Irish cream brownies

My younger son and I invited his friend and Mum to come over for a play date. When these two get together, they turn into tornadoes, loud and totally out of control. But they are having great fun. I wanted to bake something festive and chocolatey. I have recently won a lovely prize from Feeney's Irish Cream on Twitter. When the prize arrived, not only it included a bottle of Irish Cream, there were two mini-bottles and two splendid stylish glasses.

I wanted to add a touch of luxury to my brownies, so I opened a bottle of Irish cream. It smells and tastes just wonderful. Creamy, smooth and delicious, a great festive tipple.

Irish Cream brownies
Ingredients:
125g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
15g cocoa powder (not cocoa drink, just pure cocoa)
100g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
50ml Irish Cream
2 heaped tbsp hazelnut chocolate spread (I used Jim Jams)
70g Stork or butter, melted
1/2 white chocolate bar (I used Lindt)
a handful of green Jelly Bellies and dried cranberries for decorating (optional)

Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the sugar and beat in the eggs. Add the Irish cream, hazelnut chocolate spread and mix. Melt the Stork and add to the brownie batter, mix well.
I typically use butter in baking, but I recently saw a promotional offer in Sainsbury's, where a free brownie tin was sold with two tubs of Stork. I gave away one of the tubs to a friend who uses it. But the 2nd tub has been sitting in the fridge, looking lonely. I'll have to think of more ways of using it.
Oil the brownie tin, pour in the gooey brownie batter and lick the spatula (that's a must!).
Place the tin in the oven preheated to 180C. bake for 25 minutes or slightly less. Keep an eye on your brownie so that it doesn't burn.

Take the tin out. Melt the white chocolate and spread over your still warm brownie. Decorate with Jelly bellies and dried cranberries. Or for a healthier version skip the jelly bellies and add pistachios.

Cut into 9 fat squares or smaller rectangles. Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. Or even a tipple.

I used Jim Jams Hazelnut Chocolate spread in this recipe. This tasty spread was one of the products in the latest Degustabox. If you cannot find this sugar-free spread, use Nutella or any other hazelnut chocolate spread, but perhaps add less sugar to your recipe.

As I used the remains of the hazelnut chocolate spread, I'm adding my post to #KitchenClearout linky at Madhouse Family Reviews.

Festive star cookies (baking with kids)

"That wasn't an accident, Mama!" (looking at an empty plate, from which all cookies are gone)

What could be better than a baking session on a Saturday?

Cookies before being decorated

Festive cookies
Ingredients:
1 medium egg
130g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla essence
1tbsp vanilla syrup (optional)
1tsp cinnamon
375g plain flour + more for dusting the board and rolling pin
1tsp baking powder
240g butter, melted

For decorating:
icing sugar + lemon or orange juice
Jelly bellies, Jelly diamonds, Dr Oetker Soft silver and gold pearls

In a big bowl beat the egg with the sugar and spices. Add the flour, baking powder as well as the melted butter and mix well. Cover the bowl with the dough and place it in the fridge for an hour.
Take the dough out and divide in two. I used one half of the dough for today's baking, the other half went back in the fridge for tomorrow.
Turn the oven on to 180C.
Cover the baking trays with the foil or parchment paper.
Lightly dust the board or working surface with the flour, roll the dough out to 5mm thickness. Using the star cookie cutters, cut out the shapes and lay them on the trays. Scraps can be kneaded together for making more cookies. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the cookies are golden brown. At this stage they are still soft, so be careful handling them. Leave the cookies on the rack to cool completely before decorating.
Make the icing from 4 heaped tbsp of icing sugar and fershly squeezed lemon or orange juice. Add the juice a bit at a time, the icing should be soft, pliable but not too runny.
Decorate with Jelly Bellies, diamonds, soft pearls or any sprinkles.

Eddie decorating the cookies and sampling along the way

I have used Rodda's butter to make the dough for these cookies, if you are using any other brand of butter (unsalted), you might want to add a pinch of salt to the cookie mix.

These cookies won't last very long here, already one of the plates has been polished by my older son.
They are very easy to make, and kids will enjoy taking part.

Festive star cookies