A day of Autumnal baking

Alright everyone!


It's getting chillier, the nights are closing in and the candles are a' burning. I can almost smell the spiced pumpkin tart my father makes every October and feel the warm glow of the wood-burner on my wool, encased toes.

This can only mean one thing- Autumn is in full swing and Halloween is just around the corner!

Now, my best friend and I have a Autumnal tradition, we always bake whenever we feel that turn in the weather and so on the first chilly walk home from school of October, we decided that tonight was the night for this seasons baking.

Cookies were our bake of choice as they are easy, quick and adaptable to your taste preferences. Hazel and I wanted to keep our flavours comforting and cosy to warm us up, I have always had a soft spot for spicy, sweet flavours and scents, (demonstrated by my slightly obsessive winter candle collection and the issue I have with sprinkling cinnamon on any beverage or meal I consume) so, naturally the harvest fruit of apple was a given and peanut butter, being both mine and Hazel's comfort food had to be included too.


Hence, on one chilly October evening, in a candle lit kitchen, with the heating on full blast... both caramelized spiced apple and chocolate peanut butter swirls were born and most probably will be reborn in the next week or so...

If you are a sucker for the sweet and spicy or a lover of liquid caramel then these will have to be reborn for you too. They simply are a treat not to be missed!

I am just going to give you an insight into how we made and adapted the simple cookie dough recipe from good food - http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1155648/basic-adaptable-cookie-dough

I hope you enjoy and I shall see you all next week!

1. To begin the dough recipe, I mixed the basic ingredients of butter and sugar together, until I had a pale cream like texture. I then added an egg, vanilla essence, salt and sprinkled in the flour to form a sticky dough.

2. To make the peanut butter cookie, we swirled one and a half desert spoons of crunchy peanut butter into the dough. By swirling rather than mixing the butter the flavour of the peanut comes through much stronger and more intense, which is great for peanut butter obsessives like me!

We also broke up some pieces of basic milk chocolate to compliment the peanut butter. The chunks added a different texture and diversity to the cookie, as some pieces melted into the cookie and others remained solid whilst it was cooking.

3. For the Caramelized apple we diced into small cubes 1 apple and kneeded them into the dough, by using fresh apple it allows the juices of the apple to flow into the dough whilst it is in the oven and flavor it slightly. For the spiced element we used half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a sprinkle of ground nutmeg and mixed spice. By using three spices instead of one  this gave the cookie a lot more depth of flavour.



4. Roll your dough into a sausage, the thickness of which you would like the size of your cookies to be and wrap in clingfilm to pop into the fridge for around an hour.

5. Once the dough has cooled in the fridge, unwrap it and cut it into slices to place in a grease-proof covered baking tray. Allow a large space between each cookie as they do expand and place into the oven for around 15- 20 minuets, they should be soft to the touch and golden brown before you take them out.

6. It's time now for the best bit- the hot caramel sauce. Its so easy to make and yet it tastes fantastic and can help hide any impuriteies with a bake which has gone a little wrong...

We first put into a pan around 150 grams  of brown sugar (around 1 cup in U.S measurements) and 4 tablespoons of butter. Once these had melted we added a dash of double cream around 50ml (but its really up to you on how much as it depends on how creamy you would like it) and stirred until it became a thick sauce like consistency. To add a little more depth to the sauce we sprinkled in some salt and too thicken the mixture we used ground arrow root.

Doesn't this just make your mouth water!

When adding arrow root the amount needed will depend on the amount of liquid and its thickness. I would, to be on the safe side add half a teaspoon to the mixture at a time, ensuring that you stir the sauce thoroughly and allow it to cool slightly with every teaspoon you add, so you are able to fully gage the effects of the arrowroot. It is a very tricky thing to work with and can turn the mixture so suddenly you will not know what has hit you, as I have learnt from previous experience- so be extra careful when using it. You don't want your hot caramel sauce turning into a solid, unbreakable lump in the bottom of the pan!

7. Once the cookies are cooked, you can pour your hot caramel sauce over your apple cookies to create the caramelized effect and on the peanut butter ones too, if you would like them extra sweet and rich.

8. Now it's time to rest your feet by the roaring open fire, snuggle into a thick woolen blanket, turn on your television and put on your favourite classic movie... (for Hazel and I it was the iconic Patrick Swayze- 'Ghost') Whilst all the while you are enjoying the warmth and gooeyness of your homemade Autumn cookies.