Within my Cybercandy package of joy was tucked this little gem which made for a wishlist inducing breakfast read. When I saw a recipe inside for cookies using peanut butter m&ms I knew I HAD to make them; as luck had it I had recently found a huge bag of peanut butter m&ms that I had picked up some time ago and forgotten about (how I don’t know, those things are like crack!) I’ve shared the recipe above incase you want to give these a go too, and believe me, you should! I made a couple of amendments- my mixture was really runny so instead of making lots of small cookies I made two cookie cakes which I sliced straight from the oven as a fun treat for my colleagues at work. I also didn’t have enough plain flour so subbed 1oz of self raising with no ill effect…oh and I mixed the m&ms into the mixture rather than just dotting on top.

The result?

pre-oven

just baked

sliced to share. The cookie cakes took just over ten minutes to bake perfectly. I’d never made these before but would do it again as a fun alternative to a birthday cake! What do you like to throw in to cookies? xxx

The other day I had an afternoon to myself and a sudden urge to bake. Now the weather has started to turn  I feel more like baking up a storm; warm kitchen and the smell of freshly cooked cake…that has to be an Autumn Highlight!

Inspired by some apples going soft in the fruit bowl, I whipped up a batch of Apple Muffins (although I decided to make one large cake, which worked just as well) using a recipe I found online.

• 225g of plain flour
• 3 tbsp of baking powder (I think this is meant to be 3tsp, as you can see, my cake sunk from rising too fast!)
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp of ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp of ground ginger
• 100g of caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 150ml of milk
• 3 tbsp of sunflower oil
• 40g of unsalted butter
• 170g of Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced (I used gala apples)
• 70g of golden sultanas
• 3 tbsp of light brown sugar

I have a love/hate relationship with online recipes, but I have in the past used many from Baking Mad with great success. This was no different and the results were a delight (even if I do say so myself!)

The ingredients list was nice and short, making the recipe budget friendly; something that stops me baking as much as I’d like can be the cost of ingredients. Although the website suggests specific products to use, I didn’t have access to them all so used equivalents:

100g softened butter (plus a little extra for greasing)
175g self raising flour (Allison Nature Friendly) sieved
1tsp baking powder
175g Golden Caster Sugar (Billingtons)
2 Happy Eggs
6tsp Just Milk
1tsp pure orange extract.

For the topping you’ll need the juice of one large lemon and another 100g of golden caster sugar; plus retro fabulous orange and lemon jelly slices to decorate!

The method was a quick and easy all-in-one job, which is just what I like!

1. Preheat the oven to 180*c, 160*c (fan) or Gas Mark 4

2. Grease/line a shallow oblong tin (approx 18x28cm)

3. Place all the cake ingredients in to a large mixing bowl. Preferably using an electric mixer beat the mixture for 4-5 minutes, or until the mixture drops easily off a spoon.

4. Spoon the mixture in to the tin and smooth the surface. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden and firm to touch.

5. While the cake is baking prepare the icing. Beat together the lemon juice and sugar. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven pour the mixture evenly over the top, then leave to cool.

6. Cut the cake in to 16 squares, them top each one with the orange and lemon slices.

And that’s it! This really is quick and simple..and the best bit? It’s best eaten WARM, which means no hanging around to dig in!

Have you used the Baking Mad website before? Which recipes have caught your eye?

xxx