A couple days ago I sat down with my two kids to help them write their letters to Santa.
Now I have been warning them for a few weeks now that if they are naughty Santa will bring them coal. ( This was usually used as a threat when I wanted them to do things like clean their room, mess they make etc etc… So my daughters response to this was… Well I don’t mind , if I get coal ill just make a campfire and cook a meal. Now that a girl that’s going places  I think to myself!!! ( If life gives u lemons just make lemonade!!!) I love it..
 
So anyway she started writing  the list and gave Santa a choice of 5 presents. Telling him to choose whichever is easiest for him to make. The coal was actually included in the list. Hhmmm I wonder what goes on in her mind – is it some sort of reverse phycology trick!!!
 
So it goes into an envelope lots of stickers love hearts and colour and sealed closed. We then write Santa’s address The north pole. She then tells daddy that they have to go to the post office tomorrow to post the letter.
So hubby somehow convinces her that he will drop off the letter in the letter box. So its been 2 days and she is waiting for a response letter from Santa. I can never remember Santa giving us confirmation letters when we were young!!! Maybe it’s a new age thing …
 
So WE got the letter sent !!  Check
Reply received !!! 4 days after posting !! - Check
House decorated !!! – Check
Christmas tree up with flashing coloured lights – Check
WE have a fire place – Check
And of course we got our Christmas cookie recipe to make those delicious treats for Santa when he visits.  – Check!!

Now after much thought we decided to go for double chocolate chip cookies!!!
OWW YEAH!!!
Santa’s gonna love them.

So we thought to do a practice run to make sure we have perfected the recipe before making a fresh batch on Christmas Eve.
As fate has it-  some friends come round that afternoon with their kids.
And YES ALLL the cookies disappeared in a flash and the kids come back for seconds!!!

Cookie Recipe perfected .. Check!!

Cookie recipe … Kids approved …. Check!!
 
So I can safely say we are good to go..

Ingredients:
1 cup gluten free flour
1 cup gluten free oat flour
1 cup walnut flour (Blend walnuts into a flour in a grinder)
½ teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup agave syrup or maple syrup
1/3 cup coconut oil
3 tablespoons apple sauce
100 grams sugar free chopped dark chocolate chunks
 
Firstly we made the apple sauce by simply cleaning a few apples cutting them into small bits and placing them in a blender and blending until a puree was formed.
We then grinded our nuts to a flour. (Note any nuts can be substituted – but I do highly recommend walnuts – they give some added moisture and softness to the biscuit)
Next we placed all the dry ingredients and sieved them. Then added the choc chips and remaining wet ingredient.
Stirred everything together, got our hands dirty!!! Had fun liking it all off !!! YUUMMMYY!!
Ok so washed up and then started rolling the dough out. If you have time its much better to put it in the fridge for half an hour to firm up. It makes it easier to roll out.
We made star shaped cookies.
We then placed them in a preheated oven on 160 degrees and let them cook for 13 minutes.
That’s it !!!
The house smelled divine, and the cookies ….. well you will just have to try them for yourselves ….
 
So make sure you make Santa happy this year by making him a batch of these delicious chocolate cookies …..And while your at it , make a batch for the reindeers as well!!!
 
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas And Happy Baking.

So last week was my daughters 7th birthday. My week was busy to say the least.

She has been excited about her birthday for weeks counting down the days. So she came to me a few weeks ago and she was telling me what she would like to take to school to treat the other kids. She started off with I know its not so good for us but can I take snickers bars? I look at her at say yeah sure , but you know what I can make them better than the store bought!!! Her eyes light up..

Yes we can make them together. More excitement …

And wrap them …. Now ecstatic!!!

Ok great so she's on board.. I smile to myself remembering Eddie Murphey Raw (A stand up comedy from the late 80's - If you haven't seen it - its a must - Just be warned it has a lot of colourful language!!!) Any how there is a part when he's talking about the kid that wants Mc Donalds Hamburgers and the mother tells him I ‘ll make you burgers Better than Mc Donalds. And the boy says Better than Mc Donalds ??

So in between white square wonder bread with the sides torn off , and a big hunk of home made beef burger, with the grease dripping down, the kids wondering how in the hell this resembles and is better than McDonald!!

So the pressures on ...God the stress … I have to really make these look like snickers bars and make sure that the other kids will eat them.

So the day before her birthday we set to work.

First we made a base. So we make it with some oat flakes , cashews a few dates , coconut oil and agave syrup. Press it into a dish lined with baking paper and set it aside.

Now I’m not really one for taking exact measurement but it went something like this
1.5 cup oat flour , 1.5 cup cashew flour, 8 dates , 3 tablespoon coconut oil, 3 tablespoons agave syrup. Placed everything in a food processor and blended until crumbly and sticky.

Next caramel layer .
In a pot we put 2 cans full fat coconut milk , 6 tablespoons coconut sugar , 6 tablespoons agave and teaspoon of vanilla. Boiled it ,then turned it down to a simmer and let it cook until it reduced and caramelized.

We poured it over the base. Next we topped the caramel with course chopped peanuts and transferred to the freezer to set.

Once set we cut it into bars and placed them back in the freezer.

Now for the chocolate we made our own by using 150 grams cocoa butter, 90 grams cocoa powder and 90 grams agave syrup.

We then took each bar and dipped it in the chocolate. And of course we also had to do some lines on top.

Then we put them in the fridge to set.

Next up we got some gold foil wrapping and wrapped each one individually and put them in a box ready to be taken .

So the next day Elissa woke up and happily took her sweats to school proudly telling everyone she made them with mummy and that they were healthy treats.

So when she got home , I was curious to see if the kids enjoyed them. She said most of the kids had them at school and said they were really nice.

Hooray mission accomplished !!!!