Tuesday 26 November 2013

Apple and cinnamon muffins






I love the combination of apple and cinnamon and when I saw this recipe in Nigella’s book, I had to try them. The result was these yummy, moist and great smelling muffins. I did overfill the paper liners though, but they are still delicious. Overflown but delicious.

Saturday 23 November 2013

Almond Biscotti




Sometimes simple things are the best and these biscotti prove that. Their aroma and flavor are amazing and they are perfect for your afternoon coffee or with a glass of wine. Another thing that I love about them is that they keep well for several weeks in an airtight container. The recipe comes from a very nice cookbook: Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich.

Wednesday 20 November 2013

Chewy Flapjacks







When I first tried flapjacks I didn’t really care about them. But then I ate once more and once more and every time I liked it more and more. I had only tried the ones that you can find in the supermarket so, I decided to learn how to make them on my own. I read some recipes and I saw that the main idea was 1 part sugar, 1 part butter, 1 part syrup and 2 parts oats. So, I gave it a try with Lorraine Pascale’s recipe  and the result was these delicious, chewy bars. I like that they are sweet because they remind me a little of baklava that I miss here! I kept it simple for now because it was the first time I made them but I think I will experiment more with these treats because we absolutely love them! They are great to pair with a cup of  hot black coffee.

Sunday 17 November 2013

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies




Christmas is not yet here but it feels a little Christmassy to me when I look outside my window and everything is covered with snow. Also, some people have already put on Christmas decorations to their houses and stores. So, to complete my Christmas is coming feeling I baked these cookies. They have an amazing smell and the chocolate with gingerbread is a delicious combination.
The original recipe is from Martha Stewart, but I followed Patricia’s adaptation from here, firstly because I didn’t have any fresh ginger and secondly because I speak metric better and it was easier to me. So, here’s the recipe:

Tuesday 12 November 2013

Chicken Pie






Chicken pie is one of my favorite pies and I make it quite often. This dough is a fluffy bread like dough with yoghurt and the filling is with béchamel sauce and chicken and I add whatever else I have available every time. It is also a great and delicious way to use your leftover chicken. So here comes the recipe:

Monday 11 November 2013

Kladdkaka ( Swedish sticky chocolate cake )



Today it is my name day!! In Greece name day is almost equal to birthday and it is a tradition to celebrate it. You get to eat sweets and you get a gift and people can visit you to wish you Happy Name Day and eat a sweet. Since I am in Sweden now, where name days are not celebrated, I don't get to celebrate it but at least I made a sweet for us to make this day a little more special.

This sweet is a brownie type cake, very common here in Sweden and easy to make. If you don't want to cover it with chocolate ganache you can just put some confectioner's sugar on the top. This is the common way to eat kladdkaka anyway and you can serve it with whipped cream or ice cream. So here goes the recipe:


Wednesday 6 November 2013

Chocolate filled rabbit cookies




Well, I wanted to make some cute cookies for the christening so I found this page. It has so many cute things. So, I chose a recipe for petit-beurre cookies and then filled them with a ganache of my own. They turned out really nice and chocolatey because I maybe put a little too much filling. Perfect  with a cup of coffee and even better when you dip them in cold milk.

Truffles




Truffles are one of my favorite sweets and they were a hit in the christening. I love chocolate and even more melt in the mouth chocolate. They are very simple and easy to make, the only thing that takes time is the leaving time in the fridge and also, if you want to coat them with chocolate, but in my opinion it's worth the effort.

Raspberry Mazariner






Mazariner are a classic “fika” (something like a sweet with your coffee). The version that I made with raspberry jam is called “Catalan”. So, if you want to make normal, usual mazariner just skip the jam and the pink colour on the glaze.

Christening in Norway



 

The weekend that passed we went to North Norway for the Christening of my boyfriend’s niece.  It was nice and cozy inside and very cold and snowy outside. There were ten different kinds of baked goods and also four cakes. A lot even for 50 people. Everything was pink and tasted great though. I made three of them: chocolate truffles with white chocolate coating, mazariner which is a type of tart with almond paste filling, mine had also raspberry jam and rabbit cookies filled with chocolate ganache. Recipes follow.