A brownie for every night of the week

Recently I have been craving brownies so much. Do you ever get an idea like that into your head and nothing but nothing will satiate it other than the item of your obsession. This obsession was pushed over the edge by a recent email from food network listing the top 20 brownie recipes with mouth-watering photographs. So just make a brownie right, melt the butter and chocolate and go to town. Problem is, in this house we are eating healthy and buttery, chocolatey, gooey brownies, though delicious, don't really fit in to that. So what's a girl to do........? Continue to crave unsatisfied or find a solution. I think if you've read any of this blog before you know me well enough to know which I chose.

Macaroons - (almost) sugar free and so tasty that even coconut haters will fall

Normally at this time of year I want to make nothing more than home-made jam and macarons. This year is no real exception but some days need something different. This week I went to a BBQ and brought some delicious double chocolate chip cookies but I also wanted to bring something a little healthier and decided to go for macaroons.

Coconut is extremely healthy. It's reportedly antiviral, antibacterial and anti-parasitic. The oils in coconut are excellent for hair and nail growth. It's chock full of fiber, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. It's also known for anti-aging and antioxidant properties. So all in all, there's an excuse there for anyone to eat it.

These macaroons are really easy to make and almost sugar free. They went down such a treat at the party that I didn't manage to save any, but photos will follow, because trust me I will be making more.

(Almost) Sugar-Free Coconut Macaroons

500g Shredded coconut
100g Ground Almonds
4 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tbsp Caster Sugar
10g Stevia
250g 60-70% Dark Chocolate

Preheat the oven to 160'C. Beat your egg whites and cream of tartar until peaks form. Slowly beat in your caster sugar and stevia and continue to beat until you have formed a stiff peaks. Mix together the coconut and ground almonds and then fold into the meringue. Scoop into 1/2 balls on a cookie sheet and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the outside it nicely brown and crispy. Then cool on a wire rack. 

Melt 3/4 of the chocolate over hot water, once the first part is melted, remove from the heat and add the rest of the chocolate and mix until melted. Dip the bases of the macaroons in the chocolate and smooth with a spatula before drying upside down on the wire rack. Once the chocolate has set, serve and enjoy =)

Christmas is over but baby it's cold outside!

There is something so unbelievably unjust about snow in January. Don't get me wrong I like snow but there is a time and a place; the time is in lead up to Christmas in a place near my house or after Christmas and far away, on a skiing holiday, but NOT after Christmas near my house because that is just cumbersome and depressing. However the weather doesn't seem to understand this because look what happened today, just as I was cycling home -

Snow in January :(

The main problem is that cold weather makes people want to curl up with a blanket and some comfort food but in the wonderful post-New Years tradition, everyone is watching what they eat and spend which doesn't equate to much time for relaxation or any of the delicious baked goods that one may have enjoyed prior to the 31st December. Which is where brown scones come in. Brown wholemeal scones combine everything that you crave about baked goods with all the high fiber and low fat health benefits.

Brown Soda Scones
320g    Whole meal Flour
130g    White Bread Flour
1 tsp     Baking Soda
1 tsp     Salt
2 tbsp   Brown sugar
200ml  Buttermilk
2          Egg yolks
30ml    Melted butter

Preheat your oven to 200'C/400'F/Gas Mark 6. Mix together the whole meal flour, bread flour, salt and baking soda. Whisk together the butter milk and egg yolks and incorporate this into the flour mix.Gradually incorporate the melted butter. If you have a stand mixer knead the dough for 5 minutes, adding a small amount of bread flour after 2.5 minutes.Form 8 similar sized balls of dough and arrange them on a baking tray. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle the top with a pinch of white sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes then cool on a wire wrack.

Enjoy with jam.

Update - It looks like the weather didn't even listen to my opinions on appropriate snow etiquette despite announcing them online. This morning Dublin awoke to a small blanket of snow!! Oh well, at least I still had one scone left for breakfast ;)

Note the layer of white visible in the background!