Peanut butter cookies

Lately I've been baking tasty treats a couple of times a week. I have the time and I've always enjoyed baking. It's my down time and I love experimenting and creating. Tim's not complaining because he's living the dream with slices and cookies almost every day in his lunch box. In fact, I have a freezer full of goodies that should last a couple of weeks if I stopped baking today...unless Tim discovers my stash.

Recently I picked up the free Coles magazine. I've rifled through previous editions in the past for ideas, noting that the food looks accessible and family-friendly. I think that the benefit of a magazine put out by a supermarket is that it contains recipes for the average person that are generally straight forward, quick to make, good value and contain easily obtainable ingredients.

Anyway, in this year's Autumn edition, I found a recipe for peanut butter cookies. For a change I stuck to the recipe, word for word, except I forgot to chop the scorched peanuts. It didn't matter. They worked out well although I thought they were a little dry. This could be because I used light peanut butter, but if I make them again I'll probably use a little more butter or slightly less plain flour. In any case, Tim loved them, they're quick to throw together and could be a fun one for the kids to try.

Ingredients
200g butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup self-raising flour
200g scorched peanuts, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 160ºC or 140ºC fan forced. Line two large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Using electric beaters, beat butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until light and creamy. Beat in peanut butter. Sift flours over the butter mixture and use a non-serated knife to mix to a dough. (I used an electric mixer on low). Add the scorched peanuts and m ix through with a knife.

Roll heaped tablespoons of dough into balls and place onto prepared trays. Flatten to about 1.5cm. Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly golden underneath. They will still be soft.Leave on trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

The honeymoon's almost over... but not quite!

Back to real life tomorrow after a very fun few weeks. Our wedding was fantastic, even if predictions came true and we didn't really get a chance to eat. We got back on Friday from the honeymoon and went to another wedding last night, this time at the Kurrajong Hotel in Canberra. The gorgeous food and Helm wines served were all magnificent. Thanks guys! Lunch at the godparents' place today and more wine. Delicious. 

So basically, we've been eating for the nation for the last week and enjoying a thoroughly decadent life that has no resemblance to reality. I highly recommend it.

This morning, since there was no fresh bread in the house and I was really hungry but too lazy to bake, I found a solution. I had scrambled eggs and avocado on a couple of corn Cruskits (so sad), but for Tim, I made a special 'end of honeymoon' cooked breakfast - crumpet french toast. So simple and really delicious. I know I've seen something like this done before. I think it was Jamie Oliver. Wherever I saw it, it certainly worked a treat today. 

I've put down the ingredients but the principle is exactly the same as normal french toast so you can make up an egg mix however you normally do, dunk the crumpets instead of bread, and cook on both sides in a little butter or olive oil. Serve with banana and maple syrup (or a rasher of bacon) or have plain if you prefer. For the cyclists amongst you, it covers all the essentials - carbs, protein, sugar, fat. A great thing about these is that they keep really well as a snack if you let them cool and then refrigerate them. I can see these being sent to work in someone's lunchbox...

Ingredients:

4 fresh crumpets

2 large free-range eggs

Splash of milk (about a 1/4 cup)

1 tbsp melted butter

pinch of salt & pepper

banana and maple syrup to serve

Vigorously whip up the eggs, milk, butter and salt & pepper and let it sit for a few minutes. Soak the crumpets and cook. 

A couple of things - be patient and let the crumpets soak for a good few minutes and then let them cook slowly, rather than flinging them into a really hot, bubbly pan. This way the egg has a chance to be absorbed and then cooks right through evenly, rather then you winding up with a crisp outside and raw centre. Unless you like it that way. 

Another Hallmark holiday bites the dust

This past Sunday was Father's Day - a day like no other. A day when more socks, jocks and Old Spice are exchanged than you can swing a cat at. I have one colleague who bought enough Toblerone to choke a horse (no, Father's Day has not sent me into an animal killing analogy frenzy), and hid it in the filing cabinet for safe-keeping before the big weekend. She was lucky Phil from accounting didn't come around looking for cabcharge receipts or 'dad' would have had to make do with shaving soap and Y-fronts without any real return for looking surprised and grateful on the day. 

Anyway, what I got up to on Dad's Day was making breakfast, which at 10.30am felt better labelled as brunch, but by the time I got to it, it was lunch. And not for my father, but for the adoptive father of my four-legged kid. 

And that leads nicely into the subject of baked egg pots...

I got the idea for these from Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie at Home' series. I made baked egg pots ages ago and we both really enjoyed them and thought it was a fitting dish for a special Sunday breakfast (I know!).  It's so simple I haven't included a recipe, but instructions on how anyone could do this. This one really is idiot-proof!

First, dig out your ramekins that never see the light of day. Not the tiny ones used for smart dinner parties that hold exactly 2.5 mouthfuls of creme brulee. Ones that hold about a cup (250ml) or so. I have cheery red ones that came out last time I did this. I could tell Tim did the washing on that day. (Why do men not rinse???)

So after washing the ramekins out, I rubbed the inside with olive oil and then coated with polenta.  In the background, a pot was boiling up two medium sized potatoes with which I made up enough mashed potato to fill the ramekins, and moulded a well into each one big enough for an egg. It's kind of cool moulding hot mashed pots into ramekins, fighting against the polenta that will not let anything stick. Very satisfying. 

I then cracked an egg from my lovely mother's chooks into each, sprinkled with a little bit of parsley, salt and coarse black pepper, and put these into a large baking tin with enough water in it to come about 2/3 of the way  up the ramekins. Then into the oven for about 15 minutes at 180 degrees celsius. Or longer if you like a less runny egg yolk.

I served with some exquisite pork sausages from our local butcher, and some portobello mushrooms that I sauteed with some leek in butter. I know olive oil is much better for you, but butter goes with mushrooms and leeks and it was father's day!!!