Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are by far the best chocolate chip cookies known to man... Okay well I am slightly biased I know, but they are crispy on the outside, courtesy of granulated sugar, with gorgeously chewy centers. What more could you ask for in a cookie?!

Ingredients:-
150g salted butter, softened
80g light brown muscovado sugar
80g granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
225g plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp salt
200g plain chocolate chip or chunks (or M&M's as I prefer to use)

Method:-

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Add the butter and both sugars to a bowl and beat until creamy. I use a standalone mixer for this and beat, using the paddle attachment, for a good 2-3 minutes.

Next add in the vanilla extract and egg, and mix until combined.

Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt over the mixture and beat until the mixture magically becomes cookie dough. Add the chocolate chips or M&M's and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Using a ice cream scoop (life changing in baking I tell you!), dollop mounds of the mixture, spaced well apart on the baking trays. 

Bake in the oven for 8–10 mins until golden brown on the edges and still slightly soft in the center.

Leave on the trays for a couple of minutes to firm up and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Depending on how scoopy I'm feeling, I tend to get on average 8-10 cookies from this recipe, they're quite the cookie, if you know what I mean! So if you prefer something smaller then absolutely go for it and use a teaspoon to scoop.

Enjoy!

Biscoff Swirl Brownies

These brownies are the best. They're rich and super chocolatey, a little crispy on the outside, but deliciously fudgey on the inside. The possibilities with these are endless. I've made variations with Oreos, Creme Eggs and even fresh raspberries and cream cheese. They're also (unintentionally) gluten-free. Super easy to make, don't require any fancy equipment, as long as you have a saucepan and spatula you're good to go!

Ingredients:-
85g unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for greasing baking tin
40g cornflour
30g unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
340g dark chocolate (broken into squares)
170g caster sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 medium eggs 
For topping...
3 tablespoons Biscoff spread
125g Biscoff biscuits (doesn't need to be precise)

Method:-

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. 

Lightly butter a 20cm by 30cm rectangular baking tin and line with grease-proof paper, leaving a 1 inch overhang on all sides. 

Combine the cornflour, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. 

On the hob, gently melt the chocolate and butter*. You can use a double boiler for this if you'd prefer but I like to live life on the edge, rebel, and just bung (technical term there!) it in and go for it. Just be careful not to overheat the chocolate, gentle is the key word here. Otherwise the chocolate could go grainy and that's not what we're going for.

*note - I use a medium sized pan for this. The reason being, that I then use the same pan to mix in all of the remaining ingredients. One pot = minimal washing up - yay! 

When the chocolate and butter have melted, remove pan from the heat and stir in sugar and vanilla. 

Making sure that the mixture has cooled ever so slightly (so as not to cook the eggs) stir in eggs, one at a time, until combined. 

Add cornflour, cocoa, cinnamon and salt mixture and stir until the luscious brownie batter is smooth and begins to pull away from sides, about 2 minutes, but if your arm can't take it, don't worry. 

Pour the batter into your pre-greased and lined brownie tin and smooth over the top with a spatula. 

In a small microwaveable bowl heat the Biscoff spread for say 10 seconds in the microwave to loosen it up and enable a better blob and swirl action. You might need to keep testing the consistency of the spread, you want it slightly runny but not like water. Then blob using a teaspoon onto the brownie batter, and use a knife to swirl through.

Then crumble on top the Biscoff biscuits and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 30-35 minutes, rotating the tin halfway through. 

Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Using paper overhang, lift brownie out of pan and cut into 16 squares and enjoy!