20 hours Ago By Katherine McPhillips
Boxing Day has arrived and many of us probably have more chocolate than we know what to do with, which is why baking can be incredibly fun at this time of year. If your home is currently stacked with Christmas chocolate then Jane Dunn, a baker , cookbook author and founder of Jane’s Patisserie has a simple recipe to turn them into an even tastier dessert. Jane said: “Over a period like Christmas, an easy and common gift is a box of chocolates.
And if you are like me, and you get given a whole lot of chocolates such as Celebrations, Heroes, Roses and so on...
you will have far too many to eat. She added: “The good thing about this [ recipe ], is you can use all of the chocolates in the box, use up the ones you don’t like if you are giving the cookie bars away, or use the ones you do like but if you fancy something a bit different! Jane’s Chocolate Box Cookie Bars take only 20 minutes to prepare and would be perfect as a party food or gift for a loved one to welcome in the New Year if you do not want to eat them yourself. Jane said: “Cookie bars as I will say again and again are delightful.
The cornflour is important to the bake. It changes the texture, changes the bake, and improves them tenfold. This is why cornflour is in a lot of my cookie recipes, so please don’t leave it out!” How to make Chocolate Box Cookie Bars 275g of plain flour 115g of unsalted butter 55g of granulated sugar 135g of light brown sugar One medium egg One tablespoon of cornflour One teaspoon of vanilla extract One teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda Half a teaspoon of salt (optional) 100g of milk chocolate chips 300g to 400g of chocolate box chocolates (such as Celebrations) Nine by nine-inch square tin Baking paper To begin, preheat the oven to 190C (170C fan) and line a square tin with baking paper.
Whisk together the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt (if using) and cornflour so it is thoroughly mixed together. Set aside the bowl for now. In a larger bowl, melt the butter on the stove.
Then add the granulated and light brown sugar and whisk together for around two minutes until the sugar begins to dissolve and you have a smooth mixture. Add the egg and vanilla extract to the sugary-melted butter mixture, then stir until you mixture is smooth once again. Pour the bowl filled with dry ingredients into the large bowl and add the chocolate chips.
Mix everything together with a spatula until you have a thick cookie dough. Now it is time to add the chocolate chips. Simply take your favourite chocolates and place them in the mixture, you do not even have to break them up.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and press down so it is evenly spread. Then, place in the oven to cook for 18 to 22 minutes until the top of the cookie bake is golden at the top. Leave the cookie bake to cook for roughly 10 minutes, then take it out of the tin to cool on a wire rack.
Cut it into slices and your tasty dessert bites are now ready to serve. Jane said: “These delicious beings will last in an airtight container for up to five days, but honestly, they’ll be eaten before then.”.
