With the weekend around the corner, you might be thinking of fun ways you can spend time with the kids and keep them occupied. Baking is a wonderful way to spend quality time together and get creative in the kitchen. We take a look at four quick and easy bake recipes you can do with your child.
Delicious peanut butter cookies
*Makes 18-20
Ingredients
- 80 g Clover Mooi River butter
- 70 g sugar
- ½ cup (150 g) smooth peanut butter
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) maple or golden syrup
- 1 egg
- 50 g peanuts, roughly chopped
- 1¼ cup (175 g) cake flour
- 1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder
Chocolate drizzle (optional)
- ½ cup (100 g) dark or milk chocolate
- 1 tbsp (15 g) Clover Mooi River butter
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C and grease one large or two smaller baking sheets.
- Mix the butter and sugar together until pale, light, and creamy. Add the peanut butter, syrup, and egg and beat well.
- Stir in the peanuts and sift the flour and baking powder over the mixture. Mix together and form the mixture into a roll. Cover it in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- Slice the dough into ½ cm rounds and place onto baking sheets, about 4 cm apart. Use a fork to gently flatten the tops of the cookies.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until crispy and cooked. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Drizzle the chocolate over the cookies and allow it to cool completely.
Chocolate drizzle
- Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure that the base of the bowl does not touch the water. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth. Place the mixture into a piping bag and drizzle over the cookies.
Scrumptious giant triple choc chip cookies
*Makes 10-12 man-sized cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (120 g) Clover Springbok butter
- 80 g sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 200 g cake flour, sifted
- 1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder
- 1 cup (175 g) dark chocolate, chips or broken into small chunks
- ½ cup (80 g) milk chocolate, chips or broken into small chunks
- ½ cup (80 g) white chocolate, chips or broken into small chunks
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C and grease a baking sheet.
- Mix the butter and sugar together until pale, light, and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat well.
- Fold in the flour and the baking powder. Fold in the chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
- Drop heaped tablespoons of the mixture, 8 cm apart, onto the baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden and cooked. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Variations
- Chocolate and pecan nut cookies: Replace the white chocolate with 60 g roughly chopped pecan nuts.
- White chocolate, macadamia, and cranberry cookies: Replace the dark chocolate with 1 cup of white chocolate chips. Replace the milk chocolate with ½ cup roughly chopped macadamia nuts and a handful of dried cranberries.
Oh-so-yummy cherry-choc brownies
*Makes 10-12 Ingredients
- 1 cup (200 g) dark chocolate
- ½ cup (115 g) Clover Mooi River butter
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- ½ cup (120 g) soft brown sugar
- ¾ cup (75 g) pecan nuts, roughly chopped
- ½ cup (75 g) dark pitted or glacé cherries
- ½ cup (75 g) cake flour
- ¼ cup (25 g) ground almonds
- 1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder
- ¼ tsp (1 ml) salt
Chocolate sauce (optional)
- ½ cup (100 g) dark chocolate, broken into pieces
- ½ cup (125 ml) Clover fresh cream
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) golden syrup
- 1 tsp (5 ml) coffee granules
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) vanilla essence
To serve
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) cocoa powder, for dusting
- 1 cup (250 ml) Clover fresh cream, whipped, or vanilla ice cream
Method
- Grease a 23 x 23 cm baking tin and line it with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
- Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
- Combine the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until the mixture is pale, thick, and creamy. Fold the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture.
- Carefully fold in the remaining ingredients. Spoon the mixture evenly into the prepared tin and bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until nearly set. The centre should still be a little gooey.
- Remove the tin from the oven and leave it to cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Dust with cocoa powder before serving.
- For the ultimate chocolate indulgence, serve warm with the chocolate sauce and either whipped cream or ice cream.
Chocolate sauce
Place all the ingredients into a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until the chocolate melts. Simmer for 2 minutes.
Tangy granadilla and lemon bars
*Makes 16 Ingredients
Base
- ½ cup (115 g) butter, softened
- ¾ cup (100 g) icing sugar
- 1 cup (140 g) cake flour
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) salt
Filling
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 x 110 g tin granadilla pulp
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) lemon zest
- 5 tsp (25 ml) cornflour
- 2 tsp (10 ml) cake flour
To serve
- 5 tsp (25 ml) icing sugar
- 1 cup (250 ml) Clover fresh cream, whipped (optional)
Method Base
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Grease a 23 cm square cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
- Beat the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift the flour and salt over the creamed mixture and combine to form a dough.
- Press the dough into the base of the prepared tin and prick lightly with a fork. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly golden.
Filling
- Whisk the sugar and eggs together. Stir in the granadilla pulp, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Sift the cornflour and flour over the mixture fold into the mixture.
- Pour the filling over the baked base and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the filling has set. Allow to cool, before cutting into bars.
- Dust with icing sugar before serving. Delicious by itself, or served with softly whipped cream.
*Recipes from Clover Best Bakes, available from leading book stores.