolate is all melted. Chocolate and orange are always excellent together and served alongside a hot cup of coffee there’s not much else you could need on a Saturday afternoon.

Chocolate Rolled Oat Biscuits

By 14 Comments

Chocolate Rolled Oat Biscuits

Part biscuit and part flapjack, these Chocolate Rolled Oat Biscuits are a doddle to make. All mixed in one bowl and baked in one dish; minimum fuss and washing up, maximum baking satisfaction. I like that these biscuits aren’t too sweet and the generous amount of oats used means they are really filling. I’m not sure if they are technically a flapjack or a biscuit though; the lack of honey or golden syrup isn’t very flapjack-y but then the oaty flavour is so familiar it’s hard to believe it’s not a flapjack! I am sticking with calling them a biscuit on account of the crunch.

Ingredients

You will need (for 14-16 biscuits):

  • 300g rolled oats
  • 200g margarine (you could use butter if you prefer, I happened to have margarine in the fridge)
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder, sieved

Method

Beat the sugar and margarine together well so the mixture becomes smooth.

Add the oats and cocoa powder to the margarine and ensure everything is well mixed together.

Preheat an oven to 150C. Grease a baking tin, ideally one that’s 20 x 25cm.

Press the mixture into the greased tin, making the top as even as possible, then bake for 30-40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and mark into portions while still hot.

Leave to cool before removing from the tin.

If you eat them while they are still a little warm they do have a little bit of flapjack gooeyness; wait until they have cooled and they are a fantastically crunchy biscuit. I would add some dark chocolate chips or maybe some crushed hazelnuts or raisins next time to add something a little extra. I think they’d also be delicious dipped into some melted chocolate, it would finish them off perfectly. Just the thing with a hot cup of coffee and a good book.

Granny’s Oat Biscuits

By 18 Comments

Granny's Oat Biscuits - pile

When I was young I baked with my Granny at any opportunity. She’s got mad cooking skills and will beat anything together that looks like it’s not going to work, portion up a raw chicken to freeze in the blink of an eye and somehow manages to produce amazing food from seemingly nothing. Safe to say, she knows what she’s doing. However, we made these biscuits once together and, thanks to a timely phone call from my Mum, somehow both forgot to add any sugar to the dough. We made some very successful crackers but it wasn’t quite what we were aiming for. Almost 20 years later I thought it was probably time to give Granny’s Oat Biscuits another try.

Ingredients

You will need (for 16-20 biscuits):

  • 125g margarine
  • 80g sugar
  • 80g oats
  • 175g plain flour
  • Pinch salt

Method

Start by putting your oats into a food blender and blending them to a coarse powder; a few big bits are fine.

Beat the margarine and sugar together then mix in the flour, oats and salt. Mix everything together with all the strength you have in your upper arms. It will look like a bowl of lumpy powder but keep on mixing and you’ll get a dough.

Preheat an oven to 150C and line two trays with baking paper.

Roll the dough out until it’s 3-5mm thick then cut out with a biscuit cutter. Re-roll and cut until you run out of dough.

Pop all the biscuits onto the prepared trays and then bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven then take off the trays and leave to cool on a cooling rack before storing in an airtight container.

Success! All the ingredients were added in this time; Granny was very relieved to hear this news. I planned on taking some round for her to try but we accidentally ate them all. There’s something that the blended oats give to the biscuits that make them extra tasty; I’m not sure if it’s the nutty flavour or extra crunchy texture. I think these biscuits are great on their own; a celebration of simplicity and something that can be made and baked in under 30 minutes. However, if you wanted to go a bit fancy-pants you could add a little orange zest to the dough or maybe dip the biscuits in chocolate once they’ve cooled down. Delicious additions and something I think I’ll be trying with my next batch. Which hopefully some of, will reach my Grandparents.

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