Fruit and nut truffles /  by Katie Marshall

As a self-confessed ‘sugar addict’, I can (and do) quite happily eat jam straight from the jar and would take candy from a baby without batting an eye. But, alas, nobody can dispute Shakira when she reminds us that ‘Hips Don’t Lie’. Cakes and bakes and chocolate sauce do not a skinny girl make, so I’ve sought out an alternative for my sweet tooth.

My practically guilt-free nod to chocolate truffles use natural sugars for a pretty pick-me-up that’s tasty enough (and petite enough) to serve up with a coffee after a three-course meal. Plus, they’re gluten-free, dairy-free and Paleo-friendly to boot – Shakira would approve.

Fruit and nut truffles

20g pecans

40g walnuts

100g dates

1tbsp cocoa

1 tbsp honey

3tbsp desiccated coconut

Nice and simple – pop the pecans and walnuts into a food processor and briefly blitz. Add the dates, cocoa and honey and mix until combined. Put the desiccated coconut onto a plate. Take heaped teaspoons of the fruit and nut mixture, roll into a ball then roll in the coconut to coat. Enjoy, virtuously.

 

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Cookies /  by Katie Marshall

After six months of cookery training, I have emerged from the Leiths’ cocoon with a diploma, a free afternoon and a whim to make something delicious (and preferably photogenic). Not far from the kitchen, a wooden board has sat in the hallway for four of those months with a coating of dust and a longing for a makeover. So today became the ceremonious day for that board to get a lick of paint and for it to be transformed into both my backdrop and my muse. Cue the cookie blog post.

I would begin with ‘you can’t go wrong with a chocolate chip cookie’, but you most definitely can. Everyone has their own criteria but, for me, the perfect cookie is the opposite of a Maryland cookie. Instead of small and brittle, they’ve got to be big and chewy and with a little bit in the centre which errs on the edge of ‘undercooked’ when they’re warm from the oven. I’ve gone a bit off piste with the addition of honeycomb and fudge in this recipe but thought ‘heck - let’s put some extra chew in Chewsday’. And I’ve used spelt flour because I’ve got some wheat-intolerant loves in my life and always want to experiment with bakes that will make their tummies happy.

Spelt chocolate chew cookies

110g butter, at room temperature

100g caster sugar

60g dark brown soft sugar

1 egg

1/2tsp salt

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

190g plain (spelt) flour

150g chocolate (I used a combination of milk and white, with plain chocolate chips)

1tbsp honeycomb pieces (optional)

1tbsp small fudge pieces (optional)

 Cream together the butter and sugar until combined, then beat in the egg. Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix together with a wooden spoon (or do all of the above in a food processor). Add the chocolate, honeycomb and fudge and mix through the dough. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 200’C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 12-14 balls (each approximately 1 heaped tbsp) and flatten onto the baking sheets, leaving space between them because they will expand during cooking. Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on your preference for gooey middles. Allow to cool slightly on the baking trays before removing to wire racks, and keep them away from brothers who may be tempted to eat 3 while the chocolate is still molten.