We Love Cooking!:
coconut

On Monday I took the train up to Jonkoping to visit my best buddy Jonathan and his lovely family! Jonathan and I were in a boyband together a few years ago and we always had similar interests so ever since the band went its separate ways, we have always been in touch! He was in the Swedish version of Eurosong and released his second album this year so he's a bit of a celebrity over here!

Celeb status aside we spent the day baking! Every year his whole family traditionally do a huge amount of baking of Christmas goodies ahead of the big day, so by the time I arrived there was already a room full of cakes and treats! We made a gingerbread and blueberry loaf, the makings of a gingerbread house and these calorific but oh so worth it Peanut Butter Snicker Squares!

Peanut Butter Snicker Squares
This snickers recipe makes delicious squares which are miles better and totally different than the commercial bars you can buy in the shops, way more chewy, crunchy and chocolatey and totally worth it! We used 100g of white chocolate and 100g of milk chocolate when we made these and swirled the two together to get a super marbled effect to make our squares a little unique.

Makes about 20 squares
200g of smooth peanut butter
100g of caster sugar
200ml of golden syrup
100g Special K flakes
100g coconut flakes
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
200g of chocolate

Place the chocolate in a bowl over a small simmering saucepan of water and allow to melt gently.
In another saucepan, over a gentle heat, melt together the peanut butter, sugar, and golden syrup until runny and smooth.
In a large mixing bowl, toss the Special K flakes, flaked coconut, and vanilla sugar until combined.
Pour the peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients and using a wooden spoon stir until everything is nicely combined.
Turn the mixture out into a 2 inch deep baking dish and spread out evenly pressing down with the back of the spoon.
Pour over the melted chocolate and place in the fridge for a few hours until firm.

I have over one hundred cookbooks in my possession and although I love to flick through them for ideas and inspiration, I have rarely cooked a recipe exactly as it is written. One of my new years resolutions was to cook my way through some of my favourite cookbooks and seek out the best recipes! I made these chocolate caramel squares recently and they went down a storm!

Bill Granger's Chocolate Caramel Slices
(Recipe from Bill Granger's "Holiday")
This fantastic and highly addictive recipe comes from Aussie chef, Bill Granger and it makes possibly the most delicious chocolate caramel slices you will ever taste. The addition of coconut here gives a great extra texture and flavour.

Makes about 20 squares
125g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
90g dessicated coconut
115g caster sugar
125g butter, melted

Filling
100g butter
100g brown sugar
397g tin of condensed milk
2 tablespoons of golden syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping
150g dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180oC/Gas Mark 4 and lightly grease and line an 18 x 28cm baking tin.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, add the coconut, sugar and butter and stir together well. Press firmly into the base of the tin and bake for 12 minutes, or until light golden.
To make the filling, put the butter, brown sugar, condensed milk, golden syrup and vanilla in a saucepan over a low heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes , or until light golden. Pour evenly over the cooked base, then return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
Once the caramel is cool, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, stirring occasionally until the chocolate has melted (or melt the chocolate very carefully in a microwave oven). Spread the chocolate evenly over the caramel and place in a cool place to set, before slicing into squares.

One of my favourite food related movies has to be "Waitress" it's full of beautiful imagery and has a cute little story to match! The story is based around Jenna who is a waitress, trapped in an unhappy marriage, her one escape is creating and baking the most amazing, inventive pies you could imagine. If you haven't seen this great movie make sure to go out and rent it, it's not deeply intellectual but it's a warm, clever and cute one which serves a purpose, here's the trailer:

I was searching on the internet a few weeks ago for some of the fantastic recipes from the movie and it turns out when the movie was first released, promo cards were printed with 5 of the pie recipes! I stuck the link up on my twitter and it got a great reaction with lots of retweets, so much so it inspired a group of us on there to start our very own blog event! So I would like to proudly introduce to the first monthly:

We had originally planned to just bake the pies from the movie, but as time went on we thought it would be great to try and start something that others could join in too. So I hope you enjoy this post, and stick a comment below and let me know if you would be interested in joining us next month for the great big pie bake off!

Check out the other bloggers and their pies from the movie:
Lori: Recipegirl - I Can't Have No Affair Because It's Wrong & I Don't Want Earl To Kill Me Pie
Sandie: Inn Cuisine - I Don’t Want Earl’s Baby Pie
Tiffany: The Nesting Project - Falling In Love Pie
Patsy: Family, Food Friends- Baby Screamin’ Its Head Off In The Middle Of The Night; Ruinin’ My Life Pie

Marshmallow Mermaid Pie

This is definitely a once a year pie, it is most likely one of the most unhealthy desserts I have ever cooked in my life! Saying all that, it is delicious and extremely therapeautic to make. This is the orignal recipe but I used digestive biscuits in the place of graham crackers and toasted dessicated coconut on a baking tray in the oven.

Serves 8
9 graham crackers
1/2 Cup sweetened, flaked coconut, toasted
5 tablespoons. butter or margarine, melted
34 marshmallows (8 oz.)
1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine coconut and graham crackers in food processor until coarse crumbs form.
Combine crumbs and butter with fork. Press to bottom and side of 9-inch pie plate. Bake 10 minutes and cool on wire rack.
Heat marshmallows and milk in 3-qt. saucepan over low heat until smooth, stirring constantly. Remove saucepan from heat. Cool completely (30 minutes.)
In large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Fold marshmallow mixture into whipped cream with grated chocolate. Spoon filling into cooled crust. Refrigerate pie at least 3 hours or overnight.
Top with mini marshmallows, maraschino cherries and rainbow sprinkles.