Cookie Cookie!

I decided to get my cookie groove on today for two reasons. The first is that I've been very sick with a gastric flu over the past couple of days and was feeling significantly better today and NEEDED to do something after being bed-ridden for what seemed like an absolute age! The second reason was due to a little purchase I made while down in Cork in the beautiful O'Conaills chocolate shop. It is a haven for all chocolate lovers with a fantastic variety of different chocolates and divine marshmallow-endowed hot chocolate. Anyway, I'll stop my salivating! I bought a bag of milk, dark and white chocolate drops while ogling the chocolate wonders that surrounded me. It would have been criminal not to have made cookies when I was so laden with chocolate chips!

Due to the recent fragility of my little tummy, I decided not to risk tasting them! I think dry toast will be my daily menu for another few days. So I decided to parcel them up in some cellophane, embellish them with a ribbon and write a little note on some pretty Daintree paper. I gave them to two of my best friends and the last one to the boyfriend. My sister ate the other half of the tray and gave them her seal of approval!

Thanks to my sister Clare Doherty for taking the photos for me. I was very sleepy and she swooped in and clicked away. I think she did a fabulous job. Merci bien ma fille!

Here's the recipe:

Makes about 25 Cookies.

Ingredients

• 300g Butter at room temperature
• 1 Egg
• 375g Caster Sugar
• 450g Plain Flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 250g Chocolate Chips

Method

1. Beat the butter, egg and sugar until completely combined.
2. Mix in the flour and the baking soda.
3. Finally add the chocolate chips or fruit if you prefer.
4. The dough should stick together. If it is too crumbly, it means the butter was not soft enough to begin with, so beat for a little longer. If it still does not combine then add two tablespoons of milk.
5. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for one hour.
6. Roll out on a floured board to 5mm thick and cut into rounds with a cookie cutter.
7. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in an oven preheated to 170C/gas mark 3 for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
8. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.

Go forth and bake some cookies!

Have a good week.

Love Bríd

Cake-Off!

Over a warm cup of tea in our favourite haunt, The Tea Gardens, Yasmin, Darryl, Rosa and I came up with a new concept for an evening of fun. While discussing all the cakes we like to bake and different kinds of baked goods that set our world on fire, we decided to have a cake-off. Essentially a baking competition.

I spent the following week leafing through numerous recipe books trying to find something suitably awe-inspiring. However, on the night I was suffering from a raging hangover and needed something fast but delicious. Nigella, I now worship at your altar. Everyone brought something tasty and we had a meal followed by en masse cake indulgence. However, after indulging in so much cake, we really lost sight of the competitive element due to complete lack of energy and severe over-fullness. We just enjoyed eating such a variety of cake.

It was a lovely evening and I really enjoyed seeing what other people made and what cakes tickle their fancy the most.

It's so awesome to get together with people and taste a bit of everyone's homemade delights. I must say that I have very talented baking friends. What more could a girl ask for? Nom nom nom.

Here's photos of some of the cake delights:

Darryl's bubble gum flavoured Panna Cotta with lemon mousse and small smatterings of meringue.

Rosa's Vegan Coconut cake. Deliciously moist and sweet. This totally changed my views on Vegan baking. Usually I don't have much time for the idea of it but this cake was so fabulous that you wouldn't have known it was missing the classic ingredients!

Conor's Brownies. Absolutely delightful. I really enjoyed these. Soft, sweet, great texture. Nothing like a good Brownie.

Here's Fionn and James's contribution to the evening. A coffee cake "containing amphetamines" as the sign on it shows. Hee hee!

Here's the fruit of my labour, Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Malteaser cake. I love this recipe. It's definitely one of my new fail-safe recipes. It's delicious and the Horlick's in the icing makes it taste lovely and malty and is definitely a new slant on the classic buttercream icing!

Get your bake on over the weekend. There's nothing quite as satisfying! :)

Bríd x

An Evening of Knitting, Chatting and Dessert.

Two scarves and one leg were avidly worked on as we received strange looks from other restaurant munchers. Lovely evening of in-through-the-bunnyhole, around-the-big-tree, out-through-the-bunnyhole, off-pops-he!

Thanks to my Knitwits Clare and Rosa for all the fun :) x

Dinner Chez Beth!

Our wonderful friend Beth over at Aesthetic Delights had her Crafty Students and a few close friends over for dinner a little while ago. She cooked up a mouth-watering array of food. Every taste bud was tickled and every single person at the table was salivating. It was a perfect evening. A room bathed in candlelight and a table laden with delicious cuisine made for wonderful conversation and many satisfied tummies.

The pizzas above were made topped with pepperoni and sausage. Others were endowed with delicious roast peppers. Nothing like carbs and cheese. I swear by that epic combination!

There were also a delicious courgette, mint and pea salad which was fabulous. Classic roast potatoes and home-baked bread satisfied our comfort food needs. Then there was a selection of cold meats as well as asparagus wrapped in parma ham. Quite the variety it must be said. It's always so nice having dinner cooked by someone who isn't afraid to branch out and try new things!

Above is the delicious Feta, Tomato and basil salad. ALWAYS a favourite of mine. It was so tasty and fresh!

Feast your eyes on the delicious trifle. Nat cooked this delectable chocolate and star doused treat. It was fantastic. Nothing like a good trifle to quell the desires of my sweet tooth!

All in all, a sensational evening. A foodie like myself was in bliss. Thanks Beth!

Have a lovely dinner tonight friends!

Bríd x x