Chocolate creams

Chocolate Creams

125 grams butter
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups SR Flour
1/4 cup custard powder
2 tablespoons cocoa 

Icing
75 grams butter
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon milk


Preheat oven to 180C.
Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
Add the milk and beat to combine.
Sift the flour, custard powder, and cocoa. Add to the bowl and mix in to form a soft dough.

Roll about 2 teaspoons worth to make small balls.
Place on baking tray and press with a fork to flatten. Dip the fork in flour first, to stop it sticking to the dough.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

Let the biscuits cool while you make the icing.

To make icing, beat the butter and icing sugar in a small bowl, Beat in the milk.

Spread about half a teaspoon of icing on one biscuit, and join with a biscuit of the same size.

Welcome to Open Slather #100!

I'm just a little bit chuffed that this week sees me hosting my 100th link up. Feel free to add ONE of your social media accounts, like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to Open Slather, as well as a blog post.  I hope you all find new blogs and accounts to follow and followers for yours. :)

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Orange cream biscuits

I sent some of these in the post, early last week. 

They arrived in record time, I was surprised. but ever so glad! It was the best feeling to send someone a home cooked pressie, from me to them. Just awesome. 

I'm planning to do it again next month. Have you heard of #fucktober? I hope Eden likes baked goods ;)

Orange cream biscuits 

120 grams butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup custard powder

1 tablespoon orange juice

pinch salt

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

1 egg

1 1/2 cups SR Flour

Preheat oven to 190C.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add in orange juice and rind, and stir to combine.  Then stir in egg. 

Lastly, stir in sifted flour, custard powder and salt. 

Form into small balls. Place on a greased tray and press with a fork dipped in flour, to flatten.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Icing

75 grams butter

3/4 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon milk

1/2 teaspoon orange rind

To make icing, beat the butter and icing sugar in a small bowl, Beat in the milk. Stir through the orange rind. 

Spread one biscuit with about half a teaspoon of icing, and join with another biscuit of the same size.

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Monte Carlo biscuits are the bomb!

THESE biscuits are the BOMB! You have to make them.

If you don't your family and friends will never forgive you. As long as you don't show them this post, which I totally want you to do.

Monte Carlo biscuits

125 grams butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups SR Flour
1/4 cup custard powder
1/3 cup desiccated coconut

Jam and icing filling
75 grams butter
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon milk
1/3 cup strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 180C.
Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
Add the milk and beat to combine.
Sift the flour and custard powder, add with the coconut to the bowl and mix in to form a soft dough.

Roll about 2 teaspoons worth to make small balls.
Place on baking tray and press with a fork to flatten. Dip the fork in flour first, to stop it sticking to the dough.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

Let the biscuits cool while you make the icing.

To make icing, beat the butter and icing sugar in a small bowl, Beat in the milk.

Spread one biscuit with half a teaspoon of jam, and half a teaspoon of icing on another, then join the two together.

Lime and poppy seed biscotti

I haven't been around very much lately. 

I've had good days and bad, most bad. After three weeks on the medication,  things weren't improving much. 

I saw my counsellor for the first time on Friday, two weeks too late if you ask me. All she had to do was say "Tell me about yourself", and I lost it, couldn't speak without bawling. Got some stuff off my chest though and she upped my meds. I have felt a big change over the weekend.

It always seems these sorts of things happen when the people we need around, are out of town. Like Murphy's Law. One of those people is my sister. She's living the good life, travelling and seeing the sights in Ireland, with her boyfriend, in a Wicked van. I am loving seeing the photos she posts on Facey, she's having the time of her life, and it is much deserved.

Anyway before she left she said if I wanted limes, her tree had heaps. Saturday I ducked in and picked some. This is what I made using three of them.


Lime and Poppy seed biscotti

120 grams butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon lime zest (close enough is good enough)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 180C.

Beat together butter, sugar, salt, baking powder and zest.

Add eggs, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix to combine.

Mix in flour and poppy seeds.

Divide the soft dough into half and make two logs, about 3 cm high and 5cm wide. Transfer to a greased and floured tray.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 25 minutes. Reduce the oven to 160C.

Cut the logs into 1 cm thick slices. Place on tray and bake for 30 minutes, turning once halfway through.

Let cool. Place in an airtight container. 

If you value your waistline, seal with three layers and duct tape, hide and forget you ever made them. They are so delicious! Or eat a few and make you friends very happy by giving them some.

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Orange, coconut and cardamom biscuits

Occasionally, well often, the biscuit barrel is bare. If it happens before our next big shopping day, we bake.

The last time it happened we made chocolate biscuits, and used up the cocoa. I must buy more.

I looked for what we had, and that was three oranges in the fruit bowl. I could use the zest. I looked for an easy recipe, I always look for the easiest recipe. I found one and decided to add some extras I had in the pantry.

I like these biscuits. I like that Izzy can help by rolling the dough in balls herself, even though at least three or four biscuits worth of dough go missing in her mouth. But isn't that the best bit for kids in the biscuit making process? She would have eaten the lot if I let her.

3/4 cup Self Raising Flour
100 gr butter or marg
1/4 cup caster sugar
zest of an orange
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom 

Preheat oven to 180C.

Place all ingredients in a bowl.
Rub together with your fingers and form into a soft dough.
Roll into small balls, you should have about 24.
Place on a greased baking tray and lightly press with a fork.

Bake at 180C for 10 minutes.

Flogging this recipe at With some grace

Homemade crackers and simple avocado dip

I make these crackers quite often, usually when there are no other savoury biscuits in the house. They are so moorish.

The ingredients are so simple and if you ever took any notice at the ingredient list on a box of supermarket crackers, most probably a lot more natural and healthy.

Speaking of natural and healthy, a simple avocado dip to serve them with. I have been enjoying this dip with veggies like celery and capsicum for a mid afternoon snack. It is strange for me, because I have never really been much of an avocado fan.

I first saw this cracker recipe at Maria's farm country kitchen. She used wholemeal flour and you could too, if you'd like to.

Homemade crackers
2 cups of plain flour
1 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup of water
1/3 cup olive oil

Mix all ingredients together to form a dough.

Using olive oil on the bench and rolling pin, roll out dough to about a 2-3mm thickness. Place in two large baking trays, or three medium size trays, greased with olive oil. You might have to stretch them out a bit to the edges. Don't worry if it is uneven in some bits.

Using a knife, or a pizza cutter(this is what I use, it's easier), cut the dough into whatever size crackers you want.

Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and whatever flavours you would like. Sumac, parmesan, dried herbs or just plain.

I've also mixed in flavours into the dough itself, like mixed herbs, Za'atar spice mix or parmesan.

Bake at 190C for 15 minutes.

Avocado dip
1 ripe avocado
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
pinch salt
grind of black pepper
1/2 tablespoon chopped chives, more if you want
squeeze of lemon juice

Mash all together with a fork.

You could add more to it, like finely chopped onion and tomato, and corn kernels, for a chunkier dip and more flavour.

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Painted Christmas biscuits

Recipe for biscuits:

75 grams margarine

50 grams icing sugar

finely grated rind of a small lemon or orange(I like the orange ones the best)

I egg yolk( I used a duck yolk=fine)

175 grams plain flour

pinch of salt

Decoration:

2 egg yolks

food colouring(liquid)

Beat the margarine, sugar and rind until pale and fluffy.

Beat in the egg yolk, and stir in flour and salt.

Knead until smooth, flatten into a round, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 190 degrees. 

Roll dough out gently with a floured rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, use cutters to press shapes.

With a spatula, transfer shapes to a baking tray, make features with the end of a straw(like Rudolphs nose, buttons on the gingerbread men, snowmen and baubles on the trees, and place in the fridge to chill.

I slid the spatula under and then flipped them over on to the tray. The dough is
very fragile but makes great biscuits.

To decorate,  put each egg yolk in a cup and add a few drops of liquid food colouring.

I used duck eggs, the yolks are bigger and I split the yolks to make three colours, red, yellow and green. For the amount of biscuits, splitting chook eggs would be plenty enough to colour.

Using a paint brush paint on the colour as you wish, I just did it simply, but you could get way more elaborate with the markings you make on the biscuits, the colours you use and they way you paint them. 

Bake the biscuits for 10-12 minutes, or until the begin to colour at the edges. Transfer to a wire rack, I used the spatula again for this. 

The result, perdy, tasty biscuits!

Have you handmade anything for the christmas season? You know what, it's OK if you haven't! It's all sorts of batshit crazy this time of year isn't it? I am not the most organised bottle in the six pack by a long shot! Still in denial that everything will be ok, and you know what; it will. There will be shit loads of food, and laughter, love and most importantly FAMILY.

I hope you have an awesome Christmas. With lots of love and Christmas cheer, the O'Brien clan. Hugs and kisses xxxxoooo

Add your christmas cheer, love and #openslather below xxx :)

Freezer Cookies

I've had this recipe for a long time, but always overlooked it and made something else. If only I had known what a ripper recipe it was and made them earlier. I love how I can freeze it and have it ready made for when we need cookies next time.

This recipe seems like it makes a lot of cookie dough, and it does. However doing this once provides cookie dough ready made and rolled. All you have to do is take it out of the freezer, slice it up and bake it, without having to do all the measuring and mixing. As an added bonus, they taste great!

I made this in the morning, went out and about with the kids and came home a few hours later and made half into cookies, and left the rest in the freezer.

Basic Recipe

500 grams margarine

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tspn vanilla essence

1 tspn bicarbonate of soda

5 cups plain flour

pinch salt

Cream butter, beat in sugars and vanilla essence.

Beat in eggs, then sifted flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda. 

Mix to form a soft dough.

Mould into logs of about 4cm diameter, wrap in cling wrap in lengths of about 15 cm and freeze.

When ready to use, defrost slightly, then cut into slices about 5 millimetres thick.

Place on a greased oven tray and bake at 200 degrees for 10 minutes.

Chocolate with white choc chips, coconut and sultana cookies

Adding flavours

• add 3 cups dessicated coconut
• 5 tablespoons of cocoa
• 3 cups of chopped nuts
• 1 1/2 cups sultanas/choc chips
• finely grated rind of 2-3 oranges and 90 mls of juice

Divide the mixture up and make several different flavours, adjusting the measurements accordingly. 

Straight out the freezer, ready to cut and bake

Jam Drop biscuits

The weather has cooled down a bit, from 40 on Tuesday to 23 yesterday. It's more baking friendly, plus the bickie barrel was bare. While Summer slept, Izzy and I whipped up a batch of these beauties. We used the same recipe to make all the biscuits, it made about 65ish, possibly more. Izzy ate the occasional ball of cookie dough.

I remember making these with my mum when I was a kid. She used to call the jam drops 'sore eyes', and they kinda look that way.  In past experience Izzy hasn't gone nuts for jam drops, so I made most of the mixture into plain biscuits and joined them together with icing.

Mum taught me to use the fork to make the pattern(dip the fork in flour) for the top of the biscuits and join them together. I made more of these sort(with pink icing, at Izzys request). They would totally give a Kingston biscuit a run for their money with a good chocolate icing, if I hadn't been out of cocoa I would have made some. Probably a good thing, I ate about 5 or 6, too darn many. There goes the diet. I put on a kilo and a half on our long weekend away, I can't afford to be taste testing biscuits!! 

Jam Drops

350 grams SR Flour (about 2 & 1/4 cups)

250 grams margarine

180 grams sugar (3/4 cup)

jam of choice

Sift flour, add sugar. Melt butter and mix in.

Roll into balls, place on greased tray and press finger into centre to make a hole(not all the way through).

Spoon a little jam into the holes.

Bake at 180 for 12-15 minutes.

Instead of making a hole and adding jam, you could press a blanched almond in the middle and then bake. Very tasty.

The icing I used to join the biscuits was just icing sugar and water with some colouring.

Apricot and almond biscuits

150g butter, chopped

½ cup sugar

1 cup rolled oats

3/4cup self-raising flour

150g dried apricots, chopped

2 Tblsp flaked almonds

1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Put butter and sugar in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir to melt butter and dissolve sugar.

When butter has melted and sugar dissolved, take off the heat. Put remaining ingredients in a bowl, pour the melted butter mix over and stir to combine.

 Place a heaped teaspoon of the biscuit mixture onto the tray about 2 cm apart.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

 

Honey biscuits

Very, very, very nice Honey cookies

120 gr margarine
1 cup sugar
2 tblsp honey
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup SR flour
1/2 tsp mixed spice 

Melt honey, margarine and sugar. Add this with the beaten egg, to the sifted flour, spice and salt, and drop teaspoonsfuls on a greased oven tray. Bake for 10 minutes at 170. They will be soft when you remove them, but firm up when they are cool.

Izzy is getting very good at this egg cracking bizo

Mmmmm, cookie dough.

Banana Bickies

It's not very often bananas get to this stage in our house, all soft and gooey inside. They were cheap, there was ripe or green as, I bought ripe and these ones didn't get eaten in time. There was half a chocolate cake sitting on the bench we hadn't finished, so cake was out of the question. I could have frozen them for later, instead I went looking for something on the net. I found a biscuit recipe at Kidspot and thought this would be best because the bickie barrel was low. It's not now!!! This recipe made about 60!!!!!! I was rolling my eyes in pure bliss when I tasted the first one three. This recipe is not the original one, you can click on the link above for that, this is the one I used.

Banana Bickies

2 large ripe bananas, mashed

125 gr butter

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups SR flour

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup choc bits

Preheat oven to 230 deg.

Cream the butter and sugar, stir in the banana until combined

Add the flour, oats , coconut and choc bits and stir to combine

Place teaspoons full on to a baking tray, leaving room to spread

Turn the oven down to 200 deg when you put the biscuits in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Problem solved - Open Slather

Problem....

 Solved!

Biscuits in our house disappear real quick

usually because I can't keep my fingers out of the cookie jar

 Cornflake Biscuits

125 gr butter

1/3 cup caster sugar

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup sultanas or choc chips or both like I did

1 cup SR flour

1 1/2 cups cornflakes

Preheat oven to 180 deg.

Beat butter and sugar, until smooth and creamy. Add egg and combine. Stir in flour and sultanas.

Drop spoonfuls into cornflakes and roll around to cover.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes.

Let cool on trays, they will harden up when cool. Don't try to remove them when hot, trust me they will fall to bits and then you will have to eat all the broken bits!