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These make wonderfully chewy and crumbly cookies which are easily adaptable, just use whatever ingredients you might have in the storecupboard. Feel free to swap out the chocolate and raisins with other dried fruit, nuts or seeds.

 

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Craig is the owner of Shandaken Bakery in NYC. The secret is all in the pastry, which nuzzles itself somewhere between puff and shortcrust and has a rather unique almost sourdough taste thanks to the addition of apple cider vinegar. The pastry is extremely easy to work with and makes a wonderful base to both savoury and sweet fillings. Craig uses rhubarb here but you can use whatever filling you want.

 

Leila’s Knäck (Swedish toffee)
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
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Knäck, or Swedish toffee is traditionally made at christmas. This is a great recipe, you can adapt the recipe easily by adding chopped nuts, vanilla, ginger or lime zest for different tastes. The longer you cook the mixture, the harder the toffee gets so make sure to use the cold water test before you pour it into the paper cases.

 

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Swedish cookbook author and TV Chef, Leila Lindholm showed me this recipe when we filmed the Christmas special in Sweden.  I call these swedish biscotti but they have quite a different texture, they are a bit more crumbly than the italian biscotti. Saffron is uniquely used in Swedish baking, where you have to ask the shop assistant to give it to you, as it's locked away in a safe behind the checkouts.

 

Stained Glass Window Christmas Tree Cookies
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
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My brother and I used to make these with my auntie Erica every year for Christmas.  You can poke a hole in the top of them and then string through some ribbon so you can hang them on your Christmas tree.  They look really great when the sparkly lights shine through!  Do keep an eye on these once they're on the tree though, in our house they always had a tendency to go missing!

 

Big Ball Of Autumn Fun! :)
Friday, September 23, 2011
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So I admit it, after all my complaining about the summer coming to and end, I have finally embraced the autumn! I’ve been out picking blackberries, baking up a storm with lots of autumnal ingredients and best of all, I’ve been making soup. One of the biggest lessons you learn when you cook a lot is to understand the seasonality of produce. As a home cook, learning to buy fruits and vegetables which are in season is not only ultimately satisfying but you also get the pick of the crop! At the moment there is so much in season... 

 

Apple and Cinnamon Crumble Muffins
Friday, September 23, 2011
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This has to be the ultimate Autumnal muffin!  Soft apple in a light and fluffy batter lightly spiced with cinnamon and then finished off with a buttery crumble topping! You won't be able to resist!

 

Raspberry Goddess Pie
Thursday, September 15, 2011
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This recipe is adapted from an old Swedish cookbook which I found in the basement of Sofie's grandmothers house.  This pie is wonderfully moist and has a tasty crust.  You can adapt it with any berries you wish.

 

I Like Big Buns and I Cannot Lie!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
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No otha’ bruthas’ can deny… and so on… What is about sweet things like big dirty chocolate cakes, drippy sticky toffee pudding, and oozing eclairs that always seem to grab people’s attention?  I could write fresh and healthy recipes everyday for the rest of my life, and they would still never get the same reaction as the oooohing and aaaahing that a great big, filthy slice of gooey, dark chocolate brownie manages to draw. Some of the first recipes I ever cooke, were baking ones, and to this day it’s one of... 

 

Dark Chocolate Swirl Buns
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
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This recipe is based on my Swedish cinnamon buns from my first book Good Mood Food and shows just how adaptable the base recipe actually is. The dough is a fantastic sweet bread dough, which can take many different flavour variations in the filling. Try adding summer berries, chopped walnuts or lemon curd to the butter filling to mix it up!

 

Ever Heard Of Monkey Bubble Bread?
Thursday, April 28, 2011
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I read recently in Nigella Lawson’s most recent book, Kitchen, that when she came across the recipe for Grasshopper Pie, an American pie with a neon green filling, she just couldn’t resist making one.  Well I had a similar reaction when I first came across Monkey Bubble Bread, not only because the name is quirky but also because it look absolutely delicious! Squidgy and golden, I had to give it a go.  After a bit of research through a few different recipes, it turns out that it’s made with a fairly similar dough as the one... 

 

Monkey Bubble Bread
Thursday, April 28, 2011
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I came across monkey bubble bread on my travels in NYC and knew the minute I saw I had to make it!  It's basically a sweet bread loaf made up by a collection of dough balls dipped in butter and sugar... I know it won't win any healthy eating awards but it is truly amazing and so tasty.  

 

Mocha Chocolate Crater Cake
Sunday, April 24, 2011
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This recipe is adapted from Nigella Lawson's famous Chocolate Cloud Cake, but I like to add espresso powder to emphasis the flavour of the dark chocolate and a few drops of vanilla extract...

 

Have Your Cake And Eat It!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
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Earlier this year, many food writers made their predictions for 2011′s hottest food trends, and one of the big things mentioned again and again was the rise in popularity of home baking.  Rather than trying to find something to topple the mighty cupcake, baking in general is being made cool again. Things have changed for this age-old art, which was once the domain of every good housewife. Cupcakes are probably to blame — the Irish weren’t going to stay satisfied with fairy cakes and some gammy icing while... 

 

Mini Rhubarb Crumble Tarts
Monday, February 21, 2011
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There are hundreds of great recipes to enjoy the first rhubarb of the season, but this is really one of my favourites.  Cooking the rhubarb until it is tender with great flavours like vanilla, lemon and ginger really make a great base for these little crumble tarts.  You can also use this mixture to make rhubarb crumble slices, simply add the cooked rhubarb and crumble topping to a baking tin lined with a basic sponge cake mixture.  Use wholewheat flour and nuts and seeds to make the crumble mixture a little healthier.  Experiment with the flavours, rhubarb goes really nicely with strawberries, the juice of an orange, star anise, and cinnamon.  Rather than making individual tarts this mixture can also be made into one large tart.

 

Pineapple Tarts
Saturday, February 5, 2011
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The pineapple jam does take some time to prepare, but do make sure that all the liquid has evaporated and you are left with a thick sticky mixture.  There is another variation on Pineapple tarts which is done by rolling the pastry around little balls of the pineapple jam, which also look quite impressive!

 

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Kitchen Hero: Great Food For Less!
April 26, 2012
Champion of the home cook, Donal Skehan, is back with a collection of tasty, easy-to-make dishes that cost less.. We all want to cook and eat great... 

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Kitchen Hero: Bringing Cooking Back Home!
December 16, 2010
Fresh, young and full of enthusiasm, Donal Skehan is a real cooking talent. His passion for simple, healthy, delicious home cooking will inspire novices...