Playing swapsies with white chocolate, macadamia and cranberry cookies

Yes, that’s right, my first ever cookie swap, (actually, my first time sending anything edible in the mail- must carry on correcting that!) went without a hitch. 

Chocolate orange

My swap experience kicked off before I’d even made a single batch with a parcel from foodiebob. His crunchy chocolate orange cookies were gorgeous with a cup of tea- the perfect texture to hold up to a good dunking! These cookies were moreish and so easy to nibble on, they vanished the fastest of all three boxes. Generally, I make cookies with a little more squidge in them, which could explain why Tom made four of them vanish lickity-split; variety being the spice of life and all that.

triple chocolate-ginger biscotti

Speaking of spice, the most beautiful package I received was from Soup Tuesday, ginger and triple chocolate biscotti. I’ve actually never had biscotti before but they’re definitely something I’d have a bash at now, they kept for ages in a tin and stood up amazingly well after a morning in my bag, to be ready, unbroken, to have with my lunchtime coffee. The ginger was totally delicious too and, although, as a non-milk drinker, I couldn’t verify myself how good they are with the recommended glass of milk, Tom was happy to test (with over half the box) and reckons the combo couldn’t be beat.

beautiful biscotti wrapping

The last package I received was from Bakery Cottage and contained what was voted the house’s favourite overall (although out of the three of us, each had a different top choice, how diplomatic of us!) This hazelnut cookie, dipped in dark chocolate and rolled in chopped nuts, was so smooth and rich that one really should have been enough. That totally didn’t happen though, so these disappeared faster than anyone could say ‘So, when’re you making these then?’ You could almost taste the butter that’d been worked into these, and they just melted away.

hazlenut melts

And me? I made my brand new favourite squishy cookie recipe. I did try very, very hard with Florentines, but with a success rate of about 60% and Tom on hand to tell me that if he’d gotten fruit and almonds on a bit of chocolate when he was expecting cookies, he’d call trading standards, I scrapped that idea two days before the deadline and mass catered with my favourite flavour combinations. White chocolate and cranberry is a partnership I can be boring about for a long time (and already have been on this site), but the added crunch of macadamias was something new and I loved it!

White chocolate, macadamia and cranberry cookies

(makes about 15, so I had plenty left over from 3 batches!) 

250g of the chocolate, nut and fruit mixture. 

 (I used a choc:nut:berry ratio of 2:1:1, but really start mixing in a

separate bowl and see what looks good.)

300g sugar

(a mix of brown/white- I used 200g light brown and 100g golden caster)

170g butter

250g self raising flour

1/2 tsp salt

2tsp vanilla extract

1 egg, 1 yolk 

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C

2. Melt butter with the sugars. Let it cool.

3. Add vanilla and egg

4. Drop in the flour and salt and fold it in. 

5. Add in the bits.

6. Bake heaped tablespoons of the mixture for about 15 mins.

The cookies firm up a lot after they come out, so don't let them bake til set. If they look too underdone to get off the tray, chances are they're just peachy!

'Mind the Gap' with white chocolate and cranberry cupcakery

This is not the post that should be here. This is more of a stopgap, a little waystation, if you will, before I go off on one about 'my summer so far'. 

Summer, whichever way you look at it, is blooming amazing. We get sunshine, then just when the average Englishman is running out of weather based gripes, we have the sort of rain that not only soaks all the washing you optimistically put out to dry, but throws it around your garden too, such is the force of its fury. The weather, in Britain, in summer, isn't just unreliable, it's positively malevolent!

But I don't want to talk about the weather. I want to talk about food. And there lies my problem. 

I've been around lately. Not in a crude way (I know how your mind works), but to Italy and London, as well as back to the good old Midlands to visit my family. I want to make the sort of food I ate in these places, as much as an evocative travel memento for me as a way to challenge myself to something more exotic than blackberry and apple crumble. 

(Which I made last week, incidentally and it was lush. But I digress).

It hasn't happened yet, and in some ways that's a good thing. Writing about my take on wartime London grub seems a little off beat with all the troubles lately, and at my parents house is so definitely not the place to tackle my first Italian pud, which will almost certainly be tiramisu- all over my face, the worktops, the walls and my face again. So, eventually, I reach the point. This is a quick stop, so please mind the gap between the train and the platform when alighting. 

If you've stuck with me this far, thank you, you shall be rewarded with cupcakes. 

This is a cupcake with inner beauty. Not  ugly of course, but if she was a girl at school, probably not a looker. Never mind though, because this is one tasty lady. 
I'd also like the record to show that, for once, I got my food in focus.
White chocolate and cranberry cupcakes could not be simpler. Make cupcake batter, add cranberries and white chocolate chunks (remember, chunks>chips) and bake. Melt white chocolate, add a little milk and drizzle on cold cakes. And I mean only 'a little milk', and I mean 'cold cakes'. I will not be held responsible for sloppy drizzles.


Creamy, dreamy 'I'm not really chocolate' white chocolate and sharp dried cranberries.These two ingredients love each other, so please, be nice and keep them together. Sour cherries would work too though. We'll call it an illicit affair. I still believe cranberry is the white stuff's first love. You need something a little sharp anyway, so don't you dare try and use raisins or anything. Your white chocolate deserves better.

If you need a little help with the part where I said 'make cupcake batter', Google can always help. But here's a quick and easy fix for anyone who owns a set of scales. 
1. Weigh two eggs. Or three, for more batter, or one for not very much batter.
2. Remember how much the eggs weighed. We'll call this the magic weight.
3. Add that magic weight of butter + magic weight of sugar to a bowl and cream together until pale
4. Add eggs, mix a little after each one. Add a little vanilla extract.
5. Add the magic weight of flour. Mix until combined.
6. Chunk up some chocolate.  I like about the same ratio of chunks:cranberries but for actual quantities, go nuts until you're happy. 
7. Bake at 180 celsius for about 20-25 mins, or until done. 

To this day, this is the only recipe I have actually managed to commit to memory. Don't worry, I am ashamed.