I love a recipe that you can get more than one variety out of, like cakes, muffins and biscuits. By more than one I mean make one big mix, and what I call divide and conquer. Today it was basic muffins. I mixed one basic batch up that makes 24 muffins and I managed to get 8 raspberry and almond flakes, 8 choc chip and 8 with sultanas, cinnamon and walnuts. I like that I can get 3 different kinds of muffins in one short time, with one mixing bowl, one oven heating and yes one clean up after.
Basic Muffins
Basic Muffins
A really easy base recipe for muffins.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Self raising flour
- 1 cup Caster sugar
- 1 cup Almond meal
- 250 grams Marg or butter
- 1 cup Milk
- 4 Eggs
Instructions
- Add flour, sugar and almond meal to a large bowl. Mix.
- Melt butter in the microwave, let cool.
- In jug measure milk, add eggs and mix with a fork.
- Add all wet ingredients to the dry ingredient bowl, folding all together until combined. Don't over mix.
- Spoon into muffin tray with paper liners until just under full. Bake in a preheated 175*C oven for 20 minutes or until browned and cooked checking with a skewer. Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Once all ingredients are mixed I separate into 3 bowls, adding different extras to each bowl. Raspberries and almonds or flaked coconut, or choc chips, or cinnamon sultanas and walnuts, or M&Ms, or blueberries or ...
If you're not a fan of almond meal or don't have any just use all flour or oat flour (oat flour = oats blitzed in a processor until it's as fine as you like it.)
These once cooked freeze well.
Chocolate choc chip biscuits
Chocolate choc chip biscuits (Cookies)
Use white, dark chocolate, milk chocolate chips or try mini M&M's, nuts and choc chips ...
Ingredients
- 125 Grams Butter or margerine -Softened
- 1/2 cup Brown sugar
- 1/2 cup Caster sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 1 1/2 cups Plain flour
- 1/3 cup Cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda
- 1 cup Choc chips of choice
Instructions
- Pre heat oven 170-175*C
- Beat butter and sugar by hand or by mixer for a couple of minutes until creamy.
- Turn mixer down add egg and vanilla until combined.
- Add flour half cup at a time until combined. Fold in choc chips. Pop bowl in the fridge for 20-30 mins to chill.
- Line your baking tray. Roll dough into balls and flatten with a wet fork.
- Bake biscuits for 12-14 minutes or until cooked. Sit tray on wire rack for a minute or two then place each biscuit on the wire rack to cool fully.
- Store in an air tight container.
Notes
These biscuits freeze well when cooked keeping in a click clack container. The dough freezes well.
My preference is to double the batch ingredients, I then divide the dough into 3. I cook 1/3 (freeze 1/2). I then freeze the rest dough of the into 2 bags for a later date. (defrost, roll and bake).
When I freeze the dough I wrap in cling film first getting out all the air bubbles. I then date and label in a zip loc bag pulling each dough out as needed.
The cooked frozen biscuits take 5 mins to defrost on the bench top so are great if you get unexpected visitors.
My pie maker
Being a Friday I generally scrounge around in the freezer to see what tidbits of frozen cooked meats I can find, this can be savoury mince, spaghetti bolognaise sauce to any cooked veg I’ve thrown in there, it happens, I won’t waste it. Meat pies can be made out of not much meat (about a cup or so) and some precooked veg or the usual frozen veg from a bag.
Sunbeam is my maker of choice for 4. All you need is your cooked meat, some chopped pre cooked veg and frozen puff pastry. If we have pies as a meal alone we have 2 each. With proper veg meal we have 1 pie each (no veg inside) with the usual mashed potato, peas and carrots on the side.
If you wish to use less pastry make mini shepards pies topped with mashed potato and a little grated cheese.
If you have left over cooked chicken shred this, add a tablespoon or so of undiluted cream of chicken soup (from a can) for the sauce, just enough to bind.
Bacon and egg is another nice filling or with cooked and chopped sausage. Egg takes a while to cook and set in a pie maker so you may have to check a couple of times to make sure it’s cooked to your liking.
Cooked veg with egg, no top pastry is nice. Checking egg is cooked.
Really the list is endless with no set rules for your filling. If there is not much meat I bulk it up with more veg.
The pie maker also works well with fruit pies and can be topped with a crumble to serve with ice cream for dessert. A favourite of ours is apple crumble pie.
I use frozen puff pastry on top and bottom with no problems, it always crisps and is easy to pick up once cooked.
All of this can be done without a pie maker, just make sure the pie goes into a hot oven, approx 200*C for 20mins or so.
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