Mam's Christmas Pudding

My brain has become a little fazzled of late thinking up new recipes and dreaming up ways to improve some oldies but goodies.  I also have writers cramp from scribbling in my blog notebook.  I have pages of yummy things to try out and I just wish I could grow another me to make it possible, but I will eventually get around to trying them all out soon.  For this reason when it came to developing my own recipe for Christmas pudding my brain just point blank refused to work.  Normally this would bother me, I would sit pen in hand until driven with distraction and the task was finished but I decided to take the 'life's too short' approach this time.  Christmas is not too far away and the puddings need a bit of time to mature, and had I forced the task at hand I would not have enjoyed it and mixed my puddings with a bad heart, and we all know you can't make a cake with a bad heart.  It just won't taste good.  I swear.

I decided I would stick with my mam's recipe as it is well tried and tested.  I combined all of the ingredients on Wednesday and left them to sit overnight to thicken.  Every time I walked into the kitchen I was assaulted by the aroma of Christmas, and I couldn't help but sneak a peak under the tea towel every now and then.  Last night I added the Guinness and myself and Mr. Boo both stirred the mix 3 times towards our hearts before making a wish.

It was tradition in our house that the puddings could not be cooked unless everyone who lived in the house had made a wish.  I'm not entirely sure where the tradition originated but I do remember that even when I was too small to stir the mixture by myself my mam or dad would help me and I would make my wish.  I wouldn't dream of ever skipping this vital step.  I am sure it will have no bearing on the taste of the finished article but I almost feel as though I am stirring through some Christmas magic with each turn of the wooden spoon and I wouldn't dare risk leaving that out.  We all need a little Christmas magic in our lives so go on, gather everyone around and one by one stir 3 times towards your heart and make a special wish. 

I would love to hear if you had this tradition in your house or any other Christmas pudding traditions.  Please leave me a comment as I love to hear from you.

xxx

Mam's Christmas Pudding
(makes 2 puddings)

175g/6oz Self -Raising Flour
1 level tsp Mixed Spice
1 level tsp Ground Cinnamon
0.5 level tsp Ground Nutmeg
225g/8oz White Breadcrumbs
350g/12oz Dark Brown Sugar
450g/1lb Currants
225g/8oz Raisins
225g/8oz Sultanas
125g/4oz Mixed Cut Peel
125g/4oz Glaze Cherries(halved)
50g/2oz Almonds(blanched and chopped)
Finely grated rind of 1 Orange
Finely grated rind of 1 Lemon
225g/8oz Margarine(melted)*
3 large Eggs(lightly beaten)*
2tbsp Brandy*
275ml/0.5pint Guinness(or other stout)

*beat this ingredients together

Firstly I am going to give you some tips before I start into the instructions:

It is very important to be organised when making Christmas cakes and puddings to avoid it becoming stressful.  There are quite a few ingredients so I find measuring everything in at the same time a having it ready to go into the bowl at the same time really helps.  Once the ingredients are measured the rest is a doddle.

The bread needs to be slightly stale to make the breadcrumbs but if you have forgotten to buy it in advance you can pop fresh bread into the oven on a low heat (approx. 100C) for 15mins to dry it out.  It is important that there is no moisture in the bread to prevent mould forming.

Toss your glace cherries in some flour before adding to the mix to stop them sinking to the bottom.

When adding the dry fruit to the flour mix I find it easier to add each item individually and tossing it gently in the flour to evenly distribute, if you just dump it all in and then add the wet ingredients it can mean some extra elbow grease is needed to mix it all well.

Enjoy it.  I find it very relaxing and the wonderful aroma of the spices and zest and alcohol just scream Christmas so don't do it when you are stressed and rushing, allow it the time it deserves and savour the Christmas spirit.

1.  Sieve the flour and spices into a large bowl.
2.  Add the breadcrumbs, sugar, prepared fruit, nuts, lemon and orange zest and mix thoroughly.

3.  Make a well in the centre then pour in the melted margarine and beaten egg and brandy mixture.  Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

4.  Cover and leave to stand overnight to thicken.
5.  The next day add the Guinness and mix thoroughly again. ( It's at this stage you make your wish)

6.  Grease 2 x 2 pint/1.1lt pudding bowls.
7.  Cut 2 large circles of grease proof paper for the top of each bowl, grease the bottom layer well and make pleats cross wise in the paper.
8.  Cut a large circle of foil for each bowl and make pleats cross wise in it.

For each pudding you will need:

1 x 2pint/1.1lt Pudding Bowl(greased)

2 x Circles of Greaseproof Paper(1 greased)

1 x Circle of Tin Foil

1 x Large Elastic Band

Twine

9.  Place the mixture into the prepared bowls.

10.Cover each bowl with two layers of grease proof paper(make sure the greased sheet is greased side down on top of the bowl).  Secure in place with some twine or a large elastic band.  Pull tight across the top of the bowl.

I usually cut the paper a little too big and trim

when it is secured in place.

11.Place a layer of tinfoil over the grease proof paper and again secure with twine or a large elastic band.  Pull tight across the top of the bowl.

You may also like to trim your tin foil when

secured in place.

12.Place the lid firmly on the bowl.

13.Tie some twine around the bowl(as if tying up a parcel) and secure on top of the bowl with a loop to make it easier to lift the bowl from the pot when cooked.

14.Place a small clean cloth(this stops the saucer moving around with the simmering water and making noise) into the bottom of a large pot and sit an upturned saucer on top.

15.Sit the pudding bowl on top of the saucer and pour boiling water into the pot until it comes half way up the sides of the bowl.

16.Cover with a tight fitting lid and boil for 6 hours.  (check occasionally to ensure the level of the water hasn't dropped, top up if needed)

17.When the puddings are cooked, remove carefully from the pot and allow to cool completely.
18.When cold remove the damp papers and recover with fresh double grease proof paper(not greased) and store in a cool dry place.

Mince Meat

I have mentioned a time or twenty on the blog that I am not a huge fan of dried fruit.  As a child I was always repulsed at the thought of mince pies at Christmas time.  My mam would heat some up in the oven for my dad or guests and they would be served with a nice dollop of fresh cream or maybe some custard.  Cream and custard with mince?! Bleugh. 

Then one year we made them in school and I was confused to find that there was no meat mixed in with the sweet mixture.  When I tasted the fruits of my labour I was pleasantly surprised and since then I have enjoyed many a mince pie over the festive season.  They are usually a last minute thought for me that I pick up with the final grocery shop before the big day but this year I decided to make my own, completely from scratch, including the mince meat.

I looked at many recipes but didn't find any that I liked so I decided to come up with my own.  I had a good understanding of the basics from reading so many other recipes and so set about it with my pen and trusty note book in hand.  I haven't used either butter or suet in the recipe as I wanted to cut out any unnecessary fat or heaviness.  The mixture gave off the most amazing fragrance as it simmered in the hob and looks beautiful today in it's jar.  I will do another post about mince pies closer to Christmas including a pastry recipe and an assembly how to.  For now you can mix up a batch of mince meat and leave the flavours to mature for a couple of weeks.  Enjoy!

Mince Meat
(makes approximately 800ml)

60ml/2floz Port
150g/5.3oz Dark Brown Sugar
Zest & Juice of 1 Orange
Zest & Juice of 2 Lemons
75g/2.65oz Raisins

75g/2.65oz Currants

75g/2.65oz Sultanas

75g.2.65oz Dried Cranberries
75g/2.65oz Chopped Almonds
4 Apples, peeled and grated
1tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Mixed Spice
1tsp Nutmeg
1oz Brandy
2tbsp Honey
1tsp Vanilla Extract

1.  Dissolve the sugar in the ruby port in a pot over a gentle heat.

2.  Add in the orange and lemon juice and zest, dried fruit, grated apple and spices.

3.  Simmer for 20 minutes or until the fruit has plumped up and absorbed most of the liquid.

4.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.  Add the brandy, honey and vanilla extract.  Stir well to incorporate.
5.  Spoon into sterilised jars and seal.

This will keep for a few weeks once stored in a cool dry place in the unopened sterilised jars.  Once opened refrigerated and use within a couple of weeks.

To sterilise jars:

Wash in warm soapy water or put through a hot cycle in the dishwasher.  Place into a preheated oven at 150C/300F/Gas Mark 2 for 15 minutes and fill and seal while the jar and contents are still warm.

Chester Slice(Gur Cake)

I have never been a particularly sporty person.  As I child I would much rather be curled up reading a book than outside running around.  Today, I would much rather be curled up with a good book than outside running around. See?!  I have always loved swimming though.  Since I was a little girl, well littler girl I have loved splashing about in a pool.

Every Saturday morning my sister and I would go to our local swimming baths.  We both learned to swim there.  I still remember my lovely orange arm bands with the navy blue writing on them.  I would kick my little legs furiously in an effort to propell myself from one side of the pool to the other, completely knackered from my efforts once I had reached my destination. 

When we arrived the overpowering stench of chlorine would greet us at the door accompanied by the giddy screams of children already splashing about.  We would hand over our money at the hatch in return for a monster plastic crate to fill with our belongings.  Under the weight of enormous said crate we would stagger to the freezing cold changing rooms to don are no doubt fabulous swim suit, arm band, rubber hat ensmble.  Suitably attired we did the 4 minute mile back to the hatch on our tippy toes(seriously, this place used to be fu reezin), to hand over our now full and heavier crates in exchange for a blue rubber wrist band.  Now the only thing between us and the pool was the dreaded wall of ice cold water.  It didn't matter how small you tried to make yourself in an attempt to squeeze through the gaps, it ALWAYS drenched you.

Drenched and colder still there was nothing left but to plunge into the pool in an attempt to regain a smidgen of lost heat.  And there we would stay, a blissful hour submerged until the siren heralded the end of our fun and we two little prunes sploshed back to retrace our steps.  Cold, shrivelled and with dripping hair we would emerge from the echoey confines for the 5 minute walk home.  A little stop of at the shop on the way to spend the few pence we had been gifted before leaving home would yield a bar of chocolate for me and a chester slice for my sister.  Every week the same routine. 

With 10p she would become the proud owner of a thick, fragrant hunk of ebony cake, carefully ensconced within a brown paper bag, protected by a small square of plastic wrap.  I can't remember what she bought with her change because I was always fascinated by the cake.  I have never been a fan of dried fruit so wouldn't taste it but I remember how good it smelled.  Warm spices giving a little nod to winter and Christmas even on a warm summers day.  I remember it with a very thin layer of dark chocolate on top but she disagrees with me and says it was merely the dark contents within staining the outer pastry layer to give the illusion of such luxuries.

Fast forward 20 years or so and I recounted this story to my husband, and he maintains he did exactly the same thing with his sister.  I'm not sure if this is a coincidence or some sort of Irish childhood ritual, maybe you lovely people can shed some light on this one for me.  He also fondly remembers weekly trips to his local swimming pool and on the way home he would stop with his sister for a chester slice from Mannings bakery.  He agrees with me about the chocolate topping because he says it is the only reason he bought them.  Did you have chester slice cakes when you were little?  Did they have chocolate or is my memory playing tricks on me?  I'd love to know so leave me a little comment. Go on.

Chester Slice(Gur Cake)

Having done a little investimagating it would seem that a Chester Slice and Gur Cake are one and the same.  I think someone somewhere along the way must have renamed it in an attempt to make it sound more appealing.  You see a Gur Cake is essentially a poor mans cake, the scraps of bread in a bakery mixed up with some dried fruit and sandwiched between 2 sheets of pastry.  In our house going on Gur would mean to do without, the only luxury being a piece of Gur Cake.  If you were on Gur you really didn't have much going for you, either the  cupboards were bare or maybe you were out of favour with your loved one and wouldn't receive much in the line of sustinence or other *cough*.  I would love to know the meaning of the word Gur for others though, so again, please leave me a lovely little comment. 

This is my version of a Chester Slice or Gur Cake.  It is really open to being tinkered with as the recipe would change from day to day in the bakery depending on what scraps were available so please feel free to adapt the recipe to your own taste.

2 Sheets Ready Roll Short Crust Pastry
110g/4oz Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
1tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 a stale Madeira Cake, crumbled (I used half a 1lb madeira loaf)
2 generous handfuls of Mixed Dried Fruit
60g/2oz Granulated Sugar
6tbsp Treacle
1 Egg Beaten
2tbsp Milk
100g Plain Chocolate

1.  Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. 
2.  Line the bottom of a brownie pan with 1 sheet of pastry and trim the excess
3.  Sieve the flour, baking powder and ground ginger into a bowl.
4.  Add the cake crumbs, mixed fruit, sugar and treacle and mix.  It will be quite a stiff, dense mixture.

5.  Spread this evenly over the pastry sheet in the pan.

6.  Lay the second pastry sheet over the top and trim the excess.
7.  Brush with the beaten egg mixed with the milk. 
8.  Mark out squares with a sharp knife and place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

9.  Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. 
10.Once cool cut into the marked squares.
11.Melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.
12.Dip the top of each square into the melted chocolate to coat evenly and allow to set.

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

A couple of weeks ago I received an invitation from the lovely Clare Kleinedler (An American in Ireland) to join her and some other Irish foodies for an evening of vegan food.  I had dinner arrangements made for the night in question but a quick chat with Mr. Boo and he said he would cancel our reservation and treat me another night, he's good like that you know.  Also in attendance at the soiree were Kristin (Dinner du Jour), Aoife (Adventures in Veg) and Aoife (I Can Has Cook?).  Clare made some really delicious canapes to start, followed by pizza topped with pistachio cheese, roasted cherry tomatoes and caramelised onions, served with roasted butternut squash salad. Aoife (Adventures in Veg) made some delicious vegan chocolate cupcakes that were happily devoured by all.  Everything was completely NOM.  We spent a lovely evening munching, chatting and laughing.  It was really great to get to know some of the ladies behind the blogs I spend my evenings reading (I seriously need to be more productive with my time).  A big thank you to Clare for hosting such a lovely evening and also to Kristin, Aoife and Aoife for the wonderful company.

Clare insisted we were to bring nowt but ourselves but I thought I would bring a little sweet treat with me.  I was also anxious and curious to try my hand at a vegan recipe as I have never consciously cooked or baked anything vegan.  For some reason I got myself into a bit of a fluster thinking it would be a very complicated affair but after a little research I was pleasantly surprised to find with a couple of simple substitutions it would be a piece of cake (ahem, apologies for that awful pun but you see, I just couldn't help myself).

Anyhoo, I decided to rustle up a batch of my blue ribbon (more to come on this) peanut butter button cookies, minus the button naturally as milk chocolate would negate the vegan qualities.  Here is the original recipe in case you missed it, and below is the adapted version. Enjoy!

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
(makes approximately 24)

165g/6oz Creamy Peanut Butter
55g/2oz Vegan Margarine
210g/7.5oz Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
3tbsp Water
1tbsp Vanilla Extract
210g/7.5oz Plain Flour
¾ tsp Baking Soda
¾ tsp Salt

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5.

2. Combine the peanut butter, margarine, brown sugar, water and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended.

3. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt(this recipe had a sweet but salty flavour, if you feel you will not like the combination of sugar and salt I would omit the salt at this stage) in a separate bowl. Add to the creamed mixture at low speed with an electric mixer and mix just until blended.

4.  If you feel the dough is a little dry at this stage add some water a tablespoon at a time until you have a consistency you are happy to work with.

5. Drop dough by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls 2-inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly in a crisscross pattern with the tines of a fork.

6. Bake one baking sheet at a time for 12 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown (or divide dough into 2 and freeze 1 batch and bake 1).

7. Cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet.

8. Remove cookies to cooling racks or wax paper to cool completely.

When baked, these cookies had a slightly different texture from the original recipe.  They were slightly denser and didn't spread as much but they tasted just as delicious.

Peanut Butter Button Cookies

This is my penultimate twookieparty post.  Is that a sigh of relief I can hear from your waistband???  Mine is still being tested to the limits from all of the ahem quality control taste testing that I had to do.  It was a real chore but I had to do it for you guys, didn't I?!

This recipe is a slight adaptation of one I found on Tasty Kitchen, the Pioneer Woman.  Dianne's Peanut Butter Sweet Kiss Cookies to me are the ultimate all American cookie, combining peanut butter and Hershey's Kisses in one sweet, delicious, moreish parcel.  I made two minor adaptations to the recipe, the first was to swap out shortening for butter.  The second was replacing Hershey's Kisses for Cadbury's Giant Buttons as I thought these would be more widely available in Ireland.  If you would like to check out the original recipe simply check out the link above.

These caused a bit of a discussion in our house.  You see, Mr Boo loves all things peanut buttery, so when he came in from work and declared that he was STARVIN' I offered one of these for him to taste and to take the edge off his hunger.  A minute of very noisy chewing (he tends to do this when he is STARVIN' in an effort to get as much food as possible from his mouth to his stomach in as little time as possible) and a lot of very appreciative mmmm noises later and he declared them to be, "mmm they're mmlicious, aren't mmmthey", as he polished off the last of it.  I don't think he will ever learn it is rude to speak with a mouth full of chewy cookie, not to mention a little disgusting for the person standing directly in front of him.  Another one was snaffled from the plate and inhaled in one go before dinner.

Later that night I carefully arranged a selection of the cookies on a plate for him before heading to bed.  The rest of the cookies were locked away in a large lunch box ready to be photographed the next morning.  Before heading up the stairs I told him they were on the table if he fancied them so he was straight into the kitchen to investigate.  The following is a rough recap of the conversation that almost led to our divorce carried out over the lid of a tupperware box:

Mr Boo: "Where's the peanut butter one?"
Me: "There." *points to peanut butter button cookie on plate*
Mr Boo: "No, where's the lovely one I had earlier?"
Me: "There it is, right there!" *points to the cookie a second time* "And that is a lemon sugar one, that is a strawberry shortcake one and that is a chocolate surprise one.  I popped a peanut butter one in your lunch box for tomorrow if you want to eat that one now aswell." *picks up box to move remaining cookies to a safer place*
Mr Boo: "What's in the box?"
Me: "Just some more cookies."
Mr Boo: "What kind of cookies?"
Me: *ever so slightly annoyed now* "All of the ones that are already on your plate."
Mr Boo: *in an agitated tone* "But where are all of the peanut butter ones"
Me: "In the box."
Mr Boo: *voice raising more with each sentence now* "What are you doing with them?"
Me: "Just moving them over here."
Mr Boo: "What are you putting them over there for?  WHERE'S THE PEANUT BUTTER ONES???"
Me: "In here"
Mr Boo: *at this stage screaming in manner of an addict* "WELL LET ME SEE THEM, WHERE AAAARRRRRREEE THEYYYYYYY?"
Me: *also screaming now in response to his ridiculous behaviour* "There they are, look!  I only have enough left for photographs in the morning.  Here, you can have 2 more but that is your lot."
Mr Boo: *mumbles* "OK, thanks."

He shuffled off then with his glass of milk and truckload of cookies and I had to promise to bake some more fresh the following evening.  I removed the final batch of dough from the freezer on Sunday morning to bake for Saturday nights dinner guests and the face on him at the thought of having to share them with others.  So you have been warned, bake these with caution as they are liable to bring out the cookie monster in some.  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Button Cookies

Yields approx 36

165g/6oz Creamy Peanut Butter
55g/2oz Butter
210g/7.5oz Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
3tbsp Milk
1tbsp Vanilla Extract
1 whole Egg
210g/7.5oz Plain Flour
¾ tsp Baking Soda
¾ tsp Salt
1 pack of Cadbury's Giant Buttons

1.  Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5.
2.  Combine peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended.
3.  Add the egg and beat just until blended.
4.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add to the creamed mixture at low speed with an electric mixer and mix just until blended.
5.  Drop dough by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls of dough 2-inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly in a crisscross pattern with tines of fork.

6.  Bake one baking sheet at a time for 7-8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown (or divide dough into 3 and freeze 2 batches and bake 1).  I found in my oven that these needed to bake for 11 minutes as the mixture is quite oily and they needed the extra minutes to crisp the shell so adjust the timings if necessary.
7.  Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet.

8.  After about a minute of cooling place the chocolate button in the middle of the cookie.
9.  Remove cookies to cooling racks or wax paper to cool completely. When you put the chocolate button in the middle of the cookie it will warm up because of the cookie and will take a while before it sets again.
10.  Wait a while before trying to stack them on top of each other in a container otherwise you will smush the button.
11. Apparently these will keep for 3 days in an airtight container, I wouldn't know about that.

Also, feel free to make these witout the chocolate button, as plain peanut butter cookies.

***Note: this dough might feel quite oily but the cookies are not at all, they have a delicious crisp shell and chewy inside. NOM!***

Lemon Sugar Cookies & Chocolate Orange Cookies

Last Friday I participated in a #twookieparty (a cookie bake off on Twitter) with some other Irish foodies.  I promised recipes would follow so here are the first two.  I am lumping these two together as I used the same basic dough recipe for both.

Lemon Sugar Cookies

Yields approx 36
(I divided the dough in 3, baked 1 dozen and froze 2 rolls of dough for later use)

450g/15oz Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Soda
1/4tsp Salt
395g/14oz granulated sugar
44g/1.5oz packed light-brown sugar
Grated Zest of 1 Lemon
1tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
220g/8oz Unsalted Butter, softened
2 Large Eggs
Granulated Sugar, for sprinkling

1.  Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.   Line a baking sheet with grease proof paper. (if you are baking the full quantity of dough you will need 3 lined baking sheets or you will have to bake in 3 seperate batches)
2.  Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and set aside.
3.  Put the sugars and lemon zest in a seperate bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute.
4.  Mix in the eggs, 1 at a time, and then the lemon juice.
5.  Reduce the speed and gradually add the flour mixture; mix until just combined.
6.  Using a tablespoon sized measuring spoon or a regular tablespoon place dough 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheet.
7.  Flatten the cookies slightly with a fork and sprinkle the tops with granulated sugar, then lightly brush with a wet pastry brush and sprinkle with more granulated sugar.
8.  Bake the cookies until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
9.  Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Chocolate Orange Cookies

Yields approx 36

(I divided the dough in 3, baked 1 dozen and froze 2 rolls of dough for later use)

450g/15oz Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Soda
1/4tsp Salt
395g/14oz granulated sugar
44g/1.5oz packed light-brown sugar
Grated Zest of 1 Orange
2tbsp Fresh Orange Juice
220g/8oz Unsalted Butter, softened
2 Large Eggs
100g Plain Chocolate, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Line a baking sheet with grease proof paper. (if you are baking the full quantity of dough you will need 3 lined baking sheets or you will have to bake in 3 seperate batches)
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and set aside.
3. Put the sugars and orange zest in a seperate bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute.
4. Mix in the eggs, 1 at a time, and then the orange juice.
5. Reduce the speed and gradually add the flour mixture; mix until just combined.

6. Using a tablespoon sized measuring spoon or a regular tablespoon place dough 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheet.

7. Flatten the cookies slightly with a fork.
8. Bake the cookies until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
9.  Once they are cool melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave (if you do not bake all af the cookie dough simply reduce the amount of chocolate accordingly ie. if you bake 1/3 of the cookie dough melt 1/3 f the chocolate)
10. Using a teaspoon drizzle lines of chocolate across the cookies to form a pattern.  I drizzled in different directions but you can do it which ever way you prefer.

11.Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Peanut Butter Cups (GF)

Probably my favourite place in the world (aside from home) is New York.  I have been every year since 2004 and think were I confined to one holiday in a year that it would be my destination of choice everytime.  I don't think I could sum up it's attraction in one word or even 20 for that matter, it just has a hold over me that draws me back time and time again. 

The excitement at the moment the shiny black limo emerges from the tunnel from New Jersey to Manhattan has yet to fade.  Stepping from the car to the pavement and taking that first glimpse of the sky high buildings all around, and being greeted by name by the hotels concierge, as though you are an old friend returned, fills me with a great sense of belonging to a city so far from home.  The city just intoxicates me.  Invades every ounce of my being and assaults each of my senses.  From the blinding lights of Times Square, the smell of pretzels wafting from the carts of street vendors, the noise of a million (well maybe not a million but close) honking horns emanating from yellow cabs, the heat rising from street vents above the subway and the (imagined) taste of delicious confections lined up in bakery windows as I pass by (we usually save sampling the wares for Billy's Bakery in Chelsea). 

I love to walk the streets of New York hand in hand with my gorgeous man, pounding the concrete of familiar block after block and spotting new little gems that have evaded our sight on past visits.  I have been in both the depths of winter, -15°C, and the height of summer, 28°C, but I cannot say which I prefer as both have their merits.  I love the ritual of layering up in winter before venturing out to snowy sidewalks, entering a bar or restaurant for some much needed heat rosy cheeked, stripping off the 50 million layers and savouring the warmth of the room and the people all around.  Equally, I love the freedom of waking in the morning during summer and slipping on a delicate flowing summer dress before venturing out into the stifling heat (serioulsy, not a breath to be had) and walking the streets frappucino in hand or braving the oven like temperatures (and rather unsavoury smell) of the subway.  The antidote to such extreme temperatures, an ice cold mojito guzzled on a roof top bar enjoying the cities skyline from a birds eye view.

Each visit is planned with much anticipation at the prospect of visiting favourite haunts yet again and also trying new eateries and bars and seeing the city from a slightly different angle.  One favourite haunt that is never snubbed in favour of a new and shiny upgrade is the Hershey store in Times Square.  Now, I'm not the biggest fan of American chocolate.  I know, I know, I'm sorry to any stateside readers, but it is not to my liking.  It is a bit on the sweet side and doesn't possess that deliciously rich creamy luxury of it's European counterparts.  I am however, rather partial to a box of Milk Duds and a mountain or 3 of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  I know these are available in Ireland now but I still can't step foot back on the plane without at least a months stash safely stowed in my suitcase.  Between visits to tide me over sometimes, there is nothing else for it other than to whip up a batch with my very own hands.  For the know how keep on reading.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

for the base:

50g Soft Brown Sugar
200g Icing Sugar
50g Soft Butter
200g Smooth Peanut Butter

for the topping:

200g Milk Chocolate (chopped)
100g Dark Chocolate (chopped)

also required 45-50 paper petit-four cases (teeny tiny cup cake cases in other words)

1.  In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar, icing sugar, butter and peanut butter using an electric whisk until the mixture is the consistency of a sandy paste.

sorry, forgot to take a picture of this mixed together

2.  Using clean hands place a teaspoon size disc of the paste into the bottom of the petit-four cases (I used a melon baller and a teaspoon to do this instead.  You should have enough mixture to fill between 45 and 50 cases).  Press the mixture down to form a smooth layer in the bottom of the case and place the cases into the indentations of a mini muffin tin (if you don't have a mini muffin tin place the cases onto a flat baking sheet).

3.  Melt both chocolates in a heat proof bowl over a pot of gently simmering water (do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water).

4.  Stir the melted chocolate together to combine and set aside to allow to cool slightly.
5.  Spoon 1 teaspoon of the chocolate mixture into the petit-four cases covering the sandy base.

6.  Place in the fridge to set for 30 minutes before devouring.