Cherry Marshmallow & Choc Chip Cookies

Each year at work we support a charity and this year it's Stand Up To Cancer. The money raised through Stand Up To Cancer goes towards funding clinical research. Their aim is to get ground-breaking treatments and cures to people facing cancer as soon as possible. It's such a great cause and we have loads of great fundraising events coming up in the office over the next few weeks. It kicked off today with a bake sale so I obviously wanted to contribute. I went for these cherry, marshmallow and choc chip cookies. I was a little pushed for time so this super easy recipe was perfect for whipping up a fresh batch last night.

Ingredients:

200g Butter
225g Caster Sugar
300g Plain Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Medium Egg (beaten)
100g Chocolate Chips
2 tbsps Mini Marshmallows
8-10 Glace Cherries (halved)

Method:

1. Grease a baking tray or line with baking parchment and heat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3.
2. Melt the butter then place in a bowl with the caster sugar and mix together.
3. Stir in the flour, baking powder, vanilla extract and salt into the butter and sugar mixture. Then add in the marshmallows, chocolate chips and glace cherries mixing everything together by hand.
4. Once the mix is like a smooth dough, add the beaten egg and knead, again using your hands.
5. Divide the mixture into balls and place them on the baking tray making sure you space them out as they spread when they bake. Flatten each ball with the back of a spoon.
6. Place the tray in the oven and bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. They're ready when the edges turn a bit golden and they smell like heaven!

Post For A Post Day

These days we tend to live our lives through the internet. Whether it’s uploading our holiday snaps to Facebook or finding the best Snapchat filter for our latest story. The truth of the matter is that most of us probably spend too much time shackled to our phones. Hands up, I am guilty of this! I waste away the hours trying to perfect my Instagram grid when in all honestly does it even matter? I feel I sometimes run the risk of not being in the moment as I’m too easily distracted by this device in my hand.

Don't get me wrong, social media is great for keeping in touch with friends and family. Text messages and email are perfect for dropping a line when you haven't got time to call but it's not quite the same as talking in person. I understand it's not feasible for me to drive two hours to see one of my closest friends every time I want to catch up, but then a text doesn't always cut it. I also feel like I run the risk of neglecting friends, especially in a group chat situation, when you've missed the last 30 messages and haven't got the willpower to go through and catch up. 

Sometimes it's nice to leave the technology behind and go back to basics. I love receiving letters in the post as it feels far more personal. However, the art of physically sending something to a loved one is dying out with 40% of millennials confessing to never having sent a handwritten letter, 46% have never sent a surprise parcel and 42% have never sent a thank you card to a loved one. To be honest I'm not surprised by these statistics but I am a little saddened to think that there are people out there that have never posted a handwritten letter! 

When I heard that ipostparcels.com had launched the first ever national 'Post For A Post Day' I knew I wanted in! Its aim is to encourage people to send a meaningful form of communication, whether it be a handwritten letter or surprise parcel instead of sending a text or posting a message via social media, putting the emotion back into posting. So I'm sending my friend this Martin Parr Book. A fun collection of food pictures documenting the simple notion that 'we are what we eat'. Real Food celebrated all things food through the eyes of the renowned British photographer, Martin Parr. Perfect as we're both food and photography lovers! I will also be including a handwritten note to pop in alongside the book. 

So how can you get involved? Instead of communicating with your loved ones via text message or social media, send them a surprise parcel for FREE. To post a small parcel (up to 2kg) for free on 'Post For A Post Day' simply enter the code PFAP at the checkout. For further information click here. The first 100 people to redeem the code between the 18th - 22nd September 2017 will be able to post their parcel for free, so don't hang around! Don't forget to share what you've posted and why using the hashtag #PostForAPost

Raspberry Gin Cheesecake

So it turns out that Gin Jam is a thing and it's pretty bloomin' delicious. I recently received a jar in the Pinkster Gin and Goodies Hamper. The jam is an entirely natural by-product made with fresh raspberries left over from the Pinkster gin production, pretty clever huh? When first sampling this boozy jam it became clear that it belonged on top of a cheesecake. So without further ado, check out the recipe below. I've already made this cheesecake three times in the past two weeks so it's safe to say it's been a hit!

Ingredients:

185g Crumbled Digestive Biscuits
110g Soft Unsalted Butter
300g Cream Cheese
60g Icing Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
300ml Double Cream
Pinkster Gin Jam
Fresh Raspberries

Method:

1. Blitz the biscuits in a food processor until they turn to crumbs.

2. Then melt the butter in a microwave and add to make the mixture clump.

3. Press the mixture into a 20cm (8 inch) springform tin, press a little up the sides to form a slight ridge.

4. Beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth. 

5. Whip the double cream, and then fold into the cream cheese mixture. 

6. Spoon the cheesecake filling on top of the biscuit base and smooth. Chill in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight. 

7. When ready to serve, remove from the tin and spread the gin jam over the top. 

8. Decorate with fresh raspberries.

If you're feeling extra fancy you could create a marbled effect on top with the jam or try mixing some of the fresh raspberries through the cream cheese mixture. Also, don't feel like you have to stop at raspberries, I think this recipe would work just as well with strawberries or cherries. The possibilities are endless!