A successful food challenge

Last week Hannah attended her first food challenge - the cake with two eggs challenge. To my immense surprise it was successful. We can now include cake, biscuits and muffins with egg in Hannah's diet. The next challenge - the hard boiled egg challenge probably won't be done for another 18 months, but I don't mind. This small change will have a very big impact on our lives, going out and socialising suddenly become much easier. Seeing a panettone in the local supermarket the other day made me tear up - finally I'm allowed to let her try this delight.

As a result I've decide to stop posting on this blog. We will continue to make many of these recipes, the chocolate cake will always be a favourite (and of course Hannah can't lick the bowl of a cake made with egg ). I've just posted three newish biscuit recipes which have also become firm favourites. And would you believe it, our chicken stopped laying the week we found out.

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Biscuit

1 1/4 cups plain flour
1/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
155g butter
2/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
140g chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Place non-stick baking paper onto 2 large trays.

Beat butter till creamy in an electric mixer. Add sugars, salt and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes. Mix in the dry ingredients and chocolate chips by hand.

Work the dough by hand until it sticks together, then make two logs about 4cm in diameter. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1/2 hour.

With your sharpest knife cut the logs into rounds (l like them quite thin - about 5mm thick, but you can make them thicker). The sharp knife is essential otherwise the chocolate chips make the log fall apart.

Place on tray and bake for 12 minutes, they will firm as they cool. Allow to cool on the tray.

Chocolate Balsamic Biscuits

1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1/8 tsp salt
75g butter
1/3 cup cocoa
2/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Cover two biscuit trays with non-stick baking paper.

Mix the flour, bicarb soda and salt together. Melt the butter in a saucepan, when melted take it off the heat and add sugars and cocoa. Mix well and then add yoghurt, vanilla and balsamic vinegar. Finally mix with the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Drop tablespoons of the mix onto the trays, leaving room for spreading. Sprinkle lightly with vanilla sugar if desired. Cook for 11 minutes. They will be soft at this stage, but will firm up on cooling.

Sugared-Topped Ginger Biscuits

1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
pinch salt
1 1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground clove
65g butter melted, or 1/2 oil such as grape seed oil
2 tbs treacle
2 tbs milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

2 tbs sugar extra (can use demerera sugar if you have it)

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C. Place non-stick baking paper on large biscuit tray.

Mix together flour, bicarb soda, salt, sugar and spices. Separately mix melted butter, treacle, milk and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well.

Roll into 1 inch balls, slightly flatten them and press into extra sugar. Place a little apart on the tray (they will spread a little) and bake for 11 minutes. They will be very soft at this point but will firm up as they cool, (if you bake them until firm they will be too hard to eat!).