Ginger bread men with a kick

A Christmas Favorite, and all those extra spices really make the difference and they make the house smell amazing.

SPICY GINGER BREAD MEN (makes 10)
100g butter
100g caster sugar
125ml treacle (you can also use golden syrup if you want to make a milder biscuit)
1 egg yolk
250g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 ground cinnamon
1/2 nutmeg
whole teaspoon ground cloves
whole teaspoon ginger


Cream butter and sugar together until smooth, stir in the treacle and then the egg yolk, combine your dry ingredients and then blend into the wet mixture. You will end up with a lump of  dough rap this in cling film and stick it in the fridge for about an hour, this gives the dough time to firm up and you time for a cup of tea and a  chance to clean the kitchen, you'll need the space to roll it out.

Roll out the dough (you will find it easier if the surface is covered in flour) and using a cookie cutter make the shapes you desire. i would recommend using baking trays covered in baking paper but you can just grease them, cook for 8-10 minuets at 180 or gas mark 4

The fun is in the finishing touches and decorating gingerbread men can be as simple or silly as you like, icing,sweets, chocolate or even fruit make you little men smile.

Granola Bars and Flap Jacks so whats the difference

I like to cook and as my friends and family will testify i'm not actually too bad at doing it.
Recently having a craving for flap jacks got me to wondering what exactly is in these tasty treats. As it turns out not really that much, and they don't take long to make either. Since discovering this iv'e made several batches but also discovered that a basic flap jack is remarkably similar to a granola bar. So what's the difference?
Replace the golden syrup for honey and the chocolate for dried fruit and it really is that simple. The wonderful this about this recipe and from making thing from scratch is that you can include those things you love and skip the things you don't. Not a fan of apricot, then leave it out. Got an unfortunate chocolate allergy then make it with   almonds and walnuts, anyway you get the idea so on to the recipe.

FLAP JACKS (makes 15 small bites)

200g Rolled oats ( i normally use supermarket own breakfast oats, you can also use muesli but be aware there is nuts and fruit in these mixes)

70g plain flour
85g unsalted butter (i recently used an olive oil spread in place of this and it didn't make much difference)
40g brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
65ml Golden syrup (this is about 3 table spoons, i'm loving the new squeeze bottle golden syrup do now makes it so much easier to measure)       

190g Chocolate (either chocolate chips or rough chopped chocolate, it can be milk, plain or white and you can replace this with fruit or nuts of your choice, i like to use about 150g  of plain chocolate and chop it in to chunks and then add a little almond  and hazelnut to make it up to 190g

in a large bowl measure out your oats and sift in the flour and baking soda then add the chocolate/fruit/nuts of your choice.
in a saucepan over a low heat melt the butter, once melted stir in the sugar then add the golden syrup and vanilla extract.
Mix the two together (i'd use a wooden spoon) ensure there is no dry mixture left in the bottom of the bowl.

you will want top prepare a baking tin something about half an inch deep will do i use a circular pie dish but a large Pyrex casserole dish lid is about the right size, lining this with baking paper will make life a lot easier later on, but you can also grease the sides.
Press the mixture into your tin/dish/lid of choice, don't be afraid to push it hard right into the corners this will help it stick together, then bake for 20-25 minuets at about 165 or gas mark 3, until golden brown.

It is very important that you let the flapjacks cool completely, as they cool they set, if you try to cut them before this they will still be to soft and you may find they break up, still very tasty (especially crumbled over yogurt ) But once totally cooled you should be able to cut them into squares.

If your after a Granola bar recipe switch the golden syrup for honey, (same amounts)  and be creative with the  fruit. you can get exotic dried fruit mixes in supermarkets, also using muesli instead of oats will give you a good mix of nuts.