Caramel apples

We know we said these were for Christmas...but we had to try one!! And they were so yum! They weren't so impressive when we cut them up, but they went nicely with a glass of strawberry liquor :) we favour Schmidts Australian.

Caramel Chocolate Apples

SO today we trialled something we have been looking at for a while.... Caramel Chocolate Apples.
We think this is an American treat, so we don't see many here in Oz!
We basically made it up as we went, as we have only actually eaten them once :)

We used:

4 granny smith apples
125grams unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbl spoon white vinegar
2 tbl spoon golden syrup
1 tin of condensed milk
1 cup macadamia nuts
375grams milk chocolate melts
4 kebab skewers

Method:

- Clean, wash  and dry your apples.
 - skewer each apple ready to be attacked with caramel.
- Melt your butter, sugar, vinegar and golden syrup in a saucepan on low heat. Continue stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
- Increase heat slightly, and allow toffee to come to a gentle boil. (As we didn't have a candy thermometer we let the toffee boil until it became firm to the touch, when dropped into a cool glass of water.)

-  When you have reached this stage, stir in the can of condensed milk. Stir continuously to prevent burning.
- Stir until caramel has thickened and darkened in colour. You will notice is is exceptionally sticky now, and will stick to the sides of saucepan.


- Remove from heat and quickly dip your apples. They may be difficult to turn so use a spoon to pour caramel to completely coat the apples.
Place dipped apples on a tray lined with baking paper.
Leave apples caramel to cool. Place them in the fridge for about an hour to set completely.

- While the caramel is setting you can prepare your chocolate and macadamias, we left our apples in the fridge for as long as possible because of the humidity today.

- Chop your macadamia nuts finely and set aside.
- Melt your chocolate in a double boiler, with boiling water in the bottom. Do not allow the water to touch the base of the top pan OR you will cook the chocolate! Remember, we only want to melt it, not cook it.
- Now if it's hot where you are, like it is here for us you may want to add a bit of copha to help it set. Just a sliver should do the job.
- Once your chocolate is melted, remove from heat ( careful not to let any steam into your pan as this will destroy the chocolate)
- NOW we coat the apples again, chocolate can set fast so you need to act fast :)
- Dip the apples in the chocolate, using a spoon again if needed.
- Once the apple is coated either roll the apple in the chopped nuts or sprinkle them on top. Sit the choco coated apples on another tray, covered in baking paper.
LASTLY put all your apples in the fridge to set nicely and when your ready to eat, EAT!
We like them sliced up and shared over a glass of iced tea.

You could decorate your chocolate coated caramel apples in many different ways. Have fun experimenting!




*When we cut them up for Christmas Eve we will show you what they look like inside mmmm YUM!

Christmas cooking!

Merry Christmas!
What are you planning on cooking this year? Its shopping time for us, plotting and planning our recipes and lists! Its going to be a weekend packed full of whisking, stirring, slicing and dicing.
We are trialling a new ham glaze this year and some not so traditional deserts and salads.
But with every Christmas, there is always the one person who won't eat this or that, so we are stuck with some boring same old things, like Christmas pudding! Which quiet frankly cook 2 agrees is just gross! But never fret Auntie you shall have your pudding and custard too!!

Weekend cooking

What did u cook this weekend?
We caught a bit of Christmas fever and baked, melted, dipped, crushed mixed and decorated some little gifts for our friends and work colleagues :)
Some recipes are coming but check out our cute little melting snowman cookies!

Breakfast....fast

The ultimate breakfast smoothie...mmmmmmmm

We LOVE banana smoothies, nothing fancy just banana, milk, yoghurt, cinnamon and honey. MMmm mmmm delicious!
But you know, sometimes we need a little more...
So here is something I tried and it was just so tasty I had to share.

All we used for two people was:

1 large banana chopped
5 large strawberries chopped finely
1/3 cup of oats
2 table spoons of thick and creamy strawberry yoghurt (we make our own)

2 teaspoons of honey
2 cups of milk, more or less if you like
A sprinkle of cinnamon as desired

Chuck it all in the blender and WHIZZZZZ a perfect yummy smoothie for those running late for work :) give it a try its delicious and we are already getting orders for more, more MORE!

MMMMMMmmmmmmmmm

Macadamia and iron bark honey ice cream

In our travels we visited the Beechworth honey shop. This ice-cream is so so creamy and delicious I have to find a recipe! But thank you Beechworth Honey for your delectable ice cream :) mmm nom nom

Lemon Butter

Anyone who loves creamy lemon tarts or lemon sauce will absolutely love this recipe.
We found this one on Taste.com.au and it's just so delicious we had to share.
We have it on pancakes, in cupcakes/muffins and as the filling of delectable tarts!
Keep it in sealed jars for months in the fridge, and simply open it when you want to recreate another desert! Or to stick a spoon in...its so YUM! 

A bit of an experiment

Tonight we were faced with a bit of a dismal looking dinner...
Plain boring scotch fillets. And we really weren't in the mood for boring old tomato sauce on top.
SO with lemons on the brain we through a dash of olive oil in the pan, about two table spoons of crushed garlic and two sliced lemons. You can add less garlic, we just love it and its good for the soul!
Next sprinkle a few pinches of rock salt over the lemons and added some fresh rosemary.

Simply let it simmer whilst you prepare the steaks, your lemons will get lovely and caramelised. This is perfectly tasty!
Our lemons simmered away for roughly 15minutes on a low heat, and we then simply served it up on top of the steak. If you like lemons, you will LOVE this!

*A tip we would give is to remove the rind off the lemons if you don't like strong intense flavours, it was defiantly not to everyone's taste. BUT we absolutely loved it, and the kitchen smells fantastic!

CAKE!!!

Raspberry mouse layered sponge with white chocolate cream and chocolate shards.recipe coming soon... 

Festive Candy

Candy Cane Hearts

Getting into the festive season we set out to try our hand at these white chocolate candy cane hearts we are seeing everywhere. They looked easy enough, and well....they were! Easy as pie! 

So firstly we bought a giant bucket of candy canes and a 

300g packet of white chocolate melts.

Next you simply pour the melts into a double pan and melt slowly,

 careful not to burn your chocolate! 

Stir the chocolate continually, until its beautiful and smooth.

Whilst the chocolate is melting arrange your candy canes into heart shapes, 

pointing the curves towards each other, use large flat baking trays lined with baking paper. 

Now your chocolate should be at a pouring consistency, 

this should really only take a few minutes on a low-medium heat. 

Simply using a large spoon carefully pour the chocolate into the hearts,

use a teaspoon to smooth out the bumps and push the chocolate into the curves. 

You want the chocolate to be around the half way mark of the candy canes.

Lastly to give your hearts a little something extra smash up all the broken

candy canes or left overs. We used a snap lock bag and smashed them with an old jar,

save your good tea cups ladies! 

Next you simply sprinkle the the candy cane smash over your hearts and let them set.

These are a perfect little christmas present gift for your work mates, 

or if you want to take it a step further try using a tooth pick to create a 

small hole before the hearts have completely set. 

Then when they are dry you could thread threw a ribbon or natural thread to hand on the tree :)