We Should Cocoa: Scottish Tablet Cookies

This month's We Should Cocoa is hosted by Linzi at Lancashire Food who wants us to use an ingredient new to us.  Last month's boozy round up of chocolate based treats can be found here. You can read all about We Should Cocoa, how to enter and the previous challenges here on Choclette's blog. 

I am the anti-resolutionist.  I don't go on a green juice detox on the first of January. 

I have a hangover on the 1st January. 

(Normally, alcohol related but one year I had a cheesecake hangover.  It exists. It is horrifying, terrifying and majestically brilliant all at the same time).

I still have leftover Christmas food which I intend to get through.  I support local businesses (re: the local chinese).  I don't go to the gym. 

And it's because January is a truly crap month. It's cold, it's always dark, you feel a bit shitty after binging on Christmas films and malteasers and the last thing you want to do is be hungry and miserable.

So, whilst I am still on my anti-resolutionist bender of sugar and carbs, I give you cookies. Really sugary cookies. Made with the new to me ingredient of Scottish tablet. No shame.

Makes around 18

Ingredients

110gr unsalted butter

100gr caster sugar

60gr light soft brown sugar

Pinch of salt

1 egg

150gr plain flour, sifted with

1/2 tsp baking powder

50gr Scottish tablet, chopped

50gr dark chocolate, chopped

Method

1, Preheat your oven to 190o/c and line three baking sheets with baking paper.

2, Melt the butter in a small saucepan gently.  When fully melted, remove from the heat, pour into a medium sized mixing bowl and stir in the sugars with the salt.  

3, Beat in the egg.

4,  Add in the flour and stir until smooth and fully combined.  

5, Stir through the chopped chocolate and tablet.  The tablet will disintegrate into mush if you stir it too much. Be wary of the crumbly texture. 

6, Scoop lumps onto your prepared baking sheets.  I used a table spoon measuring spoon.  You don't need to flatten them out as they will do this themselves when cooking. 

7, Bake for between 7 and 10 minutes until just going golden brown.  Leave to cool on the baking sheets for five minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack. 

8, Scoff and laugh in the face of January.

Chai Spiced Brown Rice Pudding

Everything is a bit sad, wobbly, and shaky in January. 

The look your Christmas tree gives you just before you decide to take it to be recycled at the tip.  The mince pie baby that I am currently hiding under my jumper. That shaky, squiggle your handwriting does when you remember that it's 2014 and not 2013 when writing the date. That 'back to work' face everyone pulled last week. The realisation that it's not actually at all ok anymore to eat cheese and biscuits for breakfast. 

The best way to get through it is to wrap yourself up warm. From the inside. Specifically, with a bowl of this chai spice rice pudding.

Serves two

Ingredients

200gr brown rice

Pinch of salt

400ml semi skimmed milk

100ml double cream

1 black tea bag

4tbsp honey

1tsp vanilla extract

1/2tsp ground ginger

3 cloves

3 cardamom pods

1/2 cinnamon stick

1tbsp coconut oil (or butter)

Toasted walnuts for serving (optional)

Method

1, Bring a medium sized saucepan with 1 litre of water to the boil with a pinch of salt.  Rinse the rice well in cold water and add to the boiling water.  Turn down to a low/medium heat and simmer for 30mins, stirring occasionally. 

2, Drain the rice and place in a bowl and cover tightly. 

3, In another saucepan, add the remaining ingredients except the coconut oil/butter and bring that up to a gentle boil.

4, Immediately lower the heat, remove the tea bag, and add in the cooked rice and stir well.  Stir in the coconut oil/butter here.

5, This will need a further 30-40mins of gentle simmering, being stirred occasionally until it has thickened. 

6, Serve hot or cold with toasted walnuts. 

2013

This is what my 2013 looked like...

January

January blues happened. Ginger doughnuts made it better.

February

We got all boozy fruity with this Damson Gin Ice Cream.

March

I was struggling with tasty sounding paint names. Rum and Raisin Buns.

April

We pondered what could you get on a stick. Coconut Baked Alaska Pops.

May

Jelly Bowls for ice cream.

June

Father's Day Pickles are an alternative to giant chocolate covered everything.

July

Probably one of my favourite posts of the year. Ice Cream Tacos. 

August

We cooled down with Pink Lemonade.

September

I had indigestion for A WEEK. Find out why here.

October

Little larger than your average Walnut Whip...

November

Homemade Fig Rolls for your face. 

December

Some of my self indulgent holiday snaps. Iceland.

Iceland

In July, three sheets to the wind, in a very hot beer garden, the phrase "We should go to Iceland" was uttered. Bit outlandish. Unsure whether it was going to be taken seriously. But then five months later, a group of us find ourselves standing by the sea, looking at this mountain and I can't decide whether there are faces in it or whether the cube of fermented shark I had eaten a few hours earlier had hallucinogenic properties.

There is no way of describing what fermented shark tastes like that truly gets across the horror. My tips are: go for the smallest piece and don't sniff it before putting it into your mouth. Ammonia is the first wave, Stilton-esque tang sans the creaminess will follow, and then you try not to retch at the chewy dead flesh mouthfeel you have going on in there.  A further tip, is not to wash your mouth out with tea. Hot tea will make it worse.  Am I glad I ate it? Yes. Will I eat it again. Heck no. 

Iceland is insanely beautiful. Take a wander up to Hallgrímskirkja, the largest church in Iceland. Tickets to the top are 700kr (roughly about £3.50).  The above photo was taken at around midday, the sun doesn't really rise much and sets super early in December. 

Opposite the church is an innocuous looking little cafe called Cafe Loki (Lokastigur 28, Reykjavik 101). Whilst here the ill-fated shark incident took place it is reasonably well priced and offers traditional Icelandic food, a bit of a breather from all of the burgers in the city centre. 

They serve "Icelandic plates" which have cured herring and rich rye bread on them as well as rye bread ice cream which was delicious. Also, a bowl of their meat soup will defrost away all of your chilly bits. 

Talking of burgers, there are a lot of burgers. The Scandi burger at the Scandinavian (Laugavegur 22, Reykjavik 101) was good but if the seafood soup is on the menu, get one. Amazing soup. Our hotel, Hotel Fron, was attached to it and you get a complimentary 20% of drinks there. The buffet breakfast for the hotel is also served in the restaurant. 

Other stuff I ate includes the melt in the mouth cod from Restaurant 73. (Laugavegur 73, Reykjavik 101). The waiter was great too. He pointed out where we should watch for the snow sliding off the roof opposite and onto the people walking below. 

And after that cod, we found a bakery. Sandholt Bakery (Bakari Sandholt, Laugavegur 36, Reykjavik 101). Eat the macarons. All of the macarons. 

 Hot dogs are a thing. People say this is the best place to get hot dogs in Europe. (Also, prepare yourself for a photo of me rubbing a hot dog in my face).

I ate two. What you can't see is the magic hiding underneath. The crispy onions. The cronions. Get one with the full works. (Get ready for hot dog face). 

(Warned you)

But the best bit of the whole trip was this. The Northern Lights. I can't wait to go back.

We Should Cocoa: Chocolate Port Sauce

This month's We Should Cocoa is hosted by Choclette at the Chocolate Log Blog who has challenged us to dive head first into our alcohol cabinet and come up with a boozy creation. Last month's cookie challenge round up can be found here.  

It's always nice to come back from holiday, and still fit into your jeans.  

I thought I had done some serious damage. Like scoffing two hotdogs in one go. Hobbit style second breakfasts. Beer. Dark, Christmas beer. We found a bakery. Midnight snacks.  Iceland was amazing. 

I feel like I have started early so I'll continue as I mean to go on with this rich, boozy chocolate port sauce.  Perfect for pouring on desserts and puds all over the festive period. 

Ingredients

300ml double cream

200gr chocolate (mine was around 45%, nothing too strong or it'll be a bit too bitter), chopped or broken into squares

4tbsp ruby port

Method

1, First, bring the cream up to a gentle simmer in a small milk pan. Remove from the heat and stir in the port. 

2, With the pan still off the heat, add in the chocolate and stir a couple of times.

3, Leave this to sit for a couple of minutes before stirring into a smooth chocolatey sauce. Give it a quick taste. Some port might not be as strong and everyone's preference is different. I like having a super boozy kick to this so I added in an extra couple of tablespoons. Preference is king in cooking. 

4, Sterilise some jars, tiny ones if you're doing gifts would be perfect, and pour in the warm sauce. Seal and keep in the fridge when cool. 

5, Reheat gently before use.