Gum drop Cookies

200g butter, marg softened

125g gumdrops, chopped

200ml Sugar

250ml oats

2ml Salt

5ml vanilla essence

1 large egg

310ml / 175g cake Flour

3ml Bicarb of Soda

Makes about 32 

Preheat oven to 180’c

Cream Sugar & butter till soft and fluffy, add vanilla essence and egg beat well.  Sift the baking powder, bicarb of soda and salt together then add to the butter mixture.  Add oats and sweets and mix well.

Drop teaspoonfuls onto a prepared tray, leaving enough space between them for spreading. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Melting moments

1ml salt

60ml custard powder

625ml Cake flour

250ml icing sugar

375g Butter / margarine

Preheat oven to 180’c and prepare baking trays.

Makes about 4 dozen

Beat icing sugar and sugar together.  Sift in salt, custard powder, and flour together.  Mix well to form soft dough and shape into balls and bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly brown.

Ginger biscuits

30 Sugar for rolling

200g butter / margarine

250ml sugar

2ml salt

3ml ground ginger

1 large egg

15ml Milk

3ml cinnamon

5ml Bicarb of soda

625ml Cake flour

60ml honey or syrup

Preheat oven to 180’c and prepare baking tray.

Makes about 3 dozen

Mix butter and sugar together then add eggs in one at a time, then milk and honey/syrup. Sift in flour, ginger, bicarb, salt, cinnamon and add to butter mixture.  Mix to fom a soft dough, shape into balls and roll them in sugar and press with fork.

Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly brown.

Crunchies

30ml Syrup

500ml Cake flour

10ml baking powder

10ml bicarb of soda

375ml sugar

200g butter/margarine

2ml salt

500ml oats

250ml coconut

125ml Digestive bran

Preheat oven to 180’c and prepare baking tray.

Makes about 2 dozen

In a bowl sift flour, bicarb, salt and flour together then oats, coconut and bran.  In a small pot melt butter, syrup butter and mix with flour mixture.  Press down into a square tin and bake for about 10 minutes.  Once cool cut into blocks.

Butterscotch cookies

330ml Chopped pecan or walnuts

250g Margarine / butter

3ml Bicarb of Soda

5ml Baking powder

375ml brown sugar

2 large eggs

5ml Vanilla essence

875ml cake flour

Preheat oven to 180’c and prepare baking trays.

Makes about 4dozen

Mix eggs, butter and sugar together till light and fluffy then add vanilla essence. Sift the baking powder, bicarb and flour together then nuts and add to the butter mixture. Divide mixture in 2 and roll in greaseproof paper and refrigerate until hard,  slice into 1cm cookies and bake for about 15 – 20 minutes.

Tip:  These cookies are ideal for making a tart base mixed with 15ml margarine / butter

Shortbread stars

15ml Milk

2ml Salt

250g Butter

500ml cake flour

5ml vanilla essence

5ml almond essence

125ml castor sugar

Preheat oven to 160’c and prepare baking trays.

Makes about 2 dozen

Beat sugar and butter together till light and fluffy add sifted flour, and baking powder alternating with the milk.  Using a piping bag, pipe out star shapes onto the tray.  Bake for 14-16minutes or until light brown.

Variation: Dip one side of the cookie into melted chocolate.

Jam Cookies

500ml Desiccated coconut

500ml Cake flour

10ml Baking powder

200ml sugar

200ml Apricot jam (maybe more)

45ml water

30ml castor sugar

125g Butter

3 large eggs

500ml Cake flour

Preheat oven to 180’c and prepare patty pans.

Makes 18

Sift flour, baking powder salt and castor sugar together then rub butter in with your fingers then add egg yolks and water and mix to form soft dough. Roll dough into 3mm and press about 6-7cm diameter circles with a cookie cutter.  Press into pans, fill up with apricot jam.

Topping: Beat sugar and egg whites, coconut and spoon a tablespoon on top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Variation: Jam can be change to any jam you prefer.

Chocolate Biscuits

150g Chopped dark chocolate

200g Butter, margarine

500ml Self-raising flour

125ml Sugar

80ml Brown sugar

2Large Eggs

5ml Vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180’c and prepare baking trays.

Makes about 5dozen

Beat sugars and butter together till light and fluffy then add vanilla essence and eggs.  Sift flour in and stir in chocolate.  Drop teaspoon full’s onto prepared trays and bake for 12 minutes or until lightly brown.

Lemon Meringue

CASE:
1 x 23cm pastry case, made from short crust pastry

FILLING:

100ml White Sugar

Juice and grated rind of two lemons

300ml water

60ml (4 Tablespoons) corn flour, dissolved in 45ml (3 Tablespoons) water 4 egg yolks, lightly beaten

MERINGUE:
4 egg whites at room temperature
185ml (¾ cup) Huletts White Sugar

Preheat oven to 150’c and prepare dish

Combine the lemon juice, rind, water and sugar.  Heat, stirring till the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the dissolved corn flour and egg yolks, and continue cooking till the mixture is thick (about 5 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand for a few minutes..

Spoon into the pastry case.

MERINGUE:  Beat the egg whites till stiff. Gradually beat in the sugar. The mixture should form stiff, dry peaks. Pile the meringue on top of the lemon filling, taking care to cover it completely.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until the meringue has set and is golden brown.

TIPS: 

When making meringue, your utensils must be squeaky clean and bone dry.
You may wipe the bowl with lemon juice to remove all grease if required.

Macaroons

2 egg whites ¾ cup  Castor Sugar 1½ cups desiccated coconut 200g dark chocolate, melted Preheat oven to 150ºC. Line two oven trays with baking paper.  Beat eggs whites in a small bowl until firm peaks form. Add sugar gradually, beating well after each addition and until sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and glossy. Transfer to a large bowl and add the coconut. Using a large metal spoon, fold gently until the ingredients are just combined. Drop level tablespoons of the mixture onto the trays, about 5cm apart.  Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. Dip bases in melted chocolate and allow setting.

Sticky Caramel Apples

3 medium apples

Batter

Oil for deep frying

200ml cake flour

2Large eggs

2ml Salt

15ml oil

100 warm water

Sauce

125g Butter /margarine

125ml Fresh cream

250ml brown sugar

Peel and core apples and slice into 8-12pieces each.

Batter:  Sift salt and flour, add oil, water and mix well.  Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into mixture and mix to form a smooth batter, allow setting for 35 minutes.  Dip apples in batter and deep fry until brown.

Sauce: heat sugar, butter until sugar has dissolved, add cream and allow o boil.  Pour sauce over the apple pieces must be served start after.

Tiramisu

2 large eggs, separated
10ml (2 teaspoons) cocoa powder

30ml (2 Tablespoons Castor Sugar
10ml (2 teaspoons) brandy (extra)
250g (1 tub) mascarpone cheese
185ml strong black coffee
60ml (¼ cup) brandy
125g (1 packet) finger biscuits


Mix the coffee and the brandy together in a cup. Dip both sides of half the packet of biscuits into this mixture and arrange in the bottom of a shallow round or square dish. Cream the egg yolks and castor sugar together until thick and pale yellow. Add the additional 10ml brandy and the mascarpone cheese to the egg mixture and mix until smooth. Beat the egg whites until stiff, and fold into the cheese mixture. Pour half the mixture over the biscuits. Dip the other half of the biscuits in the coffee and arrange on top of the cheese mixture and then pour the balance of the cheese mixture over the top.

 Place in the fridge for 4 hours to set and sprinkle with cocoa just before serving. 

Crumpets

Oil for Frying

60ml Sugar

7ml baking Powder

2ml salt

250ml Cake flour

125ml Milk

30ml butter/margarine melted

2 Large Eggs

Beat sugar, eggs together then add sifted baking powder, flour mix well then add milk and melted marg. 

Drop spoonfuls in a heated pan, and fry till both sides are lightly brown.

Serve with butter, Syrup, jam.

Variation: Add four mashed bananas for banana crumpets

Macaroni & Cheese

1 packet 500g elbow macaroni cooked 250g soft  velveeta cheese 1 can cheese soup 1/2 stick butter 1 tsp. salt 500ml cold milk Mix all ingredients together.  Cook on low for 1 hour and stir. You can add meat, bacon, mushroom if you like

Hot Milk sponge cake

4 xlg Eggs

5ml vanilla Essence

100g Butter or margarine

310ml castor sugar

250ml Milk

500ml cake flour

15ml baking powder

Basic Icing

100g Soft Butter

500ml Icing Sugar

Colorant of your choice

5ml vanilla essence

30ml Milk

Chocolate Icing

100g Soft butter

30ml Milk

2ml Vanilla essence

30 Hot water

30ml Cocoa powder

500ml Icing Sugar

Preheat oven to 180’ c and prepare two round cake tins 20cm

For the sponge: Cream the eggs and the sugar till light and fluffy.  Sift baking powder and flour and add to egg mixture.

In a saucepan, heat the milk and the butter. Do not boil the mixture.  Stir milk mixture and vanilla essence into the batter.  Spoon into prepared tins when cooled cut into shapes.

For the icing: mix ingredients together till light and fluffy and spread over cake, and decorate with your choice of decorations.

Variation:

Chocolate cake – Add 50ml Cocoa powder to the dry ingredients and 5ml flavourant to the batter.

This cake recipe can be double to make larger cakes.

Basic Biscuits

2.5ml (½ teaspoon) vanilla essence
500ml (2 cups) cake flour
250g butter or brick margarine
250ml (1 cup) Castor Sugar
1 egg


Preheat oven to 200’c and prepare baking trays.

Cream butter and add castor sugar gradually, beating continuously. Beat egg and vanilla essence together and then add to the butter mixture, and beat further. Sift the flour 3 times and add to the butter mixture. Mix thoroughly. Shape into biscuits and place on a greased baking tray. Bake for 8 - 12 minutes, until golden brown.

Makes 100 biscuits.

VARIATIONS:

Ginger Biscuits:
Add 5ml ground ginger to the flour. Decorate each biscuit with a piece of melon or ginger preserve before baking.

Coffee Biscuits:
Dissolve 10ml of instant coffee into 10ml boiling water. Add to the butter mixture. Decorate with a coffee bean before baking.

Cherry Biscuits:
Push halved glacé cherries into each biscuit before baking.

Coffee Biscuits:
Dissolve 10ml of instant coffee into 10ml boiling water. Add to the butter mixture. Decorate with a coffee bean before baking.

Decoration:
Dip one half of each biscuit in melted chocolate (or drizzle over the top) and leave to set on a wire rack, or simply spread with made up icing.