Chocolate Chip Cookies

Just a quick reminder before I start, in a couple of days Google Friends Connect is closing down and if you would still like to follow this blog then the way to do so would be through Bloglovin. The link to my page is here.

I found it too hard to stop myself from eating the cookie dough. It was just too good! If I am completely honest with you, I probably ate somewhere around 2 cookies worth. Shhhhh!

Cookies and milk, perfect!

Now, onto the recipe. I have been dying to share this recipe with you since the start of this blog and I cannot believe it has taken me so long to get around to it! I finally found some time yesterday and this is the result! These cookies can be made days in advance and stored in a air-tight container.

This recipe is so simple and I have made it several times and each time this recipe has not failed me. the thing that I love about this recipe is that you do not have to chill the mix so this recipe is super quick.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

> 250g self-raising flour
> 1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
> 1/2tsp salt
> 170g unsalted butter
> 170g soft, light brown sugar
> 70g caster sugar
> 1tbsp vanilla extract
> 1 egg
> 1 egg yolk
> 300g chocolate chips (plain, milk, dark, white, whichever you wish!)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. In a bowl sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Set the bowl aside.

3. Melt the butter. The best way to do this is in the microwave. Watch the butter like a hawk and make sure the butter is just melted and not boiling.

4. In a medium bowl, using a wooden spoon, cream together the melted butter and sugars. Beat in the vanilla and the eggs until light and creamy.

5. Mix in the sifted ingredients and stir in the chocolate chips. Place 1 tablespoon of the cookie mixture onto the baking tray. The cookies spread a lot in the oven so leave a fair amount of space between the cookies.

6. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes. The cookies should be lightly golden but still soft. Take the tray out and leave the cookies on the tray for 1-2 minutes to harden slightly and then move the cookies onto a cooling rack. You will find that you will have to bake several batches and end up with about 36 cookies, that is if you don't eat any!

7. Serve the cookies with a glass of milk and if you do not wish tho consume the cookies on the same day then simply store them in an airtight container until you are ready to serve them.

8. Heaven!

~Bloglovin~

Puff Pastry Apple Tart

This week has been extremely eventful for me but my highlight has been finishing my exams! I feel so happy about this and this is great news for the blog because it means that I will have more time to post!

So onto this weeks recipe. This weeks bake was spontaneous which is unusual for me because I normally plan bakes far ahead. But, we had a lot of apples at home and we had puff pastry so I thought, why not make a puff pastry apple tart?

This recipe is so simple and so quick and I would advise making this recipe if you are just starting to bake. I used ready made puff pastry as it is much cheaper and much easier but you could make your own if you wish.

Puff Pastry Apple Tart

Ingredients:
> 1 pack ready made puff pastry
> 6-8 eating apples
> 40g unsalted butter
> Sprinkling of caster sugar
> Icing sugar to dust

Method:

1. Roll out your pastry until you have a large, thin, rectangle. Put baking paper on a baking sheet and put the pastry on top.

2. Preheat the oven to 200C.

3. Half the apples and cut the apples into super thin slices, the thinner the better. When you come across a slice that has part of a core in it just slice it off. I find that 'coring' the apple like this is easier and you get straight slices of apple. If you want you can peel the apples but I left the peel on as I like the texture and also I find that it looks more attractive like this.

4. Layer the apples on top of each other in rows. Start at the top of the pastry and then just layer all the way to the end. To get an good amount of apple in each slice, layer the slices really close together. Put more than you think you should because the apples will shrink in the oven. Layer the apples so that there is a small border around the edge of the pastry.

5. Melt the butter and brush over the top of the apples. Sprinkle caster sugar over the top of the apples, lightly and evenly.

6. Bake the tart for 20-25mins until the apples are lightly golden and the pastry is cooked.

7. Slice the tart and dust with icing sugar, this is perfect served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

8. Enjoy!

Update!

I wasn't planing on doing this but a lot has happened or is going to happen and I feel the need to let you know, so here is my update.

Firstly, I am 16! I counted down like 60 days before my birthday and so I was really excited when it finally came. In the UK I now have some responsibilities and I find this really weird. For example, I went to the dentist the other day and I had to fill out my own form and I found this a lot scarier then it should have been, I mean I was stressing over my name! I also managed to spell my dad's name incorrectly but I think I managed to recover well... (Photos in this post are from my birthday)

Secondly, I would like to apologise for not having a post up last week. Initially I wanted to stop posting during my exam period but then I decided not to and last week the workload just got too much. I have three more exams left and then the a joyful 2 month period of waiting for the results. Just last night I had a nightmare dream that I opened the letter and I failed all my exams. Finger crossed this will not be the case *crosses fingers* After next week, by which time my exams have finished, I will try and post more.

Thirdly, Google for some reason has decided to not continue with Google Friend Connect, the box on the side with the faces of people who follow this blog. If you read other blogs then you have most likely already heard of this and the majority of bloggers have said that Bloglovin is the next best thing. I already have a Bloglovin account here and I use Bloglovin to follow blogs myself. It is a really good platform and you can discover all sorts of new blogs through it. If you only follow me on Google Friend Connect and still wish to follow me then Bloglovin is the way to do so.

Fourthly, (is that even a thing?) in roughly a weeks time I plan on creating a Facebook page and a Twitter for the blog. I will post all new blog updates to these social networks so you can always just check these if you do not wish to create a Bloglovin account.

Lastly, is there any type of regular post that you would like to see on this blog? I am planning on doing a 'Words of Wisdom Wednesdays' where I write about inspirational quotes or stories. Would this be something you are interested in reading?

For now that is all I think... I hope you found this post bearable liked this post and unless I have a lot of updates in the future, I do not plan on doing a similar post like this again but instead continue with my usual content.

~Bloglovin~

Birthday Cake!

My 16th birthday was just over two weeks ago and I had a really great day. I spent most of the day revising but it was a good day anyway.

My mum made my cake and I really loved it. It was nice to have something that was different from the standard chocolate cake. The cake is really light and fluffy and perfect for a summer party. The recipe is taken from the June 2012 issue of the BBC Good Food magazine. Yes, the magazine is a year old but the recipes in it are really good and so I kept it...

Fruity Traybake

Ingredients:
>100g butter
>175g self-raising
>50g ground almonds
>2 tsp baking powder
>4 large eggs
>225g caster sugar
>125ml full fat greek yogurt
>zest of two lemons

For the butter icing:
>175g butter softened
>200g icing sugar
> 1/2tsp vanilla essence

To decorate:
>300g raspberries
>175g blueberries

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 180C. Butter and line a 30 x 20cm traybake tin.

2. Add all the sponge ingredients into a mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, mix until all the ingredients are fully combined and the mixture is light.

3, Spoon the mixture into the tin and bale for 25-30mins until the top is lightly golden and the sides of the sponge have started to shrink away from the paper. Carefully lift the sponge out of the tine and transfer the sponge onto a cooling rack. Leave the cake to cool completely.

4. To make the icing whisk the butter, icing sugar and vanilla essence together until light and fluffy. This should take about 5 minutes.

5. Spread the icing over the top of the cake and decorate with the raspberries and blueberries.

Enjoy!

~Bloglovin~