Not So Virtuous Cranberry Granola

Today marks the end of my first week back at the gym!  Three (in my opinion) fairly vicious spin classes later and I'm cream crackered!  If only tomorrow wasn't weigh in day and I could actually have a cream cracker ... resting on a plate right beside the most gigantic hot chocolate you have ever seen ... the currently on vogue kind made with ganache and not powder ... with a mountain of whipped cream on top ... and some marshmallows, just for good measure ... maybe one of those chocolate spoons too ... and while we're at it, some chocolate sprinkles on the top!  [Sigh]

Instead (with my oh so virtuous halo positively choking me!) I have this offering from my backlog vault!

Cranberry Granola
150g rolled oats
2 tsp light oil, such as rapeseed
2 tbsp maple syrup
25g pumpkin seeds
100g dried cranberries
50g ready to eat dried apricots, chopped

Preheat the oven to 160C/fan 140C.  In a large bowl, combine the oats, il, maple syrup and seeds (it's easiest if you use your hands).

Place in a roasting tin and bake for 15-20 mins, stirring occasionally until just golden.  Stir in the cranberries and apricots and allow to cool.  Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Serves 8
WW magazine

I have no doubt that did actually start out relatively healthy, it's a weight watchers recipe after all.  I maybe added one or two of my own touches along the way though ... like a variety of dried fruit ... slightly more maple syrup as required ... cacao nibs ... you get the gist ;0)
(If you don't tell those weight watchers people then I won't either!)

Cinnamon and Raisin Fruit Loaf

This recipe appeared in the December issue of Delicious magazine and I set about making it straight away. I'm a bit of a sucker for fruit bread and this one didn't fail. Both Hubby and I really enjoyed inhaling our slices warm from the oven with the butter melting in. Actually I used spread instead of butter ... it was the lead up to the festive period and every ounce counts, as my scales are more than happy to point out to me!

This loaf recipe is fairly similar to the Fruit Loaf I usually make but I found that using the yeast in this dough makes for a lovely fluffy texture. The Fruit Loaf can sometimes be a bit on the dense side but as it doesn't have yeast in it means it is less labour intensive so I'm not ready to consign the recipe to the bin quite yet!

Cinnamon and Raisin Loaf

30g dried cherries (I used dried cranberries)

125g mixed golden sultana's and raisins

50g dried apricots

250ml strong Lady Grey tea, cold

400g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting

7g sachet (2 tsp) active dried yeast

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp caster sugar, plus extra for dusting

1/2 tsp salt

Grated zest of 1 orange

55g butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus a little extra for brushing

1 medium free range egg, beaten

150ml full fat milk, warmed

Oil, for greasing

Place the cherries (cranberries), sultanas, raisins and apricots in a large bowl, pour over the tea and leave to steep for a couple of hours before draining well.

Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the yeast, cinnamon, sugar, salt and orange zest and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the butter, egg and milk, then pour into the well in the flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon to mix to a soft dough. When the dough has nearly come together, add the fruit and combine.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins, until the dough is elastic and smooth, adding a little extra flour if its too sticky. Place the dough in a large, well oiled bowl, cover with well oiled cling film and leave in a warm place for 45 mins or until doubled in size.

Knock back the dough by punching it gently, then transfer to a lightly floured surface. Shape the dough into an oblong or round and place in a lightly greased and floured 900g loaf tin. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise for 30 mins or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C. Brush the top of the bread with melted butter and scatter with a little sugar. Bake in the oven for about 25 mins until the top is golden brown and the loaf makes a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 1 loaf

Delicious Magazine - December 09

The only thing left to do after making this is to cut a slice, spread with butter (!!!), make a cuppa and relax!

Christmas Stollen - Fresh From The Oven

Yep, time for another addition to my recipe collection thanks to Fresh From The Oven. This one comes to you direct from my 'sick' bed, clever clogs that I am managed to slip on some ice this morning and I've thrown my back out - grrrrrrrrrrrr! I'm hoping that a hot water bottle and some time to rest up will mean I'm back in the kitchen quick smart. So pleased I didn't leave this month's challenge till today to make like as is my usual form.

Jules (formerly from Domestic Goddess in Training) chose Simon Rimmer's recipe for Christmas Stollen for the December challenge and I have to admit that I've never actually eaten Stollen before so i wasn't quite sure what to expect from this one. Only Hubby's brother likes marzipan in this family and he lives all the way down in London so I opted for a marzipan-less version which still turned out wonderfully moist and flavourful. The only other change I made to the recipe was to substitute the flaked almonds with some chocolate because I had run out of the first and always have a plentiful supply of the second! I know what you're all thinking, but I honestly did run out of the almonds!

Stollen

100ml warm milk

6g fast action yeast or 2 tsp dried yeast or 20g fresh yeast

Pinch of salt

1 tsp caster sugar

225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1 tsp ground mixed spice

200g mixed dried fruit (including glace cherries)

25g flaked almonds (ahem - chocolate!)

50g unsalted butter

1 free range egg, beaten

250g marzipan (optional in this case!)

To Finish

Rum

25g butter, melted

50g icing sugar

Place the milk and yeast into a bowl and mix well. Leave to sit for 5-6 mins.

Meanwhile, sift the salt, sugar, flour and mixed spice into a large bowl. Add the dried fruit (I used a mixture of sultana's, glace cherries, and dried cranberries), almonds (chocolate!) and butter and mix well. Then stir in the yeasty milk and mix well.

Add the egg and stir to form a dough. Knead the dough for 5-6 mins, then cover and leave to prove for 20 mins. Uncover the dough and turn out onto a clean, floured work surface. Knock the dough back to reduce the volume, then knead the dough for 3-4 mins.

Push the dough out by hand into a flat oval shape about 23cm x 18cm. If using marzipan, roll it into a sausage shape about 6cm shorter than the dough. Place the marzipan into the center of the dough, then fold over the sides of the dough to seal in the marzipan. Then fold in the ends of the dough to contain the marzipan and help give the dough shape. Place the Stollen seal side down onto a greased baking tray. Cover and place somewhere warm to prove for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the Stollen on the baking tray into the oven to bake for 40 mins, or until golden brown and cooked through.

To finish, remove the Stollen from the oven, brush with the rum, then melted butter and dust liberally with icing sugar immediately. Allow the Stollen to cool, then serve in slices.

Makes 1 loaf

In summary, its much easier to make Stollen than I ever thought it would be, I'm thinking of making it for Christmas presents in next year's hampers. The only thing I think I did wrong was in the first step with the butter. The recipe never said if it was to be melted and mixed in, at room temp and rubbed in, or if it was to be in pea size pieces and just left as is. I ended up melting it and adding it in as directed but this made for a very wet dough which meant that I had to add vast quantities of flour to the mixture while I was kneading it so it didn't stick to the board. The final product doesn't seem to have suffered any, although as I said at the start, I've never tried Stollen before so I've not really got a measuring stick on this one. If anybody could let me know how the butter is to be added I would be most appreciative ;0)

To see everybody else's wonderful Stollen creations please head over to Fresh From The Oven tomorrow.

The Girl's Christmas Hamper 2010 - Christmas Biscotti

As promised, here is part 2 of 'The Girl's' Christmas Hampers.  To go along with the Christmas Cream Liqueur I decided to make them some biscotti too.  This is a recipe my Mum made for Christmas Hampers quite a few years ago, I believe it is possibly a Belinda Jeffery recipe originally but I'm not 100% sure!  The only problem with making biscotti is that one of the girl's is wheat intolerant and another has just been advised to cut gluten out of her diet altogether.  I frantic search of the Internet for suitable recipes and / or substitutions proved fruitless so I called upon the wonderful Katie from Apple and Spice for a bit of advice!  With Katie's help I was able to make a wheat and gluten free version as well as the originally, thanks Katie ;0)

Christmas Biscotti
250g plain flour (for the wheat and gluten free version I used a plain flour mix from Doves)
3/4 tsp baking powder (for the wheat and gluten free version I used bicarb ... but I am now the proud owner of gluten free baking powder!)
125 caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g almonds, chopped
50g dried cranberries or cherries
2 large eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 180C.  Lightly grease a baking tray.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl.  Stir in the sugar and a pinch of salt.  Add the vanilla extract and then the nuts and fruit.  Pour in the egg and mix until the mixture forms a firm dough.  You may need to use a little extra flour if the mixture feels too sticky (if it sticks to the bowl for example).

Flour the work surface or a large board, and your hands, and shape the mixture into a log about 30cm long.  put into the baking tray and cook for about 30 mins until firm.  Allow to cool for about 10 mins then cut into 2cm wide slices.  Put slices onto a clean baking tray (ungreased) and bake for another 15-20 mins, turning halfway through, until golden.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Makes around 20 slices

* You can flavour the biscotti with anything you like; almonds, hazelnuts, chocolate chips, pistachios etc.

Because its Christmas time I thought the biscotti called for a bit of added bling.  I tempered a batch of milk chocolate and dipped the biscotti in it and then sprinkled some edible golden stars over before the chocolate set.

The Return Of The Panettone!

Yep, another panettone recipe!  Actually, that technically isn't true ... it's the same panettone recipe as the first one just with some different flavourings.  Alas, it still only scored an 8 out of 10 from Hubby.  This time it was scored down because I didn't wrap it properly and so it dried out a wee bit.  Technicalities I tell you!!!  Upon arriving home from work he actually commented that the house smelled like real panettone and as I had baked it in a big tin this time (individual portions had been the reason for my two point deduction last time) I felt sure this one was going to gain me top marks.  Lesson learnt, it simply means I need to visit Lakeland to buy a tin big enough to store the panettone in between scoffing sessions ;0)

Butterscotch Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry and Panettone
500g plain flour , plus extra for dusting
2 x 7g sachets easy-blend dried yeast
100g golden caster sugar
200ml milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g butter, softened
150g macadamia halves
150g dried cranberries
150g butterscotch chocolate , chopped into chunks (Green and Blacks)
To Finish
1 egg , lightly beaten
2 tbsp demerara sugar

Tip the flour, yeast and 1 tsp salt into the food processor fitted with a dough blade. Mix briefly, then add the sugar and mix again. Warm the milk to hand hot and, in a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla extract. Add both the milk and eggs to the dry ingredients and mix to a soft dough. Work the dough in the processor for 2 mins, then leave in the machine until doubled in size, about 1 hr.

Cut softened butter into the processor, pulse until incorporated, leave for a further 1 hr to rise again. Add the chocolate, macadamias and cranberries to the machine, then pulse gently to mix evenly.
 

 
Butter and base line a 20cm deep cake tin. Make a 10cm collar with double thickness baking paper and line the sides of the tin. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly to shape into a ball. The dough will be very soft, so flour your hands well before handling it and work quickly. Drop the dough into the tin and leave to rise for 30 mins. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
 
Brush top of the dough liberally with beaten egg and scatter over almonds. Bake for 45-50 mins until the well risen and deep golden brown. Turn out of the tin and cool on a wire rack. Cut into wedges to serve. Will keep for 2 weeks wrapped in foil, or freeze on the day of making for up to 1 month.

Serves 8
Adapted from both the Good Food Mag, Jan 10 and Nicisme's bread machine recipe over at Cherrapeno

Spicy Apple and Cranberry Bruschetta ...

... or maybe I should have called this post 'Not Yo Mama's Cheese on Toast'!!  I was flicking through an old magazine last week when this recipe jumped off the page to me.  Apple and Cranberry Bruschetta sounded like something I wanted to try and as luck would have it (this is happening to me an awful lot lately!) I had all the ingredients on hand so headed straight into the kitchen.

Spicy Apple and Cranberry Bruschetta
2 tbsp veg oil
1 red onion, sliced
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
350g bramley apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp light brown sugar
3 tbsp cranberry sauce
Loaf of walnut bread, sliced into 8 pieces
120g goat’s cheese log, sliced into thin rounds

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion and chilli for 8-10 mins until softened.

Add the apples. Vinegar, sugar and cranberry sauce. Season well, then cook for 8-10 mins or until the apples are soft and most of the liquid has evaporated. Cool.

Toast the walnut bread on both sides until golden. Divide the apple and onion relish equally between the bread slices, then top each with a couple of goat’s cheese slices. Grill for 3-5 mins until the cheese begins to melt. Serve immediately.

Serves 4
Good To Know Recipes, Sept 10

• Store this spicy relish in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

I made the relish on Monday night and used it to make the bruschetta for dinner on the Tuesday night (this did allow me to pop to the shops to get the bread - alas not that required walnut bread though - and the goat's cheese) and makes a great weeknight meal, quick to make and very easy to eat, sweet, tart and spicy all at the same time ... and even better than that there is hardly any washing up at the end of the meal too ;0)

Cranberry Orange Pecan Bread

I have no idea what possessed me to buy that punnet of fresh cranberries, having never tasted the fresh version in my life.  Dried cranberries are a firm fixture in my diet and I have even been known to dabble in the odd beverage containing cranberry juice ... but never a real life fresh cranberry!  With the punnet tucked away in the crisper draw (is that where they are supposed to be kept?  I have no idea!) I was happily drooling over the food porn at Foodgawker when I found this recipe for Cranberry Orange Pecan Bread (think more along the lines of Banana Bread rather than a recipe for the kind of bread to make sandwiches with).  I had almost all the ingredients to hand, although the buttermilk was subbed for semi skimmed owing to the pancakes for breakfast yesterday ... I'm not braving the weather for a trip to the shops today, that snow has been chucking it down all day.

Cranberry Orange Pecan Bread
1/2 cup pecans, chopped coarse
1 tablespoon grated zest from 1 large orange
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2/3 cup buttermilk
90g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg, beaten lightly
2 cups plain flour
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
170g fresh cranberries, roughly chopped (good luck - those little suckers are tricky for chopping!)

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease bottom and sides of a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan; dust with flour, tapping out excess.

Spread the pecans onto a baking sheet and place in preheated oven 5-7 minutes until fragrant. Shake the baking sheet halfway through baking so the nuts will toast evenly. Remove nuts from oven and set aside to cool completely.

In a small bowl, stir together orange juice, zest, buttermilk, butter, and egg; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in large bowl. Stir liquid ingredients into the dry until just moistened. Gently stir in cranberries and pecans. Do not over mix.

Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth surface with a rubber spatula. Bake 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 160C; continue to bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, about 45 minutes longer. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely before serving, at least 1 hour.

Makes 1 large loaf
Taken from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

The hardest part has been having to wait an hour for the loaf to cool - murder I tell you!  It smelt glorious right from the start with the toasted pecans and the orange zest wafting through the whole house.  There is nothing more comforting in this world than the smell of baking permeating the place ... until you actually get the chance for the first bite!

Cranberry and White Chocolate Panettone

It would be fair to say that I had never actually heard of Panettone until I met my Husband.  He loves it toasted on Boxing Day morning for breakfast, in fact this has become a bit of a tradition in our family.  But he is incredibly fussy about the Panettone that he gets, it has to be authentic, it has to be the real deal. Last year we left it too late to get his Panettone, his favourite brand had been sold out, Boxing Day just wasn't the same!  This year I've decided to try my hand at making some of my own Panettone, there are a few recipes on the must try list (all non traditional of course!) and I've made a start with this one.



Cranberry and White Chocolate Panettone
500g plain flour , plus extra for dusting
2 x 7g sachets easy-blend dried yeast
100g golden caster sugar
200ml milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g butter, softened
175g dried cranberries
185g white chocolate , chopped into chunks
To Finish
1 egg , lightly beaten
2 tbsp flaked almonds

Tip the flour, yeast and 1 tsp salt into the food processor fitted with a dough blade. Mix briefly, then add the sugar and mix again. Warm the milk to hand hot and, in a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla extract. Add both the milk and eggs to the dry ingredients and mix to a soft dough. Work the dough in the processor for 2 mins, then leave in the machine until doubled in size, about 1 hr.

Cut softened butter into the processor, pulse until incorporated, leave for a further 1 hr to rise again. Add the cranberries, candied peel and white chocolate to the machine, then pulse gently to mix evenly.

Butter and base line a 20cm deep cake tin. Make a 10cm collar with double thickness baking paper and line the sides of the tin. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly to shape into a ball. The dough will be very soft, so flour your hands well before handling it and work quickly. Drop the dough into the tin and leave to rise for 30 mins. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

Brush top of the dough liberally with beaten egg and scatter over almonds. Bake for 45-50 mins until the well risen and deep golden brown. Turn out of the tin and cool on a wire rack. Cut into wedges to serve. Will keep for 2 weeks wrapped in foil, or freeze on the day of making for up to 1 month.

Serves 8
Good Food Mag, Jan 10

I made a couple of changes to the recipe, as is my style!  Selfishly I omitted the mixed peel in the original recipe and bumped the white chocolate up by the same amount.  And I also wanted to make individual panettone so I saved up some tin cans and used them to bake the bread in, this worked pretty well.  After reading some of the comments from other bakers on the website I knew this dough was going to be incredibly soft so I didn't bother with trying to shape the dough into a ball, instead I just popped handfuls of the mixture into the lined tin cans.  I was a bit skeptical of making the dough in the food processor too, but it actually worked out really well and the lazy side of me appreciated the machine doing all the hard labour!

The real test of the recipe was in the tasting of course.  I loved it, especially while it was still warm from the oven but its also pretty delish when its cold too.  Hubby gave it 8 stars out of 10, I got marked down for not baking it in one big tin!  Flavour wise he gave it top marks and has asked for a fresh batch to be baked for Christmas!

Chocolate Biscuit Slice

It has come to my attention that it has been quite sometime since I posted anything to do with chocolate. I may as well have changed the name of the blog to just plain old 'Teapot'!!! Never fear, I am here to rectify the situation post haste! While I am a little ashamed to be posting this, its a no cook, no pain kinda recipe but Hubby and I to great comfort in the knowledge that the end product is in the fridge while we are counting calories. I don't know what phenomenon causes it, but when you know you can't have something it just makes you want it even more but with this recipe you can have your cake (or Chocolate Biscuit Slice) and eat it too!

Chocolate Biscuit Slice

120g milk chocolate, broken into squares

1 tbsp golden syrup

50g low fat spread

150g shortcake biscuits, broken

30g glace cherries, chopped

50g ready to eat dried apricots, chopped

30g dried cranberries

Line the base of a 20cm square tin with non stick baking parchment.

Place the chocolate pieces, syrup and low fat spread in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted and then remove from the heat.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well until everything is coated in the chocolate. Press into the tin, levelling the surface. Chill for at least an hour then cut into 16 squares.

Stores in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Makes 16 pieces - 2.5 points each (in case you're a WW person too!)

WW Magazine from many moons ago

The hardest thing about this recipe is waiting for it to set in the fridge ... or maybe its the self control once it has set in the fridge ....

Spiced Pecan, Apple and Cranberry Cake

Autumn = Apples!  The only thing better than eating a nice crisp apple is eating a nice warm slice of apple cake ... or pie ... or crumble ... or danish ... you get the idea!

Spiced Pecan, Apple and Cranberry Cake
175g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
150g caster sugar
3 medium eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 eating apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm cubes
50g fresh or frozen cranberries, defrosted if frozen (I've learnt that dried cranberries are not a reasonable substitute for fresh or frozen in this recipe!)
75g pecans, roughly chopped
2-3 tbsp apricot jam

Preheat oven to 180C/fan 160C.  Grease and line a 20.5cm springform cake tin with baking parchment.

Using a a free standing mixer or electric hand whisk, beat 150g of the butter with the sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder and milk until pale and fluffy - about 5 mins.  Spoon into prepared tin and level the surface.  Bake for 10 mins.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining butter in a large frying pan until foaming.  Stir in the cinnamon and apples and cook for 3 mins until almost tender.  Take off the heat and stir int he cranberries and pecans.

Carefully take the part baked cake out of the oven and sprinkle over the apple mixture.  Return to the oven and bake for a further 40-50 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 5 mins, then remove from tin and peel off paper.  Transfer to a serving plate.  Gently warm the jam in a small pan to loosen, then brush over the top of the cake.  Serve cake warm or at room temp.

Cuts into 8 slices
I tore this recipe out of a magazine and I can't rightly remember which one it was now!

* This cake can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

I found this really nice warm from the oven (despite the dried cranberry mishap!) or just as nice served cold with a cuppa on the side!

Jane's Granola Recipe

Are you wondering who Jane is?  Well she is the food editor of the magazine that this recipe came from and kudos to her, this has quickly become one of our most favourite granola recipes.  In fact it is the granola recipe that all others are compared to, which is why we still call it Jane's Granola!  It is very versatile, you can add in or leave out what you have or don't have in the cupboard and the granola always turns out well.  We enjoy this sprinkled over fruit compote and yogurt, Kilner Crunch style!

Jane's Granola Recipe
250g rolled oats
200g mixed nuts, roughly chopped (such as pecans, brazils or hazelnuts)
2 tbsp each of sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, linseed, pumpkin seeds
6 tbsp clear honey
75g raisins
75g dried apricots, roughly chopped
75g dried cranberries or cherries

Preheat the oven to 150 C / 130 C fan. Mix together the oats, nuts and seeds in a large bowl. Put onto two baking sheets lined with baking parchment, drizzle over the honey and mix together until little clusters form, but not totally mixed.

Place the trays in the preheated oven and cook the granola for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the fruit and mix well. Cook for another 8 to 10 minutes. Leave to cool completely, then transfer to a lidded container. Serve with sheep or goat’s yogurt and a drizzle of honey or fresh berries
 
Makes 20 x 40g servings
Feel Good Food Mag

Fruit Bread

Its time for me to face reality. Summer is gone and Autumn is well and truly kicking in, the leaves are turning, darkness looms earlier and there is a very certain nip to the air. To most people these alone would be a fair indication of a change in the seasons, it would appear though that I'm quite good at turning a blind eye to these signs. My reality check came when I purchased our Christmas Advent calenders yesterday. I hear you cry "It's only September"! Of course you are right, it is way too early for things like this to be on the shelves but in my world this means Christmas is on its way and if Christmas is on its way then so is winter which, in turn, means I need to start enjoying Autumn! Just between you and me I can't wait for Christmas to come!

Naturally when it comes to this time of year my stomach turns to comfort food. I'm not going to lie to you, I make this recipe year round but when its dark outside and its time to cozy up, a slice of this still warm from the oven with some butter or marg melting over the top is the bees knees. I have been drooling all day at the anticipation of my first slice.

Fruit Bread

300g mixed dried fruit - I use sultanas, currants, raisins, dried cranberries and dried apricots

450ml hot tea

90g light brown sugar

1 lemon, zested

3 cups SR flour

1 tsp mixed spice

1 large egg

Place the fruit in a bowl, pour over the hot tea, cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temp overnight.

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 10 x 25cm loaf pan.

Strain the fruit, reserving the liquid then combine with remaining ingredients. Gradually add the reserved liquid, stirring until a soft dropping consistency is reached. Pour into the pan and bake for 45-50 mins.

Meanwhile, make a sugar syrup: place 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a pan over low heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for 10-15 mins. Brush the fruit loaf with syrup while still warm.

Set aside on a wire rack to coll, then slice and serve with butter.

Makes 1 loaf

Adapted from Australian Delicious Mag, April 2002 issue

A few points on this recipe - always, always, always remember to grease the pan. It has remarkable sticking properties otherwise! Also, the original recipe says to use Earl Grey tea but I make it with whatever flavour tea I have to hand, Scottish Breakfast Tea from the Edinburgh Tea and Coffee Company is my current tea of choice but I'm going to try using my favourite 'Tea Pig' flavour next time round (Chocolate Tea - defo worth a try if you haven't already, lovely cuppa!)

I make this is in two smaller pans rather than one large one. I find the top browns well before the middle is cooked in the larger pan, no big deal as a covering of foil once the desired level of goldeness has been reached solves the problem. We like the smaller pans though so we can have one for now and freeze the other for latter or pass it in to Jason's Mum - who has a particular soft spot for Fruit Bread - just reduce the cooking time. Doing it this way also eliminates the need for foil. The sugar syrup as made above is far too much for the bread whether it is made in a large pan or two dinky ones so I keep what is leftover in a jar in the fridge, it'll keep for ages that way.

Cranberry, Pecan and White Chocolate Cookies - Sweet and Simple Bakes

Its a good thing that one of my New Year Resolutions wasn't to be more organised in the kitchen. If it was I would have failed miserably already! We had an extension on our deadline for the Christmas Sweet and Simple Bake posting date and I have still managed to leave it to the death knock to whip a batch of these very scrummy cookies up. In fact, the last batch is still in the oven as I type!!!

Again, Maria is to be complemented on her choice for us. Lets face it, this month's recipe was going to have to be pretty fantastic to beat those brownies we all made in the lead up to Christmas. These cookies are outstanding, Hubby and I can't stop eating them straight off the cooling rack! They take me back to my childhood, coming home from school to find Mum had been baking. The only thing that could make the moment any better was (and still is!) a tall glass of ice cold milk.

Cranberry, Pecan and White Chocolate Cookies

150g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

75g rolled oats (not instant)

125g butter, softened

75g dark brown sugar

100g caster sugar (I used vanilla caster sugar to bump up the vanilla flavour - mmm)

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

75g dried cranberries

50g pecans, roughly chopped

150g white chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Measure the flour, baking powder, salt and rolled oats into a bowl.

Put the butter and sugars into another bowl and beat together until creamy. Then beat in the egg and vanilla.

Beat in the flour, baking powder, salt and oat mixture and then fold in the cranberries, chopped pecans and chocolate chips. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into a ball with your hands (I used a small ice cream scoop), then place them on a lined or greased baking sheet and squish the dough balls down with a fork. I missed this step but the cookies are none the worse for it!

Cook for 12 to 15 mins. When ready, the cookies will be tinged a pale gold but they will be too soft to lift immediately. Leave on the tray on a cool surface and let them firm up for about 5 mins. Remove with a spatula to cool fully (ahem!) on a wire rack.

Makes 30

Sweet and Simple Bakes

These are great as they are, but next time I think I will try macadamia nuts in the mix instead of the pecans. And if your thinking the cranberries are looking a bit light on then you would be right. In this batch I added slightly more white chocolate drops and pecans than listed because I was a bit short of the required amount of dried cranberries. I think these ones will be added to next year's Christmas Hampers for the girls ... if only I had been a bit more organised they could have had them this year!