Hi there! So, I have joined a cooking group recently and I have been making the most delicious food there! We usually do a nice healthy meal for lunch then something sweet if we have time. And I am just so shocked and surprised at some of the most beautiful food that I have been able to cook since joining this group and would thoroughly recommend joining one if you are interested.
I joined this group as I was a little low in confidence when it came to cooking, trying new recipes and playing around with different ingredients. And since joining, I can honestly say that I am much more confident and am a better cook for it.
The last session we did was the last class after a block of 6 so the teacher decided to do something festive. It was wonderful, and I’m pleased to say that I’m doing the next block of classes. We made some gingerbread, truffles and we also made pomanders for the house to make it smell nice which for those of you who don’t know, is an orange with cloves in it. We also rolled it in cinnamon and ginger which smelled beautiful. I enjoyed them so much I wanted to give you the recipes for how to make them. (Gingerbread was my favourite.)
Gingerbread
Ingredients
100g butter
100g muscovado sugar
350g plain flower.
3tbsp of golden syrup
1 egg
2tsp ground ginger
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp ground cinnamon
59g icing sugar
To make
Pre heat the oven 180c, gas mark 5.
Mix together the ginger, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and flour in a large bowl and rub in the butter.
Add sugar and stir in the sugar and egg ti make a firm dough.
Roll it out to about 5mm thick and cut out your gingerbread biscuits with biscuit shape cutters.
Refrigerate for 15 minutes. (To ensure the biscuits keep their shape and don’t spread out too much during baking.)
Put a sheet of baking paper on the tray and evenly space out the biscuits.
Bake for 10 – 15 minutes until golden brown, leave to cool for a few minutes before placing on a cooling rack.
Truffles
Ingredients
8 tbsp coconut oil
8 tbsp maple syrup
180g cocoa powder
240g cashew nut butter or nut butter
Pinch of sea salt
Coatings
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp dessicated coconut
2 tbsp pistachio nuts, chopped
To make
Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan on a low heat, then add the maple syrup, cocoa butter, nut butter and sea salt. Stir to combine
Pour in to a wide shallow dish. The wide the dish the faster it will cool. Then place in the fridge to set for about 1 hour.
When the mixture has set, use a desert spoon (and dry hands) to form In to 30 x 2 balls. If they are too sticky put th back in the fridge to harden a little more.
Place the different coatings on a plate. Roll each ball in the cocoa, nuts or coconut until coveted on all sides.
Enjoy immediately or store in the fridge for up to a week.
Pomander
So, as you know as well as baking these lovely treats, I also made a pomander to make the home smell nice. All you need to do is buy some cloves, make some holes with tooth picks where you want the cloves to go then place the cloves in the holes around the orange. I also rolled mine in cinnamon and ginger and cut 4 little slithers of orange zest around the orange so it smelt stronger. You don’t have to do this part, and I would recommend maybe making several pomanders to really make the house smell nice.
I Hope you enjoyed these recipes
Happy baking!
Natalie
