Chocolate Anzac Slice

Last Wednesday, we Aussies celebrated ANZAC day. ANZAC day I think was originally a commemoration of the Aussie/ NZ campaign in Gallipoli in WWI, but has now become a broader day of thanksgiving and remembrance for all those who have fought (and are still fighting) for our country in the armed services.

There were some great articles and blog posts around last week about commemorating ANZAC day with kids. We didn't attend a dawn service or anything, though my husband ran his own "service" with the kids over breakfast, playing the Last Post on You Tube and explaining some of the history about ANZAC day. We couldn't manage a minute of silence at our house though!

We also made this yummy ANZAC slice. The recipe for the slice is taken from taste.com.au. I saw the idea of adding a chocolate topping somewhere on Facebook.

Ingredients:
1.25 cups oats
1.25 cups plain flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup coconut
150g butter
2 tbs golden syrup
0.5 tsp bicarb soda
2 tbs boiling water
200g chocolate (milk or dark, depending on preference)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (or 160 for fan-forced)

2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well: 

3. Melt butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan until combined. Add boiling water and bicarb soda and mix well.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.

5. Bake slice in pre-heated oven for 25 minutes, until golden (but still soft - it will harden as it cools)

6. Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate. We didn't have a block of chocolate - only these "treat sized" chocolates. This gave the kids a longer job to do while we waited for the slice to cook, then cool.

7. Melt the chocolate. (I usually do this in the microwave, but for some reason, it wasn't working this time, so I used a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water this time). Spread the chocolate over the cooled slice. Refrigerate until set.

Enjoy!

I'm linking this recipe up with my fellow LOAH blogger, Lisa at Mummy's Undeserved Blessings. She has a new Friday/ weekend recipe link-up. Head over there for weekend cooking inspiration.

Favourite Christmas Biscuits (and menu plan 12th - 18th December)

I thought I'd share our favourite Christmas biscuit recipe. The biscuits are quite nice on their own, but the lemon glaze icing adds something special (and tangy)... I hope you enjoy them.

 

Christmas cookies (with lemon glaze icing)

Ingredients:

250g cold butter
2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 egg
2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup icing sugar

Method:

Blend butter and flour in a food processor until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs
Add caster sugar
Add egg and mix well
Knead dough
Divide mixture in half, flatten into discs and refrigerate 30 minutes

After 30 minutes, knead again, roll onto floured surface and roll to 5 mm thick.
Cut shapes from the dough.
Bake in moderate oven (180 degrees Celsius) for 8-10 minutes
Cool

Make lemon icing by combining icing sugar and lemon juice
Ice biscuits, set for 1 hour.

It is a busy week. I'm going back to work on Thursday and Friday this week, and I'm out to dinner on Tuesday. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday call for easy, dad-friendly meals this week...

Monday: Lamb and mushroom pie (using leftover roast lamb)

Tuesday: Tuna fettuccine (I'm out to dinner with play-group mums)

Wednesday: Chicken and vegetable rissoles, potato and salad (carryover from last week)

Thursday: Fried rice

Friday: BBQ sausages in bread rolls with salad

Saturday: Out for dinner

Sunday: Out for family Christmas afternoon tea, light dinner

What are you cooking/ eating this week?

Wordless Wednesday - Making Lebkuchen

Raw dough... not so good

Thanks again to Katherine for the recipe. We will definitely be making these again before Christmas. 

I'm linking up with My Little Drummer Boys

Menu Plan: 24th - 30th October 2011 & Lebkuchen Recipe

It is a bit of a different menu plan here over the next couple of weeks. My husband is doing HSC marking every weeknight until 9pm, and then all day Saturday. He will only be joining us for evening meals on the weekend (*sob*). To make life a little bit easier for me, I have decided I will only cook every 2nd day, and we will eat the same thing for 2 nights. A friend has also advised me to serve the evening meal at afternoon tea time, then serve a snack at dinner time. She does this regularly when her husband is away. It means the dinner clean-up etc is completed before bath/ bed time. Sounds good to me...

Here is what we are eating:

Monday: Tuna burgers (I still have the ingredients from last week, as we ate at my mother-in-law's place on Saturday)

Tuesday: Pumpkin, Ricotta and Chicken Pasta Bake with green veggies

Wednesday: as above

Thursday: Salmon Bake

Friday: as above

Saturday: Pumpkin, Spinach and Coconut Beef Curry

                (Dessert Night): Apple and Berry Crumble with custard

Sunday: Home-made Pizzas

Bake: Chewy Chocolate Cookies

          Lebkuchen (see below- thanks so much Katherine W for the recipe!)

Lebkuchen - Traditional German Gingerbread

(Recipe thanks to Katherine W. Adapted from The Women's Weekly Beautiful Biscuits book)

Ingredients
 (makes about 40 biscuits)

60g butter
2/3 cup syrup
1 3/4 cup plain flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
30g mixed peel
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cocoa
1 tbsp milk
extra flour
jam (smooth raspberry or apricot is probably most traditional but use what you enjoy)
125g dark chocolate

Method:

1. Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan, add syrup. Bring to the boil, take off heat.
2. Add dry ingredients, milk and peel. Stir until smooth.
3. Stand 1 and 1/2 hours at room temperature to thicken.
4. Knead on a floured surface until not sticky.
5. Roll out to 1/2 inch thick. Cut out into heart shapes.
6. Place biscuits on greased or lined trays. Push a hole into each biscuit using the end of a wooden spoon (not the whole way through). Fill hole with 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of jam.
7. Cook at 180 c for 8-10 minutes. Leave until cold.
8. Melt chocolate, dip base of each biscuit and smooth.
9. Place jam side down in refrigerator until set.

Katherine's variations:

1. I never use the peel since we don't like it!
2. For kids, I leave out the cardamom and cloves and I up the cocoa to a good tablespoon or so.
3. I don't need to leave the dough for a full hour and a half. After about 40 minutes I find it is cool enough to handle and doesn't need that much kneading before it's easy to roll. I work with about 1/4 of the dough at a time and add the cutting scraps in with the next quarter.
4. I tend to cook the biscuits only about 6 minutes for a much softer gingerbread. Probably depends on each oven and preference though.
5. For kids (and speed) I don't use the jam or chocolate. If I can be bothered, we might ice them but my Mr 2 enjoys them plain anyway. (They are really delicious with jam and chocolate though!)

Note from Katherine: I've been making this recipe for as long as I can remember. I love it - only one saucepan and a wooden spoon gets dirty, other than the boiling, easy for kids to do the mixing and measuring, and I don't think I've ever had the mix not work and find it's not sticky for cutting or handling. I hope now that I've recommended it, anyone else finds it trouble free and yummy too.

Recipe of the week - Caramel and Almond Squares

I included a picture of this yummy slice in a post recently. Bri, who has been reading and commenting here and on my old blog for some time (thanks Bri!), asked about the delicious-looking slice in point 9 - the one I don't want to regret not making. I didn't quite realise how decadent this recipe was until I started typing the recipe out. Over 300g of butter! Luckily you only serve it in VERY small squares - unless you are the cook and you have to eat all the crooked-looking edge bits. *cough*

 
Caramel and Almond Squares

(Source: Cooking with Aldi: One Family, One Supermarket p. 192, with own minor adjustments)

Ingredients

(Base)

1/4 cup self-raising flour

60g butter

1/4 cup white sugar

2 egg yolks

(Topping)

250g butter

1/4 cup honey

3/4 cup brown sugar

250g flaked almonds

1 tbs thickened cream

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.
Line a slice tin (about 18cm by 28 cm), with baking paper extending over the edges of the tray

 (Base) Combine the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the egg yolks and continue to process until a dough forms.
Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.
Roll out the pastry or press directly into the base of the lined slice tin.
Bake for 12 minutes. (Note: the recipe says to cover the pastry with baking paper and baking weights/ dry rice before baking. I didn't do this and it was fine)

(Topping) Combine butter, honey and brown sugar in a saucepan.
Place over low - medium heat at stir continuously until mixture boils.
Reduce the heat and simmer 3 minutes without stirring.
Remove from the heat and stir in almonds and cream. 

Pour the topping over the cooked pastry base.

Reduce oven heat to 180 degrees C.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden.

Allow slice to cool, then place the pan in the fridge to firm.
Serve at room temperature, cut into small squares.

Recipe of the week - Basic Cookie Recipe

I have been searching for this type of recipe ever since my eldest child could eat biscuits (cookies). It makes a simple, versatile cookie dough that can withstand the helping efforts of young children. Other cookie doughs I have tried are the wrong consistency for little hands. They require a little more finesse when it comes to rolling and shaping, otherwise the dough either crumbles, or sticks. This one is just right...

Chewy Choc Cookies  (makes about 30)

(Adapted from One Family, One Supermarket - Cooking with Aldi - p. 191)

Ingredients:

125g butter, chopped

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 and 3/4 cups self-raising flour

200g dark chocolate (or milk, or white chocolate)

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line 2 trays with baking paper

Gather ingredients

If using a block of chocolate (rather than ready-made choc-chips), get kids to break the block into squares. You will probably also have to chop the squares into about 4 smaller bits.

Meanwhile, combine the butter and sugars in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until creamy.

Add egg and beat until combined

Add self-raising flour and chocolate. Stir with a wooden spoon until well-combined.

 Re-enlist the help of the little ones. Roll small balls (about the size of a walnut) and place them onto trays, allowing about 3-4 cm between balls. (Do not flatten them).

Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies spread and turn slightly golden. Do not over-bake. Cookies will be soft at first but will firm as they cool.

Variations: 

Instead of choc-chips, you could try:

• Pressing a  "freckle" lolly or a "jube" (or other preferred lolly or sugar decoration) into the top of each biscuit (Credit to my mother-in-law for that suggestion)
• Making a small well and adding 1/2 tsp jam in the top of each biscuit
• Adding dried fruit - sultanas, chopped dried apricots, prunes or dates
• Adding coconut
• Adding cocoa (for chocolate biscuits) - sorry I haven't done this, so couldn't say how much to add. Any ideas?
• Adding cornflakes
• Adding coloured sprinkles
• Any other ideas?

Recipe of the week - Sultana and Carrot Loaf

Mine looked a lot like this. Photo credit here

I think I mentioned last week that one of our neighbours gave us some lovely home-grown tangelos. A few days later she also gave us a jar of tangelo marmalade. (We haven't tried it yet, but it smells yummy!). I wanted to thank her for her kindness. On Monday, we also happened to be having my husband's step-mum's parents over for afternoon tea. To kill two birds with one stone, I made this yummy sultana and carrot loaf. 

Both our neighbour and our afternoon tea guests are in their 70s. They loved it. My neighbour said it was the first "cake" her husband had eaten and enjoyed in over a year, and she asked for the recipe. As Matt said, this loaf is exactly the kind of thing that older people enjoy with a big smear of butter and a cup of tea!

Sultana and Carrot Loaf

Credit: Cooking with Aldi (One family, one supermarket) p.177 - I made slight changes.

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 cup white sugar

1 cup sultanas

1 medium carrot, grated

60g butter

1 tsp cinnamon

1 and 1/2 cups self-raising flour

3/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

 

Method:

 Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celcius

Line a loaf tin with baking paper

Combine the water, sugar, sultanas, grated carrot, butter and cinnamon in a saucepan over low-medium heat

Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes

Remove saucepan from heat and stand for 15 minutes

Add the flour and walnuts and stir to combine

Transfer the mixture to the tin

Bake for 45-50 mins

Serve at room temperature

(Spread with butter and serve with a cup of tea if you like).

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Recipe of the week - Pineapple Dessert Cake

Mr. almost-2 is now Mr. 2. Although we are having a birthday party on Saturday, we like to have family celebrations on the actual birth date. I decided to try this pineapple dessert cake from the Aldi cookbook. It was easy, and everyone devoured it. The boys of the family were particularly partial to it!

Pineapple Dessert Cake

Ingredients: 

(Cake)

1 432g(!) can pineapple chunks, drained

125g butter, softened

1/2 cup Castor sugar

2 eggs

1 cup self-raising flour

(Topping)

1/3 cup plain flour

1/3 cup white sugar

30g butter

2 tablespoons flaked almonds (we used walnuts because that is what we had)

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C, and line a cake tin with non-stick baking paper

Place the drained pineapple chunks in a food processor and process until finely chopped (not pureed)

Place butter and Castor sugar in a bowl. Beat together until pale and creamy

Add eggs and continue to beat until combined

Add self-raising flour and pineapple and stir to combine

Transfer to prepared tin

Combine the topping ingredients and process in a food processor until mixture resembles breadcrumbs

Spread topping over the cake mixture and slightly press into the top

Bake for 40 minutes

Stand 10 minutes before turning out to cool

Serve warm with a dollop of cream or ice-cream

Kids in the kitchen: Scones

Scones are something every cook should know how to make (so they say)... and something that has been sadly lacking from my own repertoire until now. I have tried to make scones twice, and failed miserably. For my third attempt, I thought I'd get some help from the kids!

When cooking with kids, I would say the general rule is to make something you are quite confident with yourself. I broke that rule and it worked fine... this time.

Here is the scone recipe I used:
(Makes a baker's dozen):

Ingredients: 3 cups self-raising flour, 1 tbsp caster sugar, about 80g butter, cubed and 1-1.25 cups milk + plain flour for dusting

Method: Sift flour and sugar into a bowl.

Rub in butter. Gradually stir in milk until dough forms. It is easier to use hands from then on. Avoid over-kneading.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 2cm thick.

Cut into rounds. 

Place on greased tray. (Using baking paper is preferred, but I didn't have any this time). Dust tops with plain flour. 

 Cook in hot oven (210 degrees Celsius) for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve (immediately if possible) with jam and thick cream.

Yay! They worked.

Edited to add: 

Thanks to Alissa S, via the Facebook page... a recipe for cream scones. I haven't made them myself yet, but they come highly recommended! Maybe someone who has a kitchen at the moment could try them out and let me know how they go! :

Ingredients: 2 cups SR Flour, 1tbs sugar, pinch salt, 180ml milk, 1/2 cup cream

Method: Combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.
Add milk and cream.
Stir with a knife until dough comes together (don't over work it).
Turn out dough onto floured surface, and add a little flour to the top of the dough if too sticky to work with.
Roll out to 3 cm thick and cut out rounds. (I have also cheated and just scored the top with a knife in a cross pattern... Also works, but have to make sure they are cooked in the middle!)
Place on baking paper on baking tray.
Brush with a little milk.
Bake in 230 c oven for 10-12 mins.

Best eaten the day you make them.
Enjoy with lashings of whipped cream and jam!! :)

Summer Berry Cake

My friend Cass sent me a couple of recipes to try last week. Cass is a great cook, and has a talent for finding  great recipes. We tried the "Summer Berry Cake" yesterday. This is the recipe Cass originally sourced, with her own adaptations:

Ingredients 

200g ground almond

175g softened butter, cubed
175g  (3/4 cup) caster sugar
175g (1 and 1/3 cups) self-raising flour
2 eggs
Box of frozen berries (or 500g fresh berries)
Icing sugar to dust

 

 

Method

 1) Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius

2) Combine ground almond, butter, sugar, flour and eggs in a bowl

 3) Mix ingredients together in a food processor, with hand-held mixer or with fingertips. It is a short-cake/ dough-type consistency.

 4) Spread 1/2 the mixture on the bottom of the cake tin (P.S. Please ignore my lazy baking paper - I never cut to size!)

5) Top with the berries (doesn't matter if they are not defrosted)

 6) Spread the other half of the mixture over the berries. Spread out as much as possible.

 7) Bake for 40-45 minutes

 8) Dust with icing sugar and serve

 The verdict: Very popular!