COOKBOOKS GALORE

I've been doing some more baking with my grandson, and we made these treats. He loves fudge! They looked so moreish we had to try them. I know they're calorific, but as a treat...! The recipe comes from a magazine supplement on biscuits. 50g flaked almonds and a few for the top 75g fudge, chopped 200g plain flour 1/2 tspn bicarb. of soda 125g butter 125g light muscovado sugar 1 egg 1 tspn vanilla essence Preheat oven 180c/gas 4 Line a baking sheet with parchment. Pur flour and bicarb. in a bowl and rub in butter till breadcrumbs. Stir in the almonds, fudge and sugar and mix together. Whisk egg and vanilla and add to the fudge mixture and mix till blended. Put large tbspns of mixture on sheet, leaving spaces between them. Put a flaked almond on top. Bake for 12-15 mins. Leave on tray for 10 mins then put onto a wire rack. They really are moreish, but very sweet. You could taste the fudge, but I thought it would have some texture - maybe I chopped it too sma...

One of the presents I got for Christmas was a new sugar thermometer. Ever since I was a child,  I've been interested in making sweets. My Mum used to make them, and I inherited her old thermometer. I also inherited her book 'Toffees, fudges, chocolates and sweets' by Mary Novak, and I have a battered copy of Margaret Powell's ' Sweetmaking for children'. I made sweets with my children and yesterday I made some with one of my grandsons. We made coconut ice and he helped me make yogurt pecan fudge, the latter being an excuse to use my new thermometer! Coconut ice My grandson wanted to make something on his own, so this is a very easy version. 6 tbspns condensed milk 275g icing sugar 175g dessicated coconut pink food colouring Mix together the milk and icing sugar, then stir in the coconut. The mixture will be very stiff. Divide it into 2. Colour one half with the colouring. Grease and line a small cake tin, and put the white mixture in a layer at the ...