Chunky Peanut & Raisin Cookies

I came across this recipe on Julie van Rosendaal's blog. It reminded me of a recipe of Nigella Lawson's which I'd made a few times and really liked. So I had to try this one. With a few changes. Did it work? Well, there's no picture on this post becuse I can't take one - no cookies left!

Recipe:
125 grams dry roasted peanuts
125 grams sugar
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 egg white
2 tablespoons skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
70 grams plain flour
70 grams plain wholemeal flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
55 grams seedless raisins

Preheat oven to 325F/170C. Line baking trays with non-stick baking parchment.
Place the peanuts in a food processor with a few spoonfuls of sugar. Pulse until the nuts are coarsely chopped.
In a large bowl, beat together the remaining sugar with the peanut butter, egg white, milk and vanilla until smooth.
In a medium bowl, combine the flours, bicarbonate of soda.
Add the remaining ingredients gradually, a bit of each at a time, stirring between each addition until combined.
Roll the dough into balls and place on the baking trays. Flatten the balls quite well into discs.
Bake for about 15 minutes until pale gold in color.
Makes about 18.

Strawberry Chocolate Cupcakes

Not quite sure what I thought I was doing with these. I came across a reference to Crazy Cake, which is basically an eggless chocolate cake which I think uses the reaction between vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to give the raising effect. Anyway, I can't leave good enough alone, so I made a number of changes to the recipe, throwing in mashed banana as a replacement for some of the vegetable oil, and strawberry jam because, well, it was in the fridge (see Marmalade Cookies), and I thought it might give a hint of something to the cupcakes.
So, how did all this experimentation turn out? Quite well actually. Very soft and fluffy cupcakes, rich enough but not too heavy.

Recipe:
200 grams plain flour
150 grams sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
25 grams cocoa powder (Green & Blacks)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon vinegar
250 millilitres water
50 grams mashed banana
50 grams strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line muffin tin with muffin cases.
Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a jug.
Add wet ingredients to dry, mixing until smooth.
Divide between muffin cases.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.

Marmalade Cookies

I found a jar of marmalade lurking in the back of the fridge. As toast is a rarity in the house these days, I figured it was a case of either use it up in baking, or throw it away. Luckily, I had this recipe from One Smart Cookie marked as one to try, so this seemed like a good reason to do it.
As usual, I've modified the recipe from volume to metric measurements. How did they turn out? Very well. They have a slightly crisp edge, with a chewy middle. The marmalade is a definite part of the taste, so use one that you like. It might be worth experimenting with different kinds of marmalade too - I may be trying this with a lemon and lime one at some point in the future, although I'll need to change the spicing if I do that.

Recipe:
125 grams porage oats
125 grams plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
50 grams unsalted butter
75 grams demerara sugar
75 grams light muscovado sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125 grams seedless raisins
100 grams orange marmalade

Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Line baking trays with non-stick baking parchment.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
Add the marmalade and mix until combined. Mix in the raisins.
Add the oats and flour alternately, mixing well between each addition.
Drop spoonfuls of the dough onto the baking sheets. Flatten fairly well.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden.
Makes 24.

Apple & Sultana Muffins

These muffins came about as a combination of a couple of things. A while back I was in Starbucks, standing in the queue looking at the muffins, and I had decided on the apple and whatever it was muffin. Unfortunately, someone in front of me got the last one. Then about a week ago I was watching Bill's Food, and he was making a very interesting looking apple, cherry and almond loaf. My original thought was just to make the loaf as muffins. But then I remembered those muffins, and having some sultanas in the cupboard, started making changes to the starting recipe. The almonds went immediately, and the cherries were replaced with the sultanas. I wanted to use part wholemeal flour, but not having self-raising wholemeal, I used a combination of self-raising white and plain wholemeal, adding a little extra baking powder. Not sure I added enough though. I also think I may have either added too much wholemeal flour, or not enough liquid, as the muffins turned out a touch on the dry side. Overall though, the flavour was good. I may tinker with the recipe and try these again.

Recipe:
50 grams porage oats
300 millilitres skim milk
140 grams self-raising flour
100 grams wholemeal flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons honey
1 egg
75 grams light brown sugar
75 grams dried apple
75 grams sultanas

In a large bowl, soak the oats in the milk for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Put 12 muffin cases in a muffin tin.
Sift the flours, baking powder and cinnamon into a medium bowl.
Beat the honey and egg into the soaked oats. Add the sugar and mix well.
Add the flour and dried fruit to the wet ingredients, a few spoonfuls at a time, mixing between each addition until only just combined.
Divide between the muffin cases.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until risen, golden and springy to the touch.