CocoNut Cranberry Fudge

I thought up the recipe for this CocoNut Cranberry Fudge (aka. White Chocolate Fudge with Coconut, Cranberries and Macadamia Nuts – just thought it was a little bit too long of a title) a wee while ago and finally got around to making it.  And, I am glad I did because it is my new winner of a recipe!
I wanted something that would make a great festive season recipe, but I didn’t really want to put pistachio nuts in it (as that’s what most Christmas recipes put in because they look great with the touch of green included), as I didn’t feel like they would go well with the flavour of the fudge.  So, I tried macadamia nuts instead and they are perfect. 
The fudge is really quick to make and doesn’t involve anything fiddly like using a sugar thermometer.  It would make a great gift too.  I also think that you shouldn’t be just making it at Christmas either, this fudge is a delicious treat at anytime of the year!

Ingredients:
Fudge:
125g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup brown sugar
200g white chocolate melts
½ cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
½ cup cranberries
¼ cup desiccated coconut

Topping:
¼ cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
¼ cup cranberries
1 tablespoon desiccated coconut

Method:
Grease and line a 20cm square pan with baking paper.
Melt the butter in a pan.  Remove from heat, add the brown sugar and stir until thoroughly combined with the butter.  Add the condensed milk and stir until combined with the sugar and butter.
Add the golden syrup, mix and return to a medium heat. Stir the mixture constantly for 10 minutes (be careful not to let the mixture get to hot or boil to rapidly as the sugar will start to crystallise, which still tastes quite nice but ruins the smooth consistency.  If the mixture does start to crystallise remove from the heat immediately and stir rapidly). 
Remove from the heat and add the chocolate melts. Mix until smooth.  If needed, place the mixture over the heat to help melt the chocolate.
Stir through the coconut, macadamia nuts and cranberries.
Pour into the prepared tin.  For the topping, sprinkle the coconut, macadamia nuts and cranberries over the top of the fudge, lightly pressing the nuts and cranberries into the mixture.
Refrigerate until set (a couple of hours).  Once the fudge has hardened, cut into cubes ready to eat. 

White Chocolate Brownie

Doesn’t that White Chocolate Brownie in the picture look divine?  It’s just one of the recipes in the new Sweet: Treats to Share cookbook published by Penguin.  The cookbook shares recipes from many of New Zealand’s best celebrity bakers, and this yummy recipe comes courtesy of Allyson Gofton.  We love Chocolate Brownie, and this white chocolate version with pistachios looks like an awesome twist on a baking classic.  I have to say, I’m loving the props from The Vintage Table which have been used in the styling of the food too.

To celebrate the release of Sweet: Treats to Share, Penguin are also running a giveaway where you can win a baking pack, copy of the book and some gorgeous postcards, so make sure you get yourself in the draw for that! 

Makes about 24–30 pieces

Ingredients:
250g good-quality white chocolate, roughly chopped
250g butter, diced
1 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
2 cups plain flour, sifted
1 cup pistachio nuts or pecans, chopped

White Chocolate Icing
100g good-quality white chocolate, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
about 2 tablespoons milk
extra pistachio nuts, finely chopped, to decorate

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 160ºC. Grease and line the base and sides of a 25cm square cake tin.
2. Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler and heat over boiling water until just melted.  Alternatively, microwave on high power (100 per cent) for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to over-cook the chocolate as it will burn easily. Stir until smooth and leave to cool.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla together until the mixture is thick and fluffy.
4. Sift the flour over the beaten egg mixture and fold in alternately with the cooled chocolate mixture. This is easiest done with a slotted spoon. Fold in the pistachio nuts or pecans. Turn out the mixture into the prepared cake tin.
5. Bake for 30–35 minutes until the top is lightly golden but the centre is still a little soft.
6. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Chill for 3–4 hours. Remove from the tin.
7. To make the icing, melt the white chocolate and butter together. Stir in the icing sugar and sufficient milk to make a smooth, thick icing. Ice, decorate with pistachio nuts and cut into pieces.

Reproduced with permission from Sweet: Treats to Share. Published by Penguin Group NZ. RRP $45.00. Copyright recipe © Allyson Gofton, 2014. Copyright photography © Manja Wachsmith, 2014. Available nationwide.

White Chocolate Rocky Road

This is delicious and it looks Christmassy! There is also a huge bonus in this as it is a not bake recipe which is perfect at this time of year as things are hectic and it’s getting so hot.

Ingredients:
500g white chocolate
25g dehydrated strawberries
100g mini marshmallows
120g pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
75g Whittaker’s raspberry White chocolate, roughly chopped
1/2 cup craisins

Method:
Line a 20x20cm slice tin with grease proof paper.
Melt white chocolate in a double boiler, be sure not to let the boiling water touch the bottom of the bowl that the chocolate is in.
Once all the chocolate is melted remove from the heat.
Allow the chocolate to cool for 2-3 minutes before adding all other ingredients. Stir through to ensure that all additions are distributed evenly.
Pour the mixture into the slice tin and refrigerate for at least an hour before for slicing.
* You can reserve a small amount of the strawberry and pistachio to scatter on top for a more attractive finish, do this before putting into the fridge.

This slice will keep well for up to a week in an airtight container – if it lasts that long!

White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies

I can’t believe it’s taken me nearly four years to get around to making some white chocolate and macadamia cookies! I used our tried and tested (+ incredibly delicious) chocolate chip cookie dough for the base and added in the extras. This recipe is easy and delicious and would make a great Christmas present if you are thinking of giving some baking away this season.
Ingredients:
250g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup caster sugar
¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
250g white chocolate bits
130g macadamia nuts, roughly chopped

Method:
Preheat oven to 180˚C.  Line a couple of oven trays.
Beat butter, vanilla extract, sugars and egg in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. 
Stir in the sifted flour and baking soda in two batches. 
Stir in the chocolate and macadamia nuts.
Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls, place about 5cm apart on the trays. 
Bake for about 8 to 12 minutes depending how crispy you want your cookies.  Leave to cool slightly on the tray before transferring to a wire rack.
Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.

Raspberry White Chocolate Cookies

These Raspberry White Chocolate Cookies are soft and moreish.  There’s a subtle raspberry taste and big chunks of white chocolate.  Yum!

Makes 24.

Ingredients:
240g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup white sugar
¾ cup soft brown sugar
1 egg
2 ¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
160g white chocolate, roughly chopped
2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed and excess liquid drained

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Line baking trays with baking paper.
Beat the butter, vanilla essence, sugars and egg together.  Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in two lots, mixing well after each.  Mix through the chocolate and raspberries.
Roll the mixture into golf ball sized balls and place on the prepared trays about 5cm apart.  Bake for 10 -15 minutes or until golden.  Remove from the oven, allow to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Baileys White Chocolate Cupcakes

These Baileys White Chocolate Cupcakes are a serious, decadent treat.  They are easy to make, but the results are quite impressive.  The cake is soft and fluffy with delicious white chocolate chips.  The frosting is a buttercream with a hit of Baileys.  Trust me, these are good!

Makes 12.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups self raising flour
1 ½ cups caster sugar
120g butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
¼ cup milk
½ cup white chocolate chips

Icing:
¼ cup Baileys Irish Cream liqueur
120g butter, softened
3 cups icing sugar

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Line a 12 hole muffin tin with cupcake papers.
Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer.  Mix in the flour.
Mix in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Mix in the vanilla essence and milk.  Fold through the chocolate chips.
Divide the mixture between the prepared cupcake papers.  Bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cupcake comes out cleanly.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin before removing onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, cream the butter with an electric beater.  Add the icing sugar and the Baileys in three lots, alternating between the icing sugar then the Baileys.  If the icing seems too stiff, add in a bit of hot water, a tablespoon amount at a time.  If the mix seems too runny, add in small amount of icing sugar until you are happy with the texture.  I piped my icing onto the cupcakes using a 1M Wilton tip, starting in the centre and circling outwards.

Lemon Cupcakes with White Chocolate and L&P Ganache

Everyone seems to be going wild for the new Whittakers L&P chocolate (have you tried it? Thoughts?…) so I decided to give it a go and use it in some baking. I wanted a light, fluffy lemon cupcake and to use the chocolate as frosting. The ganache was a little trickier than I have found it in the past due to the consistency of the chocolate compared to white chocolate melts, if I was making these again I might try a light lemon butter cream and topping each cupcake with finely chopped L&P chocolate, that way the popping candy will really POP!

To make my cupcake base I decided to adapt one of the most popular posts on the blog – Orange Cupcakes – the cupcakes were perfect and even a little lighter that the standard orange cupcakes thanks to a special ingredient…

Ingredients:
Cupcakes
1 ¾ cup flour
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
100g butter, softened
2 large eggs, separated and whites beaten until stiff
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup L&P
Zest of one lemon

L&P White Chocolate Ganache
250grams Whittakers L&P White Chocolate, roughly chopped
150mls cream

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Grease, or line a 12 hole muffin tray with cupcake papers.
Combine butter, sugar, egg yolks, lemon zest and vanilla in a mixing bowl and cream together thoroughly.
Mix flour, salt, and baking powder together in a separate mixing bowl.  Add dry ingredients to creamed ingredients ⅓ at a time  alternating with adding portions of the L&P to the creamed mixture.
Fold in beaten egg whites.  Spoon batter into cupcake holes until ½ full.
Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.
Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.
To make the ganache put the white chocolate and cream in a glass bowl, place bowl over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally until the chocolate is melting and cream is hot (but not boiling).
Remove from the heat and stir to combine into a smooth consistency.
Refrigerate to cool and thicken, this will take at least an hour or two so is best done ahead of time.
Beat the ganache with an electric mixer until it becomes pale and fluffy so that you can pipe it.

Enjoy your Kiwiana cupcakes!

P.S – A big welcome home to Mel and Simon who are back from their OE!

White Chocolate and Coconut Truffles

I made these for Easter as they look like little bunny tails, I got the idea off a friend of mine but adapted the recipe and method for our chocolate mint truffles as it is so easy! These are so delicious and perfect if you have to prepare an after dinner treat on short notice.

Ingredients:
1 pack of white chocolate Tim Tam’s
150 grams cream cheese, softened
¼ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 cup shredded coconut

Method:
Place the biscuits in a food processor and grind them up.  Add the cream cheese and mix well.
Place the mixture in the freezer until it has hardened (approx. 20 minutes).
Line a container with non-stick baking paper. 
Place coconut on a plate or other clean, flat surface.
Spoon out teaspoons of the mixture and roll into balls.  Roll the balls in coconut and refrigerate for an hour before serving.
Store any left overs in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Salted White Chocolate and Oat Cookies

I started back at full time work at the end of January after two years at home being Mummy to Max. It has been so full on, that combined with the heat and wanting to spend every spare minute with my little man has meant I haven’t really prioritised getting into the kitchen to bake new things, but, I finally found a spare moment and have whipped up these little beauties, adapting a recipe from one of my favourite baking blogs ‘Bake or Break’.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
100 grams butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar (I recommend Billington’s)
⅓ cup sugar
1 large egg
125 grams small white chocolate drops
coarse salt, for sprinkling

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line baking trays with paper.
Whisk together oats, flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.
Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
Add sugars, beating until fluffy.
Add egg,  mixing well after addition.
Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add oat mixture.
Stir in white chocolate.
Scoop tablespoonfuls of the batter onto your lined trays. Sprinkle each with coarse salt. Bake 12-14 minutes, or until edges are browned but centers are slightly soft.
Cool cookies on pans for a few minutes. Then, transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

These were delish and were quickly gobbled up in our house. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Pear, Walnut and White Chocolate Muffins

These Pear, Walnut and White Chocolate Muffins are delish; the pear makes them really moist and the walnut and white chocolate compliments the fruit perfectly.  We had some pears sitting around going uneaten, but once transformed into these muffins, they were gone in a flash!  My Nana tried them while she was up in Auckland over Christmas and I have had to send her the recipe too.

Ingredients:
½ cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 cup flour
⅓ cup wholemeal flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 cup plain yogurt
1 large egg
1 ½ cups finely diced peeled pears
½ cup white chocolate bits
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Grease or line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin papers.
In a medium sized bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Stir in the walnuts and make a well in centre of mixture.
Combine the brown sugar, oil, vanilla essence, yogurt and egg in a small bowl.  Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until moist.  Fold in diced pear and white chocolate.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin.  Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the muffin batter.  Bake the muffins for 20 minutes or until the muffins spring back when touched lightly in centre.  Leave to cool in the muffin tin for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Passionfruit and Lemon Tarts with White Chocolate Ganache

I almost didn’t post this recipe today but these are so yummy I just had to share! You see I’ve made these twice over the last month or so but because they were for Christmas and a bridal shower I catered I didn’t get a chance to ‘shoot’ them the way I normally would… These are summery and a lot easier to make than I thought they might be, however, if the idea of making your own pasty cases is just too difficult or you are short on time you can use store bought cases.

Ingredients:
Pastry Cases
1 cup flour
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
4 tablespoons caster sugar
125 grams cold butter, cubed
3-5 tablespoons iced water

Filling
Barkers Passionfruit and Lemon Filling

White Chocolate Ganache Topping
100 grams white chocolate melts
100 mls cream

Method:
To make the pastry place listed ingredients (bar the iced water) into the bowl of your food processor. Whizz for about 30 seconds or until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
Using the pulse mode begin to add the iced water until your mixture forms a dough.
Remove the dough and wrap it in cling film. For ease later in the process flatten it and work it into a disk shape before refrigerating for at least an hour.
Spray x2 12 hole mini muffin pans with oil. Ensuring that the pans are well coated.
Flour your bench or work space lightly and roll out the pastry to about 3mm in thickness.
Use a round cutter (5-7cm works best for mini muffin pans) to cut out 24 disks.
Press the disks into the base and sides of the muffin pans. Use a fork to prick the base of each of your tarts (pricking prevents the pastry from shrinking).
Place the tarts into the freezer for at least an hour before baking.
Pre-heat your oven to 180°C. Bake tart cases for 12-15 minutes until the pastry is golden and firm. Remove from the oven and cool in tins for 5 minutes before placing on cooling racks to cool completely.
Once the cases have cooled fill with Barkers Passionfruit and Lemon filling. If you are short on time you could serve as is, maybe placing a mint leaf on top as a garnish, but if you truly want to impress top with white chocolate ganache.
To make the ganache place the white chocolate and cream in a glass bowl and microwave for about 45 seconds until the cream is hot (but not boiling), stir to combine into a smooth consistency. Refrigerate to cool and thicken, this will take at least an hour or two so is best done ahead of time.
Beat the ganache with an electric mixer until it becomes pale and fluffy so that you can pipe it.

White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

We gave these cookies a whirl at our Christmas baking class.  They look quite festive with the red cranberries and white chocolate bits.  You could always add in some nuts if you want – perhaps pistachios for a touch of green?

Makes approximately 36 cookies.

250g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup caster sugar
¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup white chocolate bits
¾ cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 180˚C. Grease a couple of oven trays.
Beat butter, vanilla extract, sugars and egg in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in the sifted flour and baking soda in two batches. Stir in the chocolate and cranberries.
Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls; place about 5cm apart on the trays. Bake for about 7 to 15 minutes depending how crispy you want your cookies. Leave to cool slightly on the tray before transferring to a wire rack.

*The cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.
*You could try adding half a cup of your favourite chopped nuts to the mix.

Plate c/o The Vintage Table.

Orange and White Chocolate Cookies

aka ‘Orange Creamsicle Cookies’. I was googling for some summery cookie recipes and orange creamsicle cookies showed up a few times so I investigated further, turns out orange creamicles are a type of ice block – you don’t get much more summery than cookies inspired by and ice blocks! After reading through a few recipes I came up the recipe I’m going to share with you today, they are seriously delish and the touch of orange is summer in a cookie. The other thing to mention about these cookies is that they are ‘drop cookies’, so no rolling and flattening required. Easy!

Ingredients:
200grams butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
zest of one average sized Orange
1 ½ cups white chocolate bits

Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 180°C and line two baking trays with wax baking paper.
In the bowl of your electric mixer mix butter and two sugars until light and fluffy.
Place egg and vanilla into your butter mix and mix on a medium to high speed until combined.
Sift in flour, baking soda and salt. Mix on a low-medium speed until dry ingredients are just combined.
Add orange zest and white chocolate and stir through to ensure even distribution.
Drop rounded tablespoons of mixture onto your lined baking trays and place in your pre-heated oven.
Bake for 8-10 minutes until they are starting to become golden, remove from oven, leave cookies on the trays for a couple of minutes before placing them on cooling racks.
Store in an airtight container.

Red Velvet and White Chocolate Cookies

One of my lovely friends has been baking all things red velvet this week and when I saw her post a picture of red velvet cookies on facebook I had to ask for the recipe. I had a wee play with it to make it my own and am pretty happy with the result.

Ingredients:
Recipe makes 24 cookies
100 grams of butter, at room temperature
½ cup white sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg (size 7 or 8)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch of salt
⅓ cup cocoa powder
1½ tablespoons red food colouring
¾ cup white chocolate drops

Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 180°C and line a tray with baking paper.
In the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment), cream the butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the food colouring and mix on a medium speed to combine.
Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the egg and vanilla, mixing well until combined.
Sift in the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa and fold with the wet ingredients before reducing the mixer speed to low and mix until thoroughly combined.
Add the white chocolate drops and gently fold in the white chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed throughout your mixture.
Using a tablespoon, scoop the mixture up and roll it into balls before placing them on the baking paper 3-4cm apart from one another.
Lightly flatten each cookie ball with your fingers or the back of a spoon.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, they will be slightly golden and crisp around the edges.

 
They are very yummy cookies and a little bit different to your usual cookies, I think it might be safe to say that if it’s red velvet, I’m going to love it!

White Chocolate Cheesecake

This is my first cheesecake and I am pretty proud of my efforts! I finally worked up the courage to try it after my cheesecake mousse experiment. I’m a huge white chocolate fan and combined with cheesecake it is divinely indulgent.



Ingredients:

Base
125 grams plain biscuits, crushed (I use round wines)
75 grams butter, melted

Cheesecake
2 1/2 teaspoons gelatine
1/4 cup hot water
250 grams cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk 
1 1/2 cups white chocolate melts
1 cup cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste

Method:
Combine biscuits and butter and press into the base of a lined 23cm springform tin. Put it in the fridge.
Combine the gelatine and hot water and stir to ensure the gelatine is dissolved, set aside to cool.
Melt the white chocolate and set aside to cool.
Beat your cream cheese until smooth, about one minute. Scrape the sides of your bowl and add the condensed milk, continue to beat until the two are well combined and you have a nice smooth mixture.
Add the cooled white chocolate, cream and vanilla bean paste to the cream cheese mix and combine.
Add the cooled gelatine and beat again to ensure it is combined with the other ingredients.
Pour the cheesecake mix over the crumb base and return it to the fridge to set (I left mine for about 6 hours and it was perfectly set).
Serve with passionfruit or berry sauce, it will compliment the cheesecake perfectly.

Doesn’t it look delicious!?  Now that I have had cheesecake success, I really don’t know what I was afraid of.  I am going to attempt some of the amazing cheesecake recipes Mel has posted once we are all settled after our next move.  I am eyeing up the Mars bar and Bailey’s cheesecake, but the chocolate and Oreo ones look amazing too, and I am a big mint fan… Oh the choices! Have you made any of the other cheesecakes on the blog? Which are your favourites?

Raspberry + White Chocolate Fudge

This is a recipe I’ve been trying to get right for a while.  I’ve made it with raspberry sauce in it; too runny.  I’ve made it with less chocolate; doesn’t set right.  In fact this recipe is the fourth attempt, but you can be assured it works!  And… it is decadently delicious!  Seriously yum :)

2 x 375g white chocolate melts
2 x 395g can condensed milk
4 teaspoons dried raspberry powder (plus extra for dusting, about 1 tablespoon)
2 teaspoons raspberry essence
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
Grease and line a 20 x 20 cm tin.

Melt one lot of chocolate together with one can of condensed milk in a saucepan, stirring constantly to prevent burning.  Once the all the chocolate has melted stir in the vanilla essence.  Pour into the prepared tin.
In another saucepan melt together the second lot of chocolate and condensed milk.  Stir through the dried raspberry powder and the raspberry essence.
Pour on top of the vanilla fudge mixture.
Dust the top of the fudge with extra dried raspberry powder.
Cover with cling film and refrigerate until set, preferably over night.
Once set cut into small squares.



*Dried fruit powders can be found in speciality food stores.  As an alternative, you can use 1 teaspoon of raspberry essence and 1 of red food colouring.  You could also mix through frozen raspberries; defrost and drain off excess liquid before using them. 

White Chocolate and Cranberry Muesli Bars

I made two batches of muesli bars in the weekend; these ones and some chocolate ones (from one of the first recipes I posted up on here).  I tried making the muesli bars from similar ingredients so if you want to make both flavours you don’t have to buy lots of different stuff.  I really love the flavour of the cranberries in these bars and the sweetness of the white chocolate.  You can always change up the recipe to suit your tastes too – add in other nuts or fruits.

Makes approximately 18 bars.
2 cups rolled oats
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup pecans, chopped
½ cup desiccated coconut
½ cup cashew nuts, chopped
½ cup white chocolate chips
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons honey
⅓ cup brown sugar
¼ cup reduced fat peanut butter
½ cup chocolate chips, melted
Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Line and grease a 20cm square baking tin with baking paper, allowing the paper to extend over the sides.
Mix the oats, craisins, nuts and coconut together in a bowl.  Combine the butter, sugar, honey and peanut butter in a medium saucepan.  Stir over a medium heat until the mixture is smooth and begins to boil.  Pour the butter mixture over the oat mixture and stir until well coated.  Mix in the chocolate chips.
Transfer to the prepared pan and press the mixture down evenly.  Bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden brown.  Once cooked remove from the oven and cool in the pan.
Using the baking paper as an aid, lift the mixture out of the pan.  Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top and cut into bars once it has set.

Check out the Lunchbox Bakes page for more great lunchtime snack recipes!

White Chocolate Tart

Last night I hosted a catch up for the girls I met and made friends with while I worked in retail during my Uni years.  It was so much fun; I don’t think we have all been in the same room for about 4-5 years.  Dinner was just pizza so I decided to make us something a bit more special for dessert.  This White Chocolate Tart went down a real treat :)

The tart is actually really simple to make.  I made my pastry from scratch, but if you buy some pre-made pastry or a ready-made shell, making the tart would probably take only 10 minutes!

You will need:
1 quantity of short crust pastry (I used this recipe that I have previously posted up)
300g white chocolate (I used a mix of Whittakers white choc and Nestlé choc melts)
50g crème fraîche
100g soft butter
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
Your choice of decoration

Prepare and bake your short crust pastry then allow to cool (I followed this recipe).

Chop the chocolate and melt in a bowl over the top of a pan of hot water.  Heat the crème fraîche for 10 seconds in the microwave then add to the chocolate.  Stir to combine.  Stir in the vanilla.  Gradually add and stir in the soft butter.  Pour the mixture into the pastry shell, spread smoothly and chill.

I decorated my tart with lots of berries.  I purchased a bag of frozen berries from the supermarket, defrosted them and mixed them with icing sugar to taste (fresh ones were way to expensive).  You could decorate it with just few berries and some raspberry sauce, or shards of dark chocolate would look quite fancy.

Raspberry and White Chocolate Friands

 
I had been wanting to try my hand at making friands for a long time but had never tried one before so was kind of put off by the not knowing how they should turn out. However, this obstacle was removed a couple of weeks ago when my Step-Mum bought out a batch when visiting – they were so yummy that I had to give them a go myself and I was very pleased with the results.

They were beautifully golden on the outside but fluffy yet still moist in the middle. Everyone at my house on Saturday found them incredibly morish, between Shane, Max, two of my sisters and I, we managed to polish off the batch!

Ingredients
½ cup plain flour
1½ cups icing sugar
1 cup almond meal
6 egg whites, beaten lightly
150 grams melted butter, cooled
80 grams white chocolate finely chopped
1-2 dozen raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C fan-forced. Lightly grease 12 friand molds or if you are like me and wanting to try your hand you can use a regular sized muffin tin.
Sift the flour and icing sugar into large mixing bowl. Stir in almond meal, egg whites and melted butter until combined (this can also be done in your electric mixer using the paddle attachment on a low speed). Add the white chocolate and mix again to ensure even distribution through your mixture.
Divide mixture among prepared pans (approximately ¼ cup mixture into each one). Top each one with 1 or 2 raspberries.
Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until cooked through and golden (when a skewer is inserted into centre, it should come out clean).
Once baked leave them in the tin for 5-10 minutes to cool and then remove and place on a wire rack to cool for a further 15 or so minutes before dusting with icing sugar and serving.
*** I found I had enough mix left over to make a further 12 mini friands in a mini muffin tin – these only needed about 8 minutes in the oven and I popped them in while my full size batch were cooling.

With the summery flavor of the raspberries and festive red and white colour combo these would be a lovely addition to any Christmas function you have coming up but of course they can be enjoyed all year round. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Chip Brownies

This recipe is from the back of the ‘Nestle’ dark cooking chocolate packet (I stocked up on their products to get a free apron) and it is very good!

Ingredients:
200g dark cooking chocolate, melted
200gs butter, melted
1 ½ cups soft brown sugar
3 eggs
1 ½ cups plain flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
1 cup white choc bits

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C and line a 23 x 23cm tin with baking paper.
Combine the melted dark chocolate and butter in a large bowl.
Allow it to cool slightly and beat in eggs.  Fold in flour and baking powder, sugar and the choc bits.
Pour into your prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes.
Cool in the tin and cut into squares to serve.
*Tip: If you prefer your brownies a little fudgy you can reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes.

There you have it, simple and delicious.  Enjoy!