Double Chocolate Biscotti - super yummy

This is a great biscotti recipe and my students love it.  It tastes a lot like a brownie and retains a bit of chewy-ness in the middle.   Biscotti fits in well with International Food units.  If you are short on time, you can get away with not cooling it in between the first and second cooking.  Just cut it up, spread it out on the tray and get it back in the oven.

Double-Chocolate Biscotti

Ingredients

1 ½ c plain flour 1 c sugar ½ c unsweetened cocoa ½ c chocolate chips ½t baking powder ½ t baking soda ½ t salt

1 t vanilla extract 2 large eggs 1 large egg white

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC.

2. Measure flour, sugar, cocoa, chocolate chips, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.

3. Combine vanilla, eggs, and egg white in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.

4. Add flour mixture to egg mixture; stir until well blended.

5. Divide dough in half.

6. Turn dough out onto an oven tray line with baking paper.

7. With floured hands, shape the dough halves into logs.

8. Bake at 180ºC for 22 minutes.

9. Remove rolls from baking sheet; cool 10 minutes on a wire rack.

10. Cut each roll diagonally into 18 (1.5 cm) slices. Carefully stand slices upright on baking sheet.

11. Bake biscotti an additional 15 minutes or until almost firm (biscotti will be slightly soft in centre but will harden as they cool).

12. Remove biscotti from baking sheet and cool completely on wire rack.

Afghan biscuits and Golden Cinnamon biscuits - quick and easy baking

Afghan Biscuits & Golden Cinnamon Biscuits

It's overcast and cloudy here today so I thought it would be a good day to do some baking.  I had a little helper too!

I used the Afghan recipe from the Edmonds Cook book.  The Golden Cinnamon recipe is from the Australian Womens Weekly "Biscuits, Brownies and Biscotti" book.

I hadn't made the Golden Cinnamon Biscuits before but it is a great little recipe and makes 30 cookies.  It's one of those recipes for which you would probably have all the ingredients in the cupboard already.

I made afghans to use up some cornflakes.  My daughter always has great intentions when she chooses a new cereal, but the shine goes off it pretty quickly and she always goes back to cheerios.  So I was glad to use up 2 cups of the cornflakes and put them into something everyone would want to eat.

Here are the recipes:

Golden Cinnamon Biscuits

60 g butter
1/3 c (115 g) golden syrup
2 T brown sugar
2 T caster sugar
1 1/4 c self raising flour
3 t ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius.

Combine butter, golden syrup and sugars in a saucepan.  Stir over a low heat until butter is melted.   Cool for 5 minutes.

Stir in flour and cinnamon.  Roll rounded teaspoons of mixture into balls and place about 2 cm apart on baking tray lined with baking paper.  Flatten with a floured fork until 1 cm thick.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until brown.  Stand biscuits 5 minsutes before lifting onto wire racks to cool.

Makes 30 cookies.


Afghans

200 g butter
1/2 c sugar
1 1/4 c plain flour
1/4 c cocoa
2 c cornflakes.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Sift flour and cocoa.  Stir into creamed mixture.  Fold in cornflakes.  Spoon mounds of mixture onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, gently pressing together.  Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 15 minutes or until set.  When cold, ice with chocolate icing and decorate with a walnut if desired.


Christmas Gifts for teachers - Chocolate Christmas cupcakes

 I'm a bit late posting this since it is now late January, but here are the gifts I made for my son's teachers at childcare this Christmas (2010).

I used a Donna Hay cupcake recipe (http://www.donnahay.com.au/) and decorated themwith green and red 'ready to roll' icing from Gilmours and silver cachous.  I love the really bright red and green colour.

I bought Christmassy plates from Farmers (http://www.farmers.co.nz/) to put the cupcakes on, so the teachers had a lasting gift as well as an edible one.

The cellophane and silver string was from the $2 shop.  Gift tags were from Whitcoulls (http://www.whitcoulls.co.nz/).

Super Dooper Cookie Mix

We had a Year 6 Open Day recently where all the year 6 students from local schools came for a taster day at Intermediate School.  Over three days we had 2 x 2 hour sessions per day with different groups of students.  For Food Technology, I had the students make Super Dooper Cookies.  The students each made a batch of cookie mix to take home and bake and also baked a batch of super dooper cookies in class.  The cookies are super dooper because the students can put whatever they want in the mix.  It's a good recipe which makes lots of yummy cookies.  Enjoy!

Super Dooper Cookie Mix

This recipe makes enough mix for two batches of cookies for yourself or a friend


2 ½ c flour
1 c sugar
1 c packed brown sugar
1 t baking soda
½ t salt
200 g shortening (Kremelta)
1 c chocolate chips/M&Ms/Pebbles, dried fruit, etc


1. In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients and stir until well mixed.


2. Rub in shortening until crumbly or place all ingredients in a food processor and process until mix is crumbly like bread crumbs.


3. Tip mix back into bowl and stir in chocolate chips/M&Ms/Pebbles or dried fruit.


4. Place the mix in a large snap lock bag or in an airtight container. This mix will keep for about 3 months on the shelf or 6 months in the freezer.




How to turn your cookie mix into cookies


3 ½ cups of cookie mix
1 egg
1 t vanilla essence


1. Preheat your oven to 190 ºC.


2. Line two oven trays with baking paper.


3. Place egg and vanilla in a small bowl and beat until well combined.


4. Place the 3 ½ cups of cookie mix into a large mixing bowl.


5. Add beaten egg and vanilla to cookie mix and stir with a wooden spoon until well blended.


6. Place teaspoonfuls on trays, about 5 cm apart (to allow for spreading).


7. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.


8. Cool on tray for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks.

Super Yummy Chocolate Brownie Mix

This brownie mix is one of my most popular lessons. The students just love designing their own original brownies.

It's a super-easy recipe that works well whatever is added to it. Although it is part of my Year 7 "Presents in a Package" unit, I have also used it in my Year 8 "City Cafe" unit as it is one of those easy, never-fail recipes that is also very, very yummy.

For the first part of the lesson, the students make up the mix and package it. Then for the second part of the lesson, they make the mix again, but this time they mix in eggs and oil and bake it in the oven. Students love taking home a finished product in addition to the brownie mix.

Although the brownie mix is supposed to be given as a gift to a friend or family member, most of my students use it as an opportunity to make the brownies again at home. I am happy that they do this because if they are cooking at home, it means they are gaining confidence and learning new skills :)

Brownie Mix
(Between 2)

1 c plain flour
1 t baking soda
½ t salt
2/3 c packed brown sugar
1/3 c cocoa
2/3 c sugar

• Combine flour, baking soda and salt, brown sugar, cocoa and sugar in a bowl. This is your basic brownie mix

• Add ½ cup of your choice of ingredients from the following list:

• White chocolate chips
• Dark chocolate chips
• M & Ms
• Marshmallows (cut into quarters) or mini marshmallows
• Glace cherries
• Dried apricots (chopped)
• Dried cranberries

• Stir your chosen ingredients into the basic brownie mix.

• Evenly divide your mixture into two bags (1 each to take home) and attach the instructions. Don’t forget to write your extra ingredients in the space provided

Instructions to add to your Brownie Mix before giving it as a gift:

Combine contents of bag with:

2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup (75 mL) vegetable oil

Pour into a greased/lined brownie tin.

Bake at 180ºC for about 15 minutes until the top is set.

How to make Brownies (if you just want to bake them without just making the mix)

½ c plain flour
½ t baking soda
¼ t salt
1/3 c packed brown sugar
3 T cocoa
1/3 c sugar

2 eggs
½ t vanilla
1/3 c (75 mL) oil


• Preheat the oven to 180°C.

• Line a brownie tin with baking paper.

• Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, cocoa and sugar in a bowl.

• Add ½ cup of your choice of ingredients from the following list:

• White chocolate chips
• Dark chocolate chips
• M & Ms
• Marshmallows (cut into quarters) or mini marshmallows
• Glace cherries
• Dried apricots (chopped)
• Dried cranberries

• Add the eggs, vanilla and oil to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

• Pour mixture into your prepared tin.

• Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until top is set.

• Leave to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into small pieces.

Hot Chocolate Mix

This is a great starter lesson for a Year 7 class and is part of my "Presents in a Package" unit.

Through this recipe, students learn about correctly measuring ingredients and then have the choice to design their own hot chocolate mix using a range of different ingredients.

Because this is a simple recipe, it allows enough time in the lesson to teach students about classroom routines, finding equipment and learning to work with a partner.

Once the mix is made, give students the opportunity to try their mix by making a hot chocolate to drink in class.


Hot Chocolate Mix Recipe

(Serves 2)

Basic recipe

• ¾ c non-fat dried milk powder
• I T plus 1 t powdered coffee whitener
• 3 T plus 1 t icing sugar
• 2 T plus 1 t cocoa powder (unsweetened)


Preparation:

1. Collect equipment: Measuring cups, measuring spoons, bowl, sieve, dinner knife, whisk, dinner spoon, coffee mug, teaspoon.

2. Collect ingredients.

3. Sift the milk powder, coffee creamer, icing sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl to remove any lumps.

4. Mix thoroughly with a wire whisk to blend.

5. Add variations from list below and mix thoroughly

6. Divide between two snaplock bags.

7. Attach instructions and ingredient list.


Variations

• 3 T mini marshmallows
• ½ t ground cinnamon
• 3 T dark chocolate chips
• 3 T white chocolate chips
• 2 T raspberry powdered drink mix