Salted Chocolate, Bourbon and Spelt Cookies

You know when you spend forever baking something for someone, trying to get it just right, and it just goes wrong? Brownies for example. I made some when I went to Flick's for tea a little while ago and she sent me back home with them! Sounds cruel, but she was right, you really can tell when something's just not right.

In this instance, I'd melted down some leftover Easter eggs and the chocolate wasn't anywhere near my usual 70-80% cocoa choice. They didn't really taste of anything, such a shame that they didn't taste that great.

For baking, I love using dark chocolate. The darker the better. I'm forever double checking the back of packets just to check just how much percentage of cocoa they have. That's why I love Lindt's Excellence range, it says its 70% and it really is 70%. Especially as they have my 3 favourite flavours, salted chocolate, orange with almond and salted caramel. These are excellent in any baking.

Particularly these cookies. A little bit grown up with the addition of bourbon, super dark chocolate and flaky sea salt. I almost didn't feel guilty having two of these for breakfast this morning!

S A L T E D   C H O C O L A T E   B O U R B O N   &   S P E L T   C O O K I E S
(Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, makes a dozen cookies)

290g plain flour

70g spelt flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

190g unsalted butter, room temperature

75g dark brown sugar

75g caster sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp bourbon

200g Lindt Excellence salted dark chocolate, chopped into chunks

flaky sea salt for topping

• Add the flour, bicarbonate and salt to a medium bowl and whisk to remove any lumps.
• Beat together the butter and sugar in another bowl until light and fluffy, around 3-4 minutes. Add in the egg, vanilla and bourbon and continue to mix on a low speed until incorporated.
• Add the flour mix a little at a time until incorporated again.
• Gently fold in the chocolate chunks before scooping the dough into a large ball. Wrap in cling film and chill for a few hours until firm.
• Heat the oven to 180 degrees. Line two cookie trays with baking paper. Divide the dough into 12 equal sized balls, I use an ice cream scoop for this. 
• Flatten each cookie onto the tray, leaving space in between each. Bake for 14 minutes, until golden and leave to firm and cool before serving.

Thank you to the lovely Elle and Mai at Lindt towers for sending me some samples for recipes!

---

Recipe: Spelt Waffles & January Waffle

Over the week I've enjoyed a few leisurely breakfasts with a few leisurely days off. My favourite breakfast being these spelt waffles with banana, currants and maple syrup. 

I also got the chance to try out my new waffle iron which was chosen specifically for the shape of waffles it makes. 

Taking stock of the month of January, here are a few other favourites...

A chilly 24 hours in Berlin including Boy, bratwurst and burgers. 

A lazy lunch in Reigate, having a mooch around the shops and a stop of at Cullenders for pea and bacon soup and the best flat white I've had for a while. Including an obligatory stop at Chalk Hill bakery to pick up a loaf or two to take home. 

Making the perfect snickerdoodles. Probably won't be long before there's a dog with a similar name, that's what they're doing with breeds these days, right?

Hearing in the news that a French court has overruled parents naming their child Nutella and named their child Ella instead for them. How considerate. 

That picture of a Daschund reading Jamie Oliver's Comfort Food on the loo. 

A visit to Joe's Southern Kitchen to start this year's chicken escapades. Could this replace my love of burgers?

Friendly deliveries from Abel & Cole and Ocado. They've got it just right. 

And whilst we're talking food (always) some of my favourite recipes from some friendly bloggers include Rosie's spicy chicken pho and Lucy's chocolate chip cookie dippers. 

And if you're looking for the waffle recipe, you can find it here. Regular flour would work also. 

Peanut Butter Spelt Cookies

    Recently I've been aware that I should start thinking of ways to lessen my dependence on sugar. I've got to a stage where if I open a pack of biscuits, I will eat the whole lot. If I open a bar of Dairy Milk, I will eat the whole lot...and I'm talking about a big bar, daily! 

   I can't pretend to know a whole lot about refined sugars vs. naturally occurring sugars. But, I'd like to think that baking with naturally sweet ingredients can be just as tasty. I'd like to be a little more aware of ingredients and to have the knowledge to chose the healthier option - not always, of course! I love a treat from my favourite Bea's or the odd bar of Dairy Milk.

   I searched online for some cookie recipes that used ingredients I already had in the cupboard. I'm not very good at using up things, especially as the first time I've ever had tahini was in halva flapjacks I made recently. What else am I meant to use it for? So when I came across this recipe on Sweetest Kitchen, I got my apron on straight away and got mixing.

   These cookies use wholegrain spelt flour which is known as being much easier for your body to digest than regular flour due to its high water solubility. Its also rich in fibre, protein, complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. I've only ever baked with spelt twice before, some bread and lemony hazelnut and blueberry muffins, so after baking these cookies I'm excited to try it in more recipes.

Peanut butter spelt cookies

(Adapted from Sweetest Kitchen)

     195g wholegrain spelt flour

     1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

     1 tsp sea salt

     185g natural peanut butter

     60g hulled tahini

     50g pure maple syrup

     60g margarine

     1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

     Few drops of almond milk

     Handful of unsalted peanuts

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
• Mix the spelt flour, bicarbonate of soda and sea salt in a large bowl.
• In a separate bowl combine the peanut butter, tahini, maple syrup, margarine and vanilla extract.
• Pour the peanut butter mixture into the flour mixture and fold to combine.
• I added a few drops of almond milk to help combine the mixture and added some peanuts to add crunch to the cookies.
• Drop small rounded balls of dough onto the baking tray and give a little squish with your palm to flatten.
• Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, until slightly soft. They will harden as they cool.

As I love salt and sweet flavour combinations I decided to top these with a drizzle of melted cacao...not as bad as my usual slab of Dairy Milk!

   If anyone has any healthy recipes to recommend then I'd love to try? How shall I use the rest of my spelt flour and tahini?

Lemony Hazelnut & Blueberry Muffins

   Even though I haven't baked or blogged for a while I have still been indulging in many a sugar filled treat. Giant Jaffa cakes, dairy milk, speculoos and custard creams to name a few. So when I saw recipes for nourishing cakes filled with fruits, nuts and natural sugars in this months Women's Health, I thought I'd give one a go.

   I chose to make the lemony hazelnut and blueberry cake as it sounded similar to the Hummigbird blueberry and lemon bundt that I love baking. My brother always asks for the 'one with blue spots'!

   With blueberries and hazelnuts these cakes are packed with vitamin E and anti oxidants, perfect for skin. Something I struggle with being a sweet treat fiend!

Lemony hazelnut & blueberry cakes
(Adapted from Women's Health May/June 2013)
     60g hazelnuts
     130g soft unsalted butter
     110g white spelt flour
     1tsp baking powder
     2 large eggs
     65g honey
     65g maple syrup
     Finely grated zest of 1/2 a lemon

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a muffin tray with cases
• Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for 5 minutes. Leave to cool for a few minutes before removing any skins and blitzing in the blender into a fine meal. 
• Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. With an electric hand mixer, beat in all of the other ingredients. Be careful not to overmix to keep the cakes light and fluffy. 
• Divide between the muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes or unil a skewer comes out clean. 

Honey yoghurt topping

     175g fat free fromage frais

     1tbsp honey

     Few tbsps of blueberry jam

     Handful of blueberries

• Lightly whip the fromage frais until thick, drizzle in the honey and whisk again until incorporated
• Swirl in blueberry jam and top the cooled muffins with some of the yoghurt mix and fresh blueberries. 

The recipe in the magazine makes a sandwich cake, but I decided to divide the mix into a dozen muffins to try out my new Wilton muffin tray!