Ginger biscuits

Just a quick update on the cute little ginger biscuits I made on Wednesday, you know, to eat whilst watching the Bake Off final. They are so wonderfully buttery, almost flaky, with an excellent snap (I think  Mary Berry would approve).

The plan was originally to make chai tea biscuits, but I just didn’t have time to research a cookie recipe that contained milk that I could flavour with tea, or time to go and buy chai spices…. These biscuits are made with stuff I already had in (yay!), and they are glorious and quick – and they go perfectly with a cup of chai tea!

Cranberry and pumpkin seed granola bars

I’m going to need to clean my laptop keyboard because it has got a little sticky. This is because I couldn’t wait to tell you about these granola bars! There just wasn’t time to wash my hands after cutting them up and putting them in their tin before declaring loudly to the whole internet that these are the best granola bars I have ever had.

 

Double chocolate chilli cookies

I have always been disappointed where chilli combined with chocolate is concerned. Chilli, I like. Chocolate, I like. But together? Never really got it.

Until now.

These cookies are the answer. The intense chocolate flavour that I previously missed in chilli-chocolate combinations is present, with oh so much depth. The spiciness that I craved before, but never found, is there in abundance. They are, at the same time, addictive and completely satisfying.

Super smooth beetroot hummus

This houmous humous hummus (?) is so addictive that I can’t believe I have taken time apart from it to write this blog post. It is so creamy, so smooth, so wonderfully yummy. And its also rather simple to make.

The addition of beetroot to hummus was introduced to me by a friend who, I quote, “can’t cook, can only assemble food”. It adds something to the dip that brings it to new flavoursome heights without overpowering it (and also makes it a pretty colour). There is also the warm comforting taste of cumin and nice lemon freshness.

The smoothness is achieved by peeling the chickpeas á la Smitten Kitchen. That’s right, dear reader, I spent 15 minutes peeling chickpeas for you. That is how much you mean to me. It really does work if you want a silky textured hummus, but you can completely skip it if you a) like a more textured dip, b) are short on time, or c) are a sane person who has better things to do.

Almond caramel chocolate squares

These are scrummy. And did I mention they are gluten free and dairy free? Make them for the gluten/dairy free person in your life. If you don’t have one of these people, make them anyway and eat them.

They are basically an almond version of millionaires shortbread. If you like almonds, you will like these (unless you don’t like chocolate, or something…). The base is literally the easiest biscuit base to make, like, ever. All you need is a bowl, a packet of ground almonds, oil, honey and a spoon. The caramel layer is also pretty easy as your food processor does all the work. The most strenuous activity is probably cutting dates in half to remove their stones, and I think we can manage that, right? In keeping with the theme, making the chocolate topping is easy! All you need to do is melt stuff.