Salted Caramel Choc Drop Cookies

These are the ultimate indulgent cookie!  I had been looking at recipes for salted caramel cookie bites and they looked delish so was going to whip some up for visitors, as well as these muffins (with pecans) because I was craving them.  Then I realised what the time was and as it was getting on in the evening I decided I was only going to have time/energy to make one thing, so I turned to my friend google and looked for a recipe (or two or three) that suited the ingredients I wanted to use.  In typical BMTB fashion I adapted a couple of recipes to make these fantastic cookies!  My only gripe is that I made the cookies a little too big which meant they looked a little ugly but hey, they tasted AMAZING!

Ingredients:
200 grams butter, melted
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 large eggs
2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup milk chocolate drops
¾ cup dark chocolate drops
¾ cups roughly chopped pecans
1 ¼ cup caramel chunks*, chopped into chunks and sprinkled with salt
Sea salt
* I didn’t find any plain caramels on my trip to the supermarket so I bought a bag of Jersey Caramels and cut the caramel off either side of the creamy centre and diced it into quarters.

Method:
Place your melted butter in a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), add both sugars and mix until combined.  Add the salt and vanilla, mix again.  Sift in flour, baking soda, baking powder and mix on a low speed to combine.  Add in chocolate, pecans and 1 cup of your caramel chunks, fold so that all the deliciousness is distributed evenly into your cookie dough.
Scoop out two tablespoons of dough at a time and combine (if you have an ice cream scoop I recommend using it as it will help keep all your cookies a uniform size).  Place on a lined baking tray, leaving at least 3cm between each ball.
Put in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour to firm up and reduce spread when they go into the oven.
Preheat your oven to 180°C.
After your cookie dough balls have firmed up, remove from the oven and place 2-4 pieces of your remaining caramel chunks on the top of each cookie.
Place in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden all over.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.  While they are still hot and on the baking tray sprinkle each cookie with sea salt.

Do yourself a favour and make these yourself, they are incredible! I am going to have to stop myself from making them again in the near future as I can see them becoming addictive!

Lunchbox Bakes – Pesto and Feta Muffins

These are quick and easy to make.  While they were intended as a healthy lunchbox food, I was a bit naughty and ate a few heated up with a little bit of butter spread on them for afternoon tea when I got home for work.  We didn’t have enough pesto in the fridge so I topped it up with some of that pesto dip you can buy with the nuts in it.  The little bits of cashews were quite tasty in the muffins so if you like the nuts you could go ahead and make the entire quantity of pesto the dip variety.

½ cup pesto
¾ cup water
1 egg
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
100g feta, crumbled or cubed
1 cup grated cheddar

Preheat the oven to 200°C.  Grease or line 10 – 12 muffin tin holes.
Stir the pesto into the water then mix with the remaining ingredients until just combined.
Spoon into the muffin bans and bake for 12 – 15 minutes.

Want another recipe to use up any left over feta?  This week for lunchbox bakes we were joined by:

• Kara of Kara’s Cakes who made Caramelised Onion and Feta Tarts.

Remember you can also take part in Lunchbox Bakes. Check out the Lunchbox Bakes page for more information.

Bluebells Cakery

On Saturday morning I popped in to Bluebells Cakery.  I first spied this new addition to my neighbourhood a weekend or two ago.  Simon and I were driving past and a blackboard sign with a chalk drawn cupcake caught my eye.   Simon didn’t care that I was excited and wanted to investigate, so he kept on driving.  However, each day since I noticed the sign, I have driven past the Cakery while on my way to work, which has served as a reminder that I must remember to look up Bluebells Cakery and stop in for a visit.

You may have heard of Bluebells Cakery before – Karla Goodwin, the owner, started the business out through running stalls selling her cupcakes at local markets.  Bluebells Cakery usually have a stall at the La Cigale French Market (in Parnell, Auckland).  The business has now grown and they’ve set up a shop.  Bluebells Cakery on Hillsborough Road has only been open to the public for just a few weeks and is currently open for trade on Friday and Saturdays. 

Simon was keen to come along to Bluebells Cakery on Saturday after I told him about their stall at La Cigale as that is one of our favourite markets.  We tried out a few different cupcake flavours during our visit with Simon’s favourite being the carrot and cinnamon flavoured one.  I think my fave was the Raspberry Chocolate flavour.  I say ‘think’ because the Lemon Curd cupcake was delicious too, so it is hard to pick!

The decor of Bluebells Cakery is adorable.  I loved the pastel colours and the vintage items decorating the place.  The cupcakes take pride of place in two vintage display cases on the counter, but there are some other sweet treats on sale too.  There were jars of Coconut Ice, Russian fudge and cake pops for sale.  Also on display were a couple of beautiful ruffle cakes.

There are plans to increase the opening hours in the next month after the addition of a coffee machine, which is soon to arrive.  However, at the moment if you do want some yummy treats during the week, they do take orders.  A menu is available on their website listing mouth watering cakes, slices, biscuits and more.  Bluebells Cakery also provide catering for High Tea events.

We will definitely be stopping in to try out some more sweet treats from Bluebells Cakery soon!

Bluebells Cakery
161a Hillsborough Road, Hillsborough, Auckland
Ph: 09 624 0952  or  Mob: 021 198 8335
E: info@bluebellscakery.co.nz
bluebellscakery.co.nz
You can find them on facebook too.

Lunchbox Bakes - Potato, Bacon and Cheese Frittata

I whipped this up for lunch today for lunch with a friend, it is quick, easy, delicious and perfect as a hot lunch now the cold weather is starting to settle in.

Ingredients:
2 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
6-8 strips of streaky bacon chopped into small pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons of chives finely chopped
6 eggs
2 tablespoons cream or full fat milk
100 grams Cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to season

Method:
Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 20 to 25 minutes or until cooked through. Drain and leave to cool slightly before cutting into cubes. (I did this the night before to make things quicker at lunch time).
Pre-heat your oven grill to 180°C.
Heat a large non-stick frying pan. Pour olive oil into pan. Fry the bacon until golden.
Add the diced potatoes and cook for a few minutes over a medium heat.
Beat the eggs, adding half the Cheddar and half the chives. Season with the salt and pepper.
Pour the eggs over the bacon and potatoes. Stir gently in the pan for a few minutes, allowing the frittata to cook over a medium-low heat until it begins to set, leaving a moist surface.
Sprinkle the remaining chives and Cheddar on top and warm under the grill until the top has set and the cheese melted.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before cutting the frittata into wedges to serve.

Chocolate Coconut Cake

I saw a recipe for a chocolate coconut cake floating around the net the other day, apparently the original recipe comes from a Donna Hay cookbook.  I have changed the recipe slightly and am very happy with the result!  It is incredibly easy to whip up and can either be served warm dusted with cocoa or icing sugar, with cream on the side or, if you are a time poor person like me you can whip it up at night before bed, leave it to cool and top with a chocolate glaze.

Ingredients:
250 grams butter, melted
¾ cup cocoa
1 ⅓ cups caster sugar
3 eggs
1 ½ cups shredded coconut
1 ⅓ cups plain flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¾  cup milk

Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 170°C and grease a 23cm round cake tin.
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth, ensure that you sift both the cocoa and flour.
Pour your batter into your greased cake tin bake for 50-60 minutes, you will know your cake is ready when you can remove a skewer cleanly from the centre. To ensure even baking of the cake it is suggested that you rotate the cake in the oven halfway through. Cool in tin for 10 minutes before setting on a wire rack to cool further.
Serve warm dusted with cocoa or icing sugar and cream/ice-cream or make a chocolate glaze by combining 150 grams of chopped dark chocolate with half a cup of cream in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until melted and smooth. Allow chocolate mixture to stand for at least 15-20 so it thickens slightly before pouring it over your cooled cake.

This cake is dense and moist. The chocolate glaze sets it off perfectly and it has gone down well in our house where coincidentally Max (15 months) has decided that his new favourite thing to eat it coconut!

P.S. Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful Mum’s out there! We hope you had a lovely day. Maybe you were even treated to some delicious baked goodies… xox

Mothers Day Baking Ideas

Here in New Zealand it is Mothers Day this weekend on Sunday, so why not bake Mum some treats.  Here’s six ideas that are sure to be a hit…

1. Make Mum a beautiful box of handmade biscuits.

Pictured above: Neiman Marcus Cookies, One Dough Hundreds of Biscuits, Midnight Cookies, Gluten Free Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Cookies, Choctastic Cookies.

2. Bake a cake!

Pictured above: Sour Cream Lemon Cake, Carrot Cake, Spiced Apple Cake, Banana Cake, Red Velvet Cake.

3. Treat Mum to brunch or afternoon tea.

Pictured above: Kumara and Bacon Savoury Slice, Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Mini Vegetable Frittatas, Ham, Cheese and Broccoli Quiche, Herb and Cheese Muffins, Marshmallow Brownie Cupcakes.

4. Fudge is always good!

Pictured above: Triple Chocolate Fudge, Fran’s Fantastic Fudge, Five Minute Fudge, Chocolate Hazelnut Slice, Caramel Fudge.

5. Make Mum dinner and then spoil her with a delicious desert.

Pictured above: Oreo Cheesecake, Passionfruit Custard Pots, Lemon Tart, Lemon Meringue Pie, White Chocolate Tart covered in berries, Salted Caramel and Chocolate Tart.

6. Put together a jar of sand art brownie mix as a gift for Mum.  We made these as Christmas presents and they were very popular.  Why not decorate the jar with ribbon and in colours more suited for Mothers Day?

There are heaps more brilliant recipes on the blog so have a look around.  Check out our Recipe Index for more ideas.  Whatever you end up doing, I hope you spoil your Mum and show her how much you love her.

Happy Mothers Day!

Lunchbox Bakes - Bacon and Corn Muffins

1 egg
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup creamed corn
1 cup grated cheese
2 rashers bacon, cooked and chopped

Preheat the oven to 200°C and line or grease a 12 hole muffin tin.
Make the egg up to ¾ cup with water.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix until just combined.
Spoon into the prepare muffin tin and bake for 15 – 20 minutes.

For information on how you too can take part in lunchbox bakes, check out our lunchbox bakes page.