Picnic On The Beach, Part 3 – Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tags

biscuits, chocolate, cookies

For my last installment of recipes from my name-day picnic, I will share with you these amazingly good chocolate biscuits (cookies). They are absolutely divinely chocolaty, and just one can really hit the spot. Two will put you in a chocolate nirvana!

These keep really well in an airtight container, and apparently you can freeze them for up to a month. Talking of freezers, mine is playing up a bit. Yesterday evening while I was watching The Good Wife (important details for a blog post these) I heard the alarm going, which means the temperature had risen to -11 (from -18 where it should have been). This has happened once before but then I thought the door had been left open by accident. This time I checked and the door was safely shut tight. I wonder what’s going on. A while back it was also making some strange whirling noises and the service people told me I should defrost it (so much for no-frost technology!). After a couple of days, which I spent thinking about the logistics of this (namely, where do I put all the stuff from inside it while it defrosts) it stopped rattling. So I just forgot about it. As you do. To be honest I’m afraid this is all due to the huge amounts of food stocked in there. Yes, I love my freezer. Do you know the Tetris puzzle on computers? Well, you have to be good at that to get things in there at the moment, it’s so full. I just know that’s what they’re going to tell me is wrong with it. So I’ve come to a decision. I’m buying a deep freeze. I’ve been wanting one for ages but I’m worried about where to put it. I’ve no room in the flat, our storage room in the basement doesn’t have a plug, so the only other option is the balcony/veranda. There is a good corner it could go in, but I have some concerns about the temperatures out there in the summer. It can easily reach 38 in the shade, if not more in a heat-wave. I think I might be asking too much of an electric appliance that needs to maintain a temperature of -18!!

Oh dear, I’ve just read this back to myself and can safely say it’s the most boring post I’ve ever written. I’ll stop right away and get back to the main issue. Chocolate. Lots of it. In cookies. My version is slightly adapted from a recipe in the British Good To Know Recipes magazine.

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes quite a few (um, 24? Forgot to count before devouring – about two baking trays full of big biccies – sorry, cookies)

What you’ll need
150g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
150g milk chocolate, chopped into chunks
190g butter, softened
100g white granulated sugar
100g light brown sugar
100g dark brown sugar
1 extra large egg
330g all purpose flour
4 ½ Tbs cocoa powder
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ baking soda

What you do

1. Line two baking trays with grease-proof paper. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Mix the chocolate chunks and set aside without pinching too many.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugars with the butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in the egg.
5. Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda.
6. Mix well.
7. Stir in the chocolate pieces.
8. Take a tablespoon full of mixture and form a small ball in the palms of your hands (like a meatball). Place it on the baking tray.
9. Continue with the rest of the mixture arranging all the chocoballs on the trays, leaving space between them. (Try and get at least one chunk of each chocolate type in the ball!)
10. Flatten the chocoballs a little with your fingers (they’ll flatten a bit more while baking).
11. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until just firm. Don’t over bake!

Enjoy with a glass of milk, or as I like them, dunked in hot milky tea.

Picnic On The Beach Part 2 – Granola Goodness

Tags

coconut, cranberries, granola, nuts, oats, seeds

Next up from my picnic menu favourites is a granola bar recipe. I had been looking for a good granola bar recipe for a while, but most of them seem to have a page long list of ingredients which makes them kind of expensive and kind of a pain. Then, while I was looking for something else among my bookmarked items on my iphone, I came across one I had saved ages ago and then forgotten about (I tend to do that). It’s a really easy recipe by Nigella Lawson, with few but good ingredients that suit each other beautifully. These bars are great to nibble on as a snack, or take with you if you’re running out the door with no time for a proper breakfast. I doubt they’re particularly diet-friendly, but they are definitely healthy (or healthier than my usual snacks!).

When I made these for the picnic I also made a batch of my favourite granola to have over the duration of my cousin’s stay. This is by far the best of all the granolas I have tried to make, with just the right consistency for my taste (sort of clumpy but not very). Again, it’s one of the healthier versions, with olive oil and honey rather than butter, sugar etc. The original recipe by The Cilantropist (inspired by Healthy Green Kitchen and Saveur) involves cooking it at low heat over a long period of time. It’s getting hotter by the day here in Athens, so having the oven on all day doesn’t appeal to me, not to mention the fear of my electricity bill – so I just cook it for about half an hour, or until it looks golden but not brown! The way I like to eat it is with buttermilk. A friend from work whom I will call The Granola Addict once mentioned that this is how she likes hers and I was quite surprised. I’d never even considered it. I knew some people drink buttermilk but for me it was something I put in cakes and nothing more. Well… good job I tried it. It’s delicious. I highly recommend you try it. Here are both recipes.

Granola Bars (recipe by Nigella)
What you’ll need
1 can (400g) sweet condensed milk
250g rolled oats (not quick cooking)
75g shredded coconut
100g dried cranberries
125g mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, flax – all or any combo)
125g peanuts (original recipe calls for natural unsalted; we can’t get those easily here so I used regular roasted salted peanuts which I rinsed with water and let dry to get rid of the excess salt. I’ll leave them with the salt on next time, I think it will make it taste even more interesting)

What you do

1. Preheat oven to 130C and grease a small baking tin (mine is 18×24.5cm).
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together.
3. In a small saucepan heat the condensed milk till it’s quite hot but not boiling.
4. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well till everything is coated with the milk. It’s best if you use a rubber spatula as this won’t stick to the mixture.
5. Transfer the mixture to the tin and spread it out evenly (with the spatula). Press it down well.
6. Bake for about an hour.
7. Remove and let cool for about 10-15 minutes. Then cut into pieces according to your preference. It’s very important that you remember to cut it when it’s still warm, otherwise it gets a bit difficult!
8. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

It keeps fantastically well!

Coconut and Cranberry Granola (original recipe by The Cilantropist)
What you’ll need
3 ½ cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup sesame seeds, flax seeds and sunflower seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp all-spice
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup honey
1 cup dried cranberries
¼ cup pumpkin seeds

What you do

1. Line two baking trays with grease proof (parchment) paper. Preheat oven to 150C.
2. Mix together all the dry ingredients except the cranberries and pumpkin seeds. I always add these at the end so they don’t go hard or burn while cooking.
3. Warm the oil and honey together in a small saucepan or the microwave. If using the microwave heat in blasts of 30 seconds mixing well in between. You want the mixture to become very runny.
4. Pour the oil and honey over the dry ingredients and mix well so that they are all well coated.
5. Spread the mixture out on the baking trays and distribute evenly. I press it down a bit so it sticks together slightly. This way I can break it up into lovely clumps afterwards.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes or as long as it takes to turn a golden colour. Do not let it brown. Once golden it takes only a few seconds to burn, so pay attention!
7. Remove from the oven and let cool. Break it up, add the cranberries and pumpkin seeds, and transfer to an airtight container.

This also keeps very well, although it’ll probably be gone before you need to worry about it!

Picnic On The Beach, Part 1 – Sweet Zucchini Bread

Tags

cake, courgettes, sweet bread, zucchini

Antique butter knife on kind loan by The Collector

Last week my cousin came over from the UK to visit with her two gorgeous boys, aged 4 and 6. The day they arrived was also my name day, which is a big celebration in Greece, even bigger than a birthday since everyone knows when it is! To celebrate, I decided to whisk them off to the beach for a picnic straight from the airport. My mum and one of my auntie’s came along and one of my best friends brought her own little ones and some of their friends. We made quite a group, and as you can imagine (if you know me) the food preparation began well in advance. I planned a menu and embarked on a baking extravaganza followed by a sandwich making marathon! Sweet muffins, savory egg muffins, cookies, sweet bread, granola bars, and triangle sandwiches with the crusts cut off as a special treat! Mum supplied the fruit and together with my friend’s additions we had a huge spread. I’m sharing my favourites in a series of posts.

First off, and since I promised this one in my last post, one of the most gorgeous cakes I’ve ever made. Actually it’s not cake but it’s gorgeous nonetheless. Sweet Zucchini Bread. Amazing. I made this for the first time in an effort to use up some leftover zucchini flesh after I stuffed 2 beautiful round ones and cooked them in the slow cooker (see previous post). After a quick search I came up with this recipe which was easy and used ingredients I had on hand. I couldn’t believe how tasty and moist and perfect it turned out – healthy too! So I decided to make it again for the picnic. And by the way, it keeps beautifully for at least a week! (Confession: I actually ate the last piece ten days later and it was still yummy)

Sweet Zucchini Bread (based on a recipe by Paula Dean on Food Network)
Yields one loaf

You’ll need:
1 ½ cups + 2 Tbs all purpose flour (plus some extra for sprinkling the pan)
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ cups sugar (mixture of white and dark brown – or you can use all white if preferable)
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
3 Tbs (scant) water (40 ml)
1 cup grated zucchini (leave skin on to create lovely green specks in the bread)
½ tsp lemon juice
½ cup mix of dried cranberries and flax & sunflower seeds (original recipe calls for walnuts or pecans)

What you do:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F).
2. Grease a loaf tin or pan. Next time I make this I will sprinkle some flour in the pan, move it about so the flour coats the base and sides, and then tap out the excess. The reason is that the second time I made it I had a hard time getting it out of the tin, so I think this might help. If you prefer to follow Paula’s instructions, just grease it.
3. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon, sugar).
4. Whisk all the wet ingredients together in another bowl (oil, eggs, water, zucke, lemon juice).
5. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry.
6. Fold in the cranberries and seeds and mix to incorporate (don’t over mix).
7. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour (until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean).

It doesn’t get much easier than that!
Stay tuned for Part 2!