Perfect Pancakes

Breakfast is obviously the most important meal of the day and for my final breakfast as a little 20 year old (I'll be turning the big 2-1 tomorrow!), I chose my favourite thing to eat and something that will always take me back to being little and gathered round the kitchen table on a saturday morning, waiting for mama to dish up the goods. Pancakes.
My sister was even kind enough to cook it for me as my mama was out and at the early breakfast hour I was feeling far too lazy to do it myself.
My favourite is a pile of pancakes topped off with crispy bacon and lots of maple syrup.

Millie opted for the slightly more modest single pancake, banana and syrup…amateur.

With my belly full, I was more prepared for a nap than for the day ahead but it was still the perfect treat for the start of the day!

To make the most perfect pancakes yourself (although I'm sure a recipe is not really necessary) you will need:
1 3/4 cup Plain Flour
1 1/4 cup Milk
2 Eggs
2 tablespoons Caster Sugar

(we made them dairy and gluten free by using wheat free flour and almond milk but you don't have to)

Simply combine all ingredients together and whisk, preferably leave in the fridge for about half an hour, but it's understandable if you just cant't wait to get them in the pan!
Pop some butter in a hot pan and wait for it to foam slightly, then pour on a laddle of pancake batter. 
Wait a few minutes until it bubbles and is golden brown on the underside, then flip! 
Wait again for the second side to brown and enjoy!

Happy plate

Dulce De Leche Brownies

Another brownie recipe here and, dare I say it, they may be even better than the last.

The swirls of dulce de leche caramel running through make them so delicious and gooey, and as the brownie itself is not overly sweet they're not sickly, just irritatingly more-ish. I also added some chopped pecans to add an extra crunch.

They're super quick to make, and only need one pot...simples.

I whipped them up earlier this week when in desperate need of something sweet as all my friends are going back to uni after a long summer and it's feeling like autumn is most definitely upon us. 

All I needed was to curl up with a nice cup of tea and one of these. Who says food can't make you happy? And as it's once again the time of year for layers the extra pounds won't hurt…

caramel and chocolate are best buds

If you're feeling like I am about winter a'comin and want to make these beauts, You Will Need:

115g butter, cut into pieces

170g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chips or finely chopped

25g unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large eggs
200g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
140g flour
100g pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup Dulce de Leche

To Make:

• Pre-heat oven to 180°C.
• Line a 8-inch square baking dish with foil and grease lightly. 
• In a small medium saucepan melt the butter.  
• Add the chocolate, stirring constantly over low heat until the chocolate is melted.  
• Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. 
• Add eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar and vanilla.  
• Stir in the flour, then the nuts, if using.  

• Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan.  
• Dollop half of the Dulce de Leche over the brownie batter and drag a knife through to swirl. 
• Pour the remaining brownie batter on top, then spoon on the remaining Dulce de Leche, swirling again with a knife to create a marbled effect.  

• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The brownies center will be slightly firm when they are done. 

• Remove from the oven and allow cool completely before cutting into bars.

Banana and Nutella Swirl Bread

This is a recipe that my sister has been using for a long time and I have always loved. It's one of the best banana breads I've tried, moist, sweet and full of banana flavour.
So, when the urge set in to bake and I happened across a few sad looking over-ripe bananas sitting in my fruit bowl I thought it would be the perfect thing to eat with a nice cup of tea on a grey day like today.
It's originally a Bill Granger recipe, but I've slightly adapted it. This time I used gluten free flour and didn't have any chocolate chips so decided to use the old faithful Nutella instead. 

You Will Need:
125g unsalted butter, softened
250g caster sugar
4 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
250g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 tblsp Nutella

To Make:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Grease and lightly flour a loaf tin.
• Mix the butter, sugar, banana, eggs, and vanilla extract in a bowl with  hand held electric whisk.
• Sift in the flour and baking powder stir to combine, being careful not to over mix. It will not be completely smooth due to the bananas.

• Pour half of the batter into the loaf tin and even. 
• Drop teaspoons of Nutella onto the mix and marble with a skewer.
• Add the rest of the mix, spread evenly again and add another layer of marbled Nutella.

• Bake for 50 minutes, or until the bread is cooked when tested with a skewer.
• Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool. 

• Serve in thick slices on its own, with butter...or for extra decadence, some more Nutella.

Blueberry and White Chocolate Cookies

White chocolate always goes well with fruit and these cookies are no exception. 
Delicious chewy blueberry cookies, with white chocolate drizzled all over the top, these are a must bake.

You Will Need:
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
3/4 Cup Caster Sugar
1 cup Melted Butter
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 eggs

2 Cups Plain Flour
1 1/2 tsps Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt

1 cup blueberries
100g White Chocolate

To Make:

• Pre-heat oven to 180°C.
• In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, sugar, and melted butter until smooth. 
• Whisk in vanilla extract and eggs until combined. 
• Add flour, baking powder, and salt and mix with a wooden spoon.
• Gently mix in blueberries. 

• Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto greased baking sheets.

• Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown.
• Cool slightly, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

• Melt the chocolate in the microwave.
• Drizzle over the cookies using a small spoon.

Sweet Potato Crisps

Who knew it was so easy to make your own crisps? You can use any vegetable you fancy, roots veg like parsnips, beetroot and squash work well but other veg like courgettes can be good too.
Different seasonings can be used for different veg as well, this time we went for paprika and sweet potato and also tried out  courgette and chill powder.

Get your hands on:

1 large sweet potato
Olive oil
salt and pepper
Paprika

..and if you fancy the courgettes too:
1 large courgette
chilli powder
olive oil
salt and pepper

Get Cookin'

• Pre-heat oven to 200°C.
• Peel the sweet potato and slice very thin. (You can use a mandolin slice if you have one or certain graters can make this job a lot easier too)

• Place in a bowl and cover with olive oil and seasonings
• Mix thoroughly with hands
• Lay out in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and sprinkle with more seasoning.

• Bake for about 30 minutes, turning half way through cooking time

Peanut Nutella Bites

These are the easiest little gems to whip up quick for people coming over or if you just fancy a lil something sweet and chocolatey! 

I've seen similar things labelled as "no-bake cookies" before but me and a friend concluded that they're more like uncooked flapjack bites and not really cookies in the slightest.

Although they do have a similar feel to eating cookie dough straight out the bowl, without the feeling of naughtiness as thats just the way they're meant to be eaten!

We added salted peanuts to the mix for extra crunch and a little bit of salty to combat the sweet.

 Although not exactly the most photogenic of things...

If these are for you, you'll need:
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup Nutella hazelnut spread
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup salted peanuts

All set? Get cookin'

• In a medium, melt the butter over medium to low heat. 
• Add the sugar, milk, and cocoa powder and mix until combined. 
• Stir in the peanut butter and Nutella until melted, followed by the oats and peanuts.
• Continue mixing until all of the ingredients are incorporated. 
• Reduce heat to very low.

• Now, either use a use a spring-form ice cream scoop or just a tablespoon,  drop them onto a lined cookie sheet and shape into balls.

• Chill for for thirty minutes in the fridge until firm. 

Ta Dah!