Chocolate Crunchie Munchies

The way to my man's heart generally involves some kind of chocolate biscuit cake, although all cakes and biscuits are appreciated. These little Chocolate Crunchie Munchies are, not only a decadent and delicious morsel to munch on with your coffee, they are also a frugal make. Now that is bound to please your loved one!

I came home on Friday night and had a bit of a craving for something chocolatey, I knew there were no chocolates in the house but there was a bar of Rylands Dark Chocolate. I get this chocolate at the supermarket, it is about 89p for a 200g bar and tastes very much like Bournville chocolate. It's not in the league of specialist chocolate for eating, but it is excellent for baking and sweet making.

So I had the chocolate, now I needed to find something to mix with it. I rummaged around and found the end of a box of Special K, the flakes had gone a bit soft and chewy, but there is an easy way to rescue cereal, by putting it in a hot oven for 5-10 minutes. You need to use it up pretty quickly after that, but it crisps it up beautifully. As I was putting the oven on for supper anyway, this wasn't going to cost any more in fuel.

Special K being crisped up in the oven

I also found a bag with a few Amaretti biscuits in it and some sultanas.

Chocolate Crunchie Munchies

150g Dark Chocolate
50g White Chocolate
25g butter
225g cereal and/or crushed Amaretti biscuits
50g sultanas or small pieces of other dried fruit

1. Break up the chocolate and put it in a bowl with the butter, over a pan of hot water. Melt the chocolate being careful not to get any water into the chocolate or it will granulate.
2. Stir in the cereal crushed biscuits and sultanas and spoon into paper or silicone cases.

3. Put in the fridge for about 30-50 minutes.
4. Using a clean bowl, melt the white chocolate and put into a piping bag.
5. Drizzle the white chocolate over the Crunchie Munchies and return to the fridge for 10 minutes to set.

These little chocolate bites definitely hit the spot, you can adapt the recipe for any type of cereal or mixture of cereal and crushed biscuits, add nuts or seeds, smarties, M and Ms or anything that you like. Great for kids to make.

I received the heart shaped silicon cupcake cases in a lovely parcel from Dunelm Mill. I find that Dunelm Mill is a great place to get all your baking equipment, the prices are much cheaper than some of the specialist stores and there is a wide range of different products. I like to pick up items for food styling as well. As you can see I received a silicone madeleine mould, some large silicone cupcake cases, some silicone flowerpots and a Macroon Baking Set. The Heart Shaped Cupcake Cases are the first item I have had a chance to use but I am really excited about the Flower pots and the Macaroon Baking Set. I have made Macaroons before but they weren't very even and the set contains a baking mat which will keep my macaroons all the same size.

As this is a frugal recipe I'm entering it for Credit Crunch Munch the blog event run by Fuss Free Flavour and Fab Food 4 All. This month it is Elizabeth's Kitchen who is hosting the challenge.

I'm also adding this to Treat Petite, a NEW challenge from Cakey Boi and the Baking Explorer. This month the challenge is for any small cake or treat and The Baking Explorer is hosting.

I was sent these baking items by Dunelm Mill, I was not paid for this post and all my views are my own.

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Labels: amaretti, biscuits, chocolate, cookies, Credit Crunch Munch, Crunch, Fab Food 4 All, Fuss Free Flavour, Mr Cakey Boi, Munch, The Baking Explorer, Treat Petite

posted by Janice @ 11:56 7 Comments

July Dish of the Month Round Up

The one advantage of having only a few entries to a blog event is that the round up doesn't take as long to write up! I guess the warm weather is responsible for all but the regulars deserting us and who could blame them, I know I haven't entered many challenges myself. Of course, the standard of the entries we have received is, as usual, exceptionally high, a tribute to Mr Nigel Slater and his lovely recipes.

Let's start with this month's 'hostess with the mostess' my friend and co-conspirator, Sue at A Little Bit of Heaven on a Plate with a delicious plate of Pistachio and Lemon Cookies This recipe is a little extra provided by Nigel in the inside of the slip cover of The Kitchen Diaries II.

Rachel Kelly of Marmaduke Scarlet is making a bit of a name for herself appearing almost weekly in the Guardian Cook Magazine on a Saturday, I always look out for her contributions to Felicity Cloake's themed reader recipe pages. Rachel is also a regular here at Dish of the Month and this month brings us these glowing Baked Tomatoes with Fragrant Spices and Coconut In true Dish of the Month style, Rachel didn't stick rigidly to the recipe making a few subtle changes, they don't seem to have had any negative effect on this rather unusal recipe of tomatoes stuffed with tomatoes.

I also took a few liberties, this time with Nigel's recipe for Plum (or greengage) and Almond Tart in the Kitchen Diaries II. I didn't have plums or greengages and I didn't have time to make pastry. I did have cherries, ground almonds and eggs though and the result was these Cherry Frangipane Ramekins which I served warm with some lovely vanilla ice cream.

Camilla at Fab Food 4 All has gone preserving mad, especially after winning her local show with her Peach and Apricot Jam. Congratulations Camilla! This Mixed Tomato Chutney was inpsired by some lovely multi-coloured cherry tomatoes and based on Nigel's recipe for Mixed Tomato Chutney.

Many thanks for entering July Dish of the Month and we hope to see you again in August when I will be hosting. The link and details of a GIVEAWAY will be posted on 1st August.

See all the dishes on our Pinterest Board or have a look at the round ups on the Dish of the Month page here at Farmersgirl Kitchen.

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Labels: A little bit of Heaven on a Plate, cherries, cookies, Dish of the Month, Fab Food 4 All, frangipane, Marmaduke Scarlet, Nigel Slater, Round Up, The kitchen diaries II, tomatoes

posted by Janice @ 20:43 7 Comments

Credit Crunch Munch - May 2013

I am guest hosting the May Credit Crunch Munch, from Fuss Free Flavours & Fab Food 4 All

Credit Crunch Munch is all about saving some money, whilst still enjoying great food.Money saving topics could be:-

• Dishes using cheaper ingredients – cheap cuts of meat or vegetarian
• Meals using leftovers
• Meals using up the ends of packets
• Substitutions of cheaper ingredients
• Packed lunches
• Meals that use less energy to cook
• Pressure cooking
• Slow cooking
• Faster cooking – less oven time for example
• Batch cooking for the freezer
• Sustainable foods
• Food you have grown yourself
• Meals from reduced food in the supermarket

The list is endless!

To take part!

To take part, simply blog about any money saving idea that is vaguely food related, I am especially keen to hear about substitutions for when you run out of something this monthThere are a few rules

• Please link to this page and the Credit Crunch Munch pages on Fuss Free Flavours and Fab Food for All
• Please link to the current host (ME!) Farmersgirl Kitchen
• Please use the Credit Crunch Munch Badge
• Tweet using #creditcrunchmunch
• Closing date – last day of the month
• By entering you are agreeing to this site using your image in the round up, and us pinning entry to Pinterest.
• Remember to respect others’ copyright.

Prize
I have one copy of the DVD 'Two Greedy Italians- Still Hungry', which I reviewed last month, as a prize for one lucky entrant who will be chosen at random once the Linky closes. In Episode 3 ' The Alps and Arrangiarsi, Antonio and Gennaro go foraging for ingredients and live off their wits and the land so I felt it was really quite appropriate for Credit Crunch Munch!

As hosts and guest host, Fuss Free Flavours, Fab Food 4 All and Farmersgirl Kitchen entries will be excluded from the prize draw.

Feel free to

• Send to as many other events as you like, let’s help everyone save money!

Tell me about your money saving ideas on the linky below! I am also making this a blog hop, so feel free to grab the code and add to your post too. Let’s spread the money saving meme!We’ll be looking for guest hosts later in the year, so please mail helen at fussfreeflavours dot com if you are interested.

THERE SEEM TO BE A FEW ISSUES WITH THE LINKY. IF YOU CAN'T GET IT TO LINK, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT WITH A LINK TO YOUR RECIPE. THANK YOU.

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Labels: Credit Crunch Munch, Fab Food 4 All, Fuss Free Flavours, prize, Two Greedy Italians 2

posted by Janice @ 09:00 2 Comments