Pecan and Hazelnut Blondies

I made these with my friend Hannah after we’d finished our finals at uni – they’re very sweet but the nut content cuts through their richness, making them utterly more-ish! White chocolate has a reputation of being a bit temperamental, because of its lack of cocoa solids, meaning it can split easily, but as long as you melt it slowly, stirring regularly you’ll be fine.

Hazelnut and Pecan Blondies

 

Makes 15 pieces

Ingredients:

75g marg/unsalted butter

500g white chocolate

3 large eggs

175g caster sugar

175g self raising flour

pinch of salt

100g hazelnuts (chopped)

100g pecans (chopped)

1.5tsp vanilla extract

10 x 8 in. baking tin, greased and lined

170oC fan oven/190oC other ovens

Method:

1. Melt 125g of the white chocolate carefully in the microwave – stir regularly to prevent it burning.
2. In a separate, large bowl whisk the eggs and sugar together until smooth, then beat in the melted chocolate – make sure it’s not too hot or you’ll end up with chocolate scrambled eggs; leaving it to stand for 5 minutes after it’s melted will do.
3. Fold in the flour, salt, remaining chocolate in chunks, nuts and vanilla essence until everything is incorporated, but don’t over mix.
4. Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and bake in the middle of your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a golden crust has formed on the Blondies but they’re still soft underneath.
5. Leave to cool slightly in the tin, slice into 15 and turn out onto a wire rack to cool further. These are gorgeous hot, cold, warm with tea, coffee or milk – however you fancy, and if there's any left will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

These are ridiculously easy; you can change the nuts to whatever you prefer or use milk or dark chocolate chips instead of the extra white chocolate, they're a great go to bake if you need something quickly!

Happy Baking,

The Baking Ginger xx

Chewy Chocolate and Nut Cookies

Baked and ready to be eaten!

I made these at the same time as the Salted Nutella Cookies and I've got to admit, I think I prefer these; I'm a big fan of nuts in anything...

The trick to making them really chewy is the light muscovado sugar, if you've only got white sugar that'll work too, your cookies just won't be so chewy and gooey!

They'd work really nicely for elevenses, as part of a spread for afternoon tea, or hot from the oven with loads of vanilla ice cream - yum!

Chewy Chocolate and Nut Cookies

Makes 20 large cookies

Ingredients

Mixture with nuts and chocolate

125g butter/marg

100g light muscovado sugar

125g caster sugar

1 egg

2tsp vanilla essence

225g self raising flour

small pinch of salt

100g chocolate pieces (I used white and milk chocolate)

100g nuts (I used chunks of almonds and hazelnuts)

170oC fan oven/180oC other ovens

Method

1. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy - once you think you've done give it another minute or so of beating to make your cookies as light as possible!

2. Beat in the egg and vanilla essence in two goes until it's all combined. If it curdles don't worry, it'll come back together when you add the flour.

Ready for the oven

3. Add the flour and salt, and mix until just combined then mix in the nuts and chocolate.

4. Put the mix in the freezer for 10 minutes or fridge for an hour just to make it easier to work with - it will be a very very sticky dough!

5. Once the dough is chilled, using two dessert spoons, put a walnut size ball of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Make sure the dough balls have at least 3 inches between them as they will spread massively whilst baking.

6. Bake in the middle of a preheated oven for 9 minutes; they may look raw in the middle still but they'll continue to cook as they cool and you'll end up with a gorgeous, chewy cookie once they've cooled on a wire rack - although as usual they're best when still warm from the oven!

Finished article!

I used the chocolate and nut combinations that I like, but the basic dough recipe can be adapted to suit your tastes, they're really flexible and once you've made one combination you'll really want to try others! You could add lemon zest to mixture to make the cookies fresh and bring out the flavour of the nuts, it really works, and would be great with other citrus fruits too!

They'll keep for 4-5 days in an airtight container.

Happy Baking!

The Baking Ginger xx

Four Shades of Biscotti

Biscotti varieties

Biscotti is something I’ve wanted to make for a while, I’ve read a lot about it and it seems like a really versatile thing, which I decided to put to the test by making 4 varieties at once! These are really crispy biscuits because of their high sugar/low fat content, as well as the fact they're baked twice.

They were all delicious; white chocolate, almond and lemon was my favourite, but play around with what you like to find your favourite combinations. If you want to make all one type of biscotti quadruple the flavourings, or double if you want to make two flavours.

Flavour combinations

4 Shades of Biscotti 

Makes 30 portions (7/8 slices of each)

Ingredients:

12oz plain flour

1.5tsp baking powder

12oz caster sugar

4 eggs (beaten)

Dough coming together

-          Lemon, Almond and White Chocolate

o       zest of 1 lemon

o       2oz whole almonds

o       2oz white chocolate

-          Milk Chocolate and Hazelnut

o       2oz whole hazelnuts

o       2oz milk chocolate

o       1tsp vanilla essence

-          Pistachio, Blackberry and Orange

o       2oz pistachios shelled

o       2oz fresh blackberries

o       zest of 1/3 orange

-          Chocolate and Orange

Dough + flavourings

o       4oz plain chocolate

o       zest of 1 orange

150oC fan oven/160oC all other ovens

Method:

1. Mix together the flour, sugar and baking powder using your hands then add an egg at a time and bring the dough together with your hands. 

2. Divide the dough into four and work on a portion at a time, the dough is very soft and sticky so make sure you’ve got extra flour to hand to keep things moving. 

After first bake

3. For each type of biscotti add the additional ingredients and knead gently to incorporate. Shape into a log, put on a lined baking tray and put into the middle of a preheated oven for 30 minutes. Spread the biscotti out as they’ll spread as they cook. 

4. Repeat for each type of biscotti – you can do them simultaneously if you like; whatever you find easiest! N.B. The blackberry and pistachio flavourings make the dough very wet, so add a few more tbsp of flour to compensate. 

5. Once they’ve been in the oven for 30 minutes cool slightly on a wire rack (for approx. 30 minutes) then slice into 1-2cm thick slices, return to the baking tray and bake for another 5 minutes on each side (another 10 in total), or until golden brown. 

Ready for second bake

6. Cool on a wire rack, then serve with hot chocolate, coffee or tea – they’re perfect for elevenses as they're best dunked! They will keep for 3/4 days in an air tight container.

Versatile, delicious and very cute; they’d make a great present wrapped in shiny wrap paper and tied with ribbon or in a box with tissue paper – perfect!

Happy Baking, 

The Baking Ginger xx

Lemon, Almond and White Chocolate

Pistachio, Blackberry and Orange

Hazelnut and Milk Chocolate

Plain Chocolate and Orange