Ginger

It was my Nana's birthday yesterday and i thought i could use my sister as a bit of a courier service while she's going up at the weekend. I thought some nice home made biscuits would be a nice present and after having a look through a couple of my cook books, i decided to go for the stem ginger nuts from

The Great Britsh Book of Baking. They came out really nicely (probably some of the best looking biscuits i've made) and tasted delicous.


I wanted to use a nice little cardboard cake box to send them in but the logistics of it wouldn't have worked terribly well so i went for a cellophane bag to stack them in. I think it's nice that you can see the biscuits too, rather than just a mystery box!

It was also my brother-in-law's birthday two days ago and i went for a sleep themed gift bag which included some of my home-made hot chocolate. As you can see, i substituted some of the chocolate in the recipe for chilli chocolate- i love a warming kick of chilli with my hot choc, especially in the winter! I've also had it on good authority that it's yummy with a glug of cointreau (or other liqueur) in.


Home-made Hot Chocolate

3/4 cup quality unsweetened cocoa powder
6 ounces quality plain chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground clove

Make the mix:
Place all ingredients in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process just until mixture is powdery -- about 30 seconds. Be careful not to over process. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

For the label:
To make hot chocolate, combine 1 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of this mix in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until chocolate is incorporated and mixture is warmed through. Sweeten to taste and serve immediately.