Nut Butter Choc Chip Cookies

Since Sous Chef J was a very young lad, we've been making nut butter cookies and have blogged a recipe before.  This is how to make what we think is the best version of our much-tweaked (and tested) recipe.

The ingredients are, basically, store cupboard items and no mixer is needed to make them.

170g Smooth Nut Butter (we like to use Meridian Foods almond)
65g Crunchy Nut Butter (we use peanut - again from Meridian Foods)
165g caster sugar
35g dark chocolate chips
1 Large egg, (lightly beaten with a fork)
1/2 heaped teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (make sure it's gluten free - Dr Oetker & Dove's Farm are)
pinch of salt

We set the oven to heat up to 165ºC (fan) and rapidly prepare the cookie mix.

For ease, we now buy 170g jars of Meridian smooth almond butter but it also comes in 1kg tubs (which we used to buy till we realised it was no cheaper!), we scrape it out carefully using a thin silicone spatula and put in a medium sized mixing bowl.

Next we add the crunchy nut butter and sugar and mix to combine (we use a silicone spatula for this as the nut butter doesn't stick too much).

Then the beaten egg is added and, again, mixed through before adding the chocolate chips and salt and then they are folded in.

Finally the bicarbonate of soda is added (we do this last to ensure the raising agent isn't activating too far in advance of baking) and the mix is thoroughly combined.

We have found that 33g balls of the mix (yes, we are that precise) work best for us... and they are weighed out speedily, then carefully placed on non-stick baking sheets (if you don't have these or the non-stick's a bit old, then use greased sheet covered with baking paper/parchment/silicone sheet).  The mix is rolled lightly, placed on the baking sheet and pressed down slightly.

The cookies will spread during cooking so be careful about overloading the baking sheet.  The picture shows how we lay out the cookies on our baking sheets.

We set the timer to check the cookies after 10 minutes and then remove them once they're turning golden brown - this is usually after 12-15 minutes.

Once cooked, we leave the cookies to cool on the trays for about 5 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.

We get 14 same sized cookies and one 'odd' based on this recipe (we find it depends how big the egg is as to the size of the 15th cookie)

This really is a simple, naturally gluten free, flourless cookie recipe.  It is also dairy free if suitable dark choc chips are used.  The cookies keep well in an airtight tin for up to a week (but they don't last that long here as Sous Chef J likes them too much).  We think they look and taste fab and hope you do too!

Griddled Asparagus wrapped in Parma Ham

 We were able to visit the not-too-distant farm shop called the Shop in the Shed which stocks a good selection of gluten free goodies (of note are the breads from the Wheat Free Bakery Direct) recently.  The asparagus season had just begun on the farm and we were given a bunch (a very generous one) of freshly cut spears.

Generally, less is more when it comes to dealing with fresh produce, so we decided to make a very simple 'recipe'... just two ingredients - Parma Ham and asparagus.  Simplicity itself.

The asparagus spears were prepared by a quick wash, then the stems were bent untill they snapped (during and after shot shown!).







Next the stems were wrapped in Parma Ham.  We used just enough ham to wrap the stem once, getting about three stems wrapped in a slice but obviously this will depend on the size of the stems of asparagus.

Whilst we were wrapping the asparagus stems, we'd heated the griddle pan so it was sizzling hot by the time they were ready.

The wrapped stems were placed on the griddle and turned about every 2 minutes (we did this 3 times but, again, this will depend on the thickness of the asparagus spears being used).

After cooking, the ham had taken on a lovely seared appearance and the asparagus was starting to wilt.  Stacking the spears in a dish, they were ready to be eaten.  They didn't last long as asparagus is one of Sous Chef J's favourite vegetables.

This is a really simple and tasty way to serve asparagus and would also work well if it was prepared ahead and cooked on a barbecue if there's sunny/dry weather about.

Bean and Pepper Chilli

Having spotted a tweet linking to this recipe from Sainsbury's, we took a look and decided that, with a very small tweak (using ready made gluten free tortilla chips) this would be a dish we'd like to eat.

It's a speedy supper and is something that could be made with store cupboard/freezer items.

We used a fresh yellow pepper as the recipe suggests but think that Sainsbury's frozen sliced mixed peppers would also be good to use.

What was needed was a jar of Sainsbury's Taste The Difference Cherry Tomato & Chilli Pasta Sauce, a tin/carton of red kidney beans (drained), a yellow pepper (sliced), two cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of smoked paprika and water.

Having sliced the yellow pepper (though, as mentioned before, frozen peppers could be used), it was cooked for a few minutes before the smoked paprika was added and stirred through.

After another couple of minutes the two cloves of garlic were added (we used a couple of black garlic cloves as that's what we had in the cupboard).

Adding the drained kidney beans and the pasta sauce to the pan, it was time to add 300ml of water.

We discovered that, handily, the pasta jar has a capacity of 300ml to just under the shoulder... something that will be useful when we take the 'makings' of this recipe on holiday with us - as it means we won't need to find a measuring jug.

The heat was then turned up and the chilli was left to simmer for 20 minutes until it had thickened slightly.

Finally it was time to serve - Sous Chef J likes Manomasa's Chipotle & Lime Tortilla chips so we used these... adding a green salad and some grated cheese (leave out the cheese and this will be a vegan meal).  A lovely dish for a speedy meat free meal, any day of the week.