March 29, 2015

Nutella Gelato


This gelato is so smooth and creamy that I was amazed it was something I made at home, rather than a high-quality gelati store creation.  My grandfather was in raptures about it.

It's a custard-based recipe so there're egg yolks and stove-top cooking involved, plus lots and lots of Nutella.

Recipe adapted from: Leave Room For Dessert
Ingredients
500mL cream
500mL milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
300g caster sugar, split into two 150g portions
5 egg yolks
300g (or more!) Nutella

Method
1. In a saucepan, heat the cream, milk, vanilla essence and 150g caster sugar over medium heat.  Stir until all the sugar is dissolved.

2. Just before the mixture starts to boil, remove it from the heat.

3. Beat the egg yolks with the other 150g portion of caster sugar until the mixture is thick and pale.

4. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the cream mixture and heat it again, over low heat, stirring constantly.  Keep heating it until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

5. When the mixture's thickened, stir the Nutella in until everything's combined.

6. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions (I used my Cuisinart freezer-bowl ice cream maker).  Alternatively, you can pour this into a shallow brownie tin and put it in the freezer, taking it out every couple of hours and beating it to ensure that it's smooth.



Enjoy!



March 22, 2015

Snickerdoodles


When one of my Mum's friends from America gave her a recipe for 'snickerdoodles' I had no idea what such things could even be.  It turns out that they're vanilla cookies covered in cinnamon and sugar.  The dough is delicious and the finished cookies are nice and crunchy on the outside, softer on the inside.  I recommend dipping these in some tea for extra yumminess.

Recipe adapted from: tasteofhome.com
Ingredients
125g butter
250g caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
230g flour
1/4 tsp bicarb soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Sugar coating:
5 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 190C (375F).

2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Beat the egg and vanilla into the butter mixture until combined.

4. Fold the flour, bicarb soda and cream of tartar into the mixture.

5. In a small bowl, mix the white sugar and cinnamon together.

6. Form the dough into small balls (I use about a tablespoon of dough per biscuit) and roll them in the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

7. Place the dough on on a baking sheet covered in baking paper or silicone mats, make sure you leave enough room between the cookies as they will spread when baked.



8. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, you don't want to over-bake them as then they'll be too crunchy (unless, of course, you like that!)

9. Let the cookies cool on wire racks.  Enjoy!



March 9, 2015

Chocolate Fudge Peanut Butter Cookies


These cookies are beautifully soft and chocolatey, the peanut butter is present but not overwhelming.  Another great chocolate/peanut butter staple!

Recipe adapted from: How Sweet Eats
Ingredients
115g dark chocolate
250g butter
125g peanut butter
375g white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
310g flour
30g cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarb soda
1/2 tsp salt
250g chocolate chips (more if required...)

Method
1. Melt the 115g dark chocolate in the microwave and set aside.

2. Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between additions.  Add the vanilla and beat until combined.

4. Add the flour, cocoa powder (sift this for best results), bicarb soda and salt, mix until combined.  It will be quite a soft dough but that's okay, once you add the melted chocolate it will firm up a bit; and you want these cookies to be gooey and soft in the end.

5. Mix the melted chocolate in, and finally fold the chocolate chips into the batter.

6. Cover the dough and refrigerate for a few hours.  I left mine overnight - you can just cool it for however long you like and bake it when you're ready.

7. When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 175C (350F).

8. Form balls of dough about 1 tablespoon in size (you can go bigger or smaller if you like, but make sure you adjust the baking time accordingly) and place them spread out on a baking tray covered with baking paper or a silicone mat.



9. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes.  They should be soft in the middle still, you don't want to overbake these and lose their squishiness.