Triple Chocolate Cookies

Hurrah it's finally Friday and the start of the weekend! I am looking forward to spending it with my hubby and hopefully if it doesn't rain as predicted maybe visiting some of our favourite local National Trust places. What plans do you have for this weekend? This morning I whipped up these dark, decadent triple chocolate cookies from Eat me by Cookie Girl, which is certainly worth adding to your cookbook shelf! These rich and chewy cookies that are packed with a mixture of creamy white, smooth milk and intense dark chocolate are a chocoholics dream! Have a great weekend everyone.

Triple Chocolate Cookies

Makes 20

Ingredients
200g unsalted butter, room temperature
255g caster sugar
125g muscovado sugar

1 medium egg

1 tsp vanilla extract
45g cocoa powder
255g plain flour
¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp milk
55g plain chocolate chips
55g milk chocolate chips
55g white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180oC/160oC fan oven/350oF/Gas 3.

Line a large baking sheet with greaseproof paper.

Cream the butter and both sugars together, beating until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and the vanilla extract. Once they are mixed, sift in the cocoa powder, flour and bicarbonate. The mixture will now seem a little dry, so add the milk and stir until all ingredients are combined. Stir in the chocolate pieces, but take care you don't over-mix at this stage.

Drop tablespoons of mixture onto the baking sheet, placing each spoonful about 2in apart. If you want to make sure the cookies turn out as neat rounds, pop them in the fridge for half an hour or so before baking. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.

Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes

It’s Mother’s Day in the UK today and I want to wish all my fellow yummy mummies a very Happy Mother’s Day! I awoke to the perfect start with breakfast in bed made by my gorgeous son, a card and Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic Cookbook, whoop whoop. I'm in ♥ with this book and I even got a message on my Twitter from the lovely Gizzi herself wishing me a Happy Mother's Day, how cool is that? My boys are cooking a Roast Beef dinner with all the trimmings and I’ve been told I’m not to lift a finger today but I could not help myself and ended up in the kitchen doing what I enjoy most, baking. I had the perfect cupcake recipe in mind to celebrate Mother’s Day and also the arrival of spring, Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes. These luscious, lemony delights have a super light fluffy texture and topped with the elderflower icing these are truly yummylicious.

Happy Mother's Day!

Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes

Makes 12

Ingredients
200g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
225g granulated sugar
45g ground almonds
Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
2 large eggs
90ml sunflower oil
250ml low-fat Greek Yoghurt (I used non-fat)
½ tbsp lemon essence

For the icing
225g icing sugar
1 tsp elderflower cordial
4 tsp water

Preheat the oven to 180oC/fan 160oC/gas 4. Line a 12-hole non-stick muffin tin with paper muffin cases.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Sprinkle over the sugar and ground almonds, followed by the grated lemon zest, and mix everything together.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the oil and Greek yoghurt. Add the lemon essence.

Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a wooden spoon. Mix until everything is combined and there are no clumps of dry ingredients.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases so that they are three-quarters full. Bake the cakes in the centre of the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until they are firm and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and place the cakes on a wire rack to cool.

To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a medium-sized bowl. Add the elderflower cordial and water a little at a time to achieve a thick, creamy consistency.

When the cakes are cool, spoon a tablespoon of icing onto each one. Serve plain or decorate with little sugar flowers or thin shavings of lemon rind.

The gorgeous golden cupcakes cooling before being decorated.

Peanut Butter Dips

I love it when the postman knocks, normally means an amazon package or some other goodie has arrived! This morning I was the lucky recipient of my latest amazon binge, Eat Me! The Stupendous, Self-Raising World of Cupcakes & Bakes according to Cookie Girl. I knew I would love this kitsch girly book, the recipes are irresistible and I want to bake them all. I couldn’t wait to get started and loved the sound of these Peanut Butter Dips so decided to bake them straight away. These cookies are seriously moreish with the slight saltiness of the crumbly peanut butter and the combination of sweet chocolate but would be just as amazing without the chocolate. The success of this first one has me excited to bake more recipes from the book.

Cookies before being dipped in chocolate!

Peanut Butter Dips

Makes 20

Ingredients
110g unsalted butter, room temperature
225g Demerara sugar
1 medium egg
4 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
110g plain chocolate, for dipping

Preheat the oven to 180oC/fan 160oC/gas 4. You will need a large baking sheet.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, stir in the peanut butter and then the flour and baking powder.

Roll the mixture into balls the size of large walnuts and place them 5cm/2in apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. The cookies will look like they are not cooked, but don’t worry – they will carry on cooking as they cool.

While the cookies are in the oven, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave for 90 seconds. Using a palette knife, spread one side of the cookies with chocolate and place them on a wire rack to set.

Recipe from Eat Me! The Stupendous Self-Raising World of Cupcakes & Bakes According to Cookie Girl