Don't give your dog a bone, give them a biscuit!

Today has been a day of experimentation!

I have had fun in the land of dog biscuits. That's right, biscuits, but for dogs. Okay, I think we've spent enough time of the clarification of what I've been doing...

I love my dog and want to show her how much I love her with treats. Now any of you who know Toffee (that's my dog), know that she is treated like a queen. She wants for nothing, except everything, because she is a greedy little rat! I wanted to bake her something really special, cheesy and healthy.

I mean it, you can feel the health in these biscuits. With every squeeze, every roll and every cut, the health just oozes out. Well, health and a whole lot of cheese. Toffee loves cheese, she's cheesy for it. She could have cheese for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all those little snacks in between. She may as well have been a block of cheddar in her past life.

I'm pretty positive that in Toffee Town, (that is what I call the inside of Toff's head) she lives in a world of Cheddar, with Mozzarella trees, cheesy crackers for pavements and Gorgonzola seating. Feta clouds and Parmesan rain. There's a Fondue river, rolling down the center of Toffee Town, with crouton rocks, lining the creamy, luscious river. American cheese squares will be used as blankets and Brie as pillows. Wheels of cheese will be used for transportation and then blocks of cheese for the houses.

She would spend her days, using all her senses. She would wake up to the feel of cheese on her fur, all smooth, silky and sumptuous. She would then start the day off right, eating her cheese breakfast and tasting the salty and sweet flavours, rolling round in her gob. Looking out and seeing the cheesy surroundings glisten in the sunlight, would make Toff happy. She'd then smell the cheesy breads being baked in Toffee Town Bakeries, on her morning walk. The sensational touch of the crunching cheesy biscuits under her paws would put a spring in her step. Roaming, grazing and sniffing is how she would spend her days.

Don't really know how to get away from this tangent, so i'll stop here.

These biscuits are healthy, simple and delicious for dogs. They are quick and fun to make. I love trying out new recipes and techniques as it expands my baking adventures and allows me to widen my skill set. These were interesting as i've never used oats in a recipe before, so this was a new experience for me.

These biscuits only take around 40 minutes to make, from making the dough to baking and cooling these little treats.

Already, i'm going to say, next time, I think i'll add extra cheese as I want them to taste really strong. Of course this was by my standards. I'm a human. My dog is a dog. Therefore, naturally, we are going to enjoy different things. She enjoys smelling other dog's butts, I do not. I enjoy reading magazines, she enjoys scratching and chewing them. We are different beings. But I think we would agree on this, more cheese is good. In fact, the more cheese there is, the greater these biscuits get! I'm also pondering over the thought of also adding a dribble of honey to add the slightest bit on sweetness and therefore adding to the deliciousness of these treats!

This is a recipe from a Dog Magazine we get posted out to us. You never know where your next baking adventure inspiration will come from.

What you will need for these biscuits is pretty simple. You will need;

- A rolling pin
- A cookie cutter; whatever shape you think your dog will enjoy
- A mixer, with the beater paddle attached or a bowl and wooden spoon
- 2 baking trays, lined with baking paper
- A cooling rack

The ingredients you'll need are;

- 180g Strong, Stoneground Wholemeal Flour
- 150g Porridge Oats
- 80g Strong, Mature Cheddar Cheese; grated

(Next time, I think I'll add 180g of cheese as I want them really cheesy and maybe a dribble of honey for sweetness and enhanced flavour? This is the great thing about baking, you can tweak recipes to make them your own and unique to your likes and dislikes, well in this case, your dog's likes and dislikes.)

- 1 Egg, beaten together with a little water.

(I added around 20ml or so. Basically, what I did was dribble in the water with the mixer on slow, until the dough started to come together and look wet enough to mix together and form a stable dough, but not so wet, making the dough sticky and gloopy.)

The method for making these;

Preheat your oven to 180 C until the little red light beside the temperature dial goes bye bye.

Drop the flour, oats and cheese into a large bowl and mix on low until they are all combined.

Whisk the egg and plop this in with the dry ingredients and give it a mix.

Then with the mixer on low, dribble in some cool water. Enough to make the mixture come together to form a smooth-ish ball of dough. It isn't going to be super fine and smooth, like it would if it was pastry, due to all those oats and wholemeal flour.

Once the mixture forms large mounds of healthy mix, stop mixing and start kneading. Throw this onto a clean counter, without any flour (I didn't think it was needed, but if you do, use some) and use your hands, rolling it and folding it to bring it together.

Using a rolling pin, roll this dough out until it is the thickness of around 2, 1 pound coins. Then using your cutters, cut out little shapes and put them onto your baking trays.

This mixture will make around 15 biscuits. It would probably make like 17, but I didn't want to roll it more than twice, as the dough would get too tough. As I said, I love my dog, i'm not gonna let her munch on tough treats.

Once all the biscuits are cut out and on the trays, put them into the oven that is now at the correct heat and bake these for 20 minutes. The recipe said, if you or your pooch wanted a crispier treat, to turn them over after 20 minutes and bake for a further 10 minutes. I didn't do that as I felt they were pretty crispy after 20 minutes. Plus Toff isn't a big fan of crunchy, crunchy treats.

Leave them to cool on a cooling rack until they are completely cold. When they are, pop them into an air tight container and they will last for up to 2 weeks, that's if they last that long.

These are homemade, fresh, locally baked dog treats. They are something to try or even better, buy some from CVL Bakes and get them delivered to your house in a box, tied with twine. These will be the fanciest and most special dog treats your pooch has ever had, well in my opinion.

When is the last time your dog has had their treats delivered to them, in a box tied with twine and all for great value and quality!? Just go to my Facebook page; CVL Bakes and message me, say what you'd like; whether you want them super crunchy or slightly crunchy, with a little softness and i'll bake and deliver them to you.

That's all the biscuits done! I hope you've enjoyed this baking adventure blog post and try them or order them? It's always nice to try new things. Plus, you dog, like anyone, would probably like a change too? Eating the same thing, day in, day out, can get tedious and well, bland.

Anyway, have a lovely evening all and I hope you've enjoyed this blog post?

Until next time folks,

Ciara

Millionaire Shortbread

Good evening everyone,

A few nights ago, I was in the mood for something ooey and gooey and down right full to the brim with chocolate goodness! I also wanted to bake something that I hadn't baked before. So I made these delicious Millionaire Shortbread!

I've always wondered why it was called 'Millionaire Shortbread'? Is it because they are so good, that they would be worthy of a Millionaire? Then again, they are so 'fandabbydosey', I should think they'd be worthy of anyone, regardless of their financial circumstance. The reason for their name is something I probably could have found out ages ago, had I really wanted to know. Happily, at the moment anyway, this remains a wonder, but nothing urgent or dire.

Technically I've never made these before, and technicality is everything. The truth being, I've never completed making these. There was one, dark time, when Ciara (yes, I'm now referring to myself in the third person) attempted to make this delicious snack/ nibble. This went very badly. The tragic truth being, the caramel basically exploded and burnt my hand, not to mention the poor oven. The whole hob was covered in this sticky, evil goo. It took around 2 hours to scrub, scratch and steam that horrid mess away. After, I was pleased with my cleaning skills, but disappointed  that I had nothing to eat at the end. Well, the phrase 'Trial and Error' isn't for nothing.

These are such a lovely snack to nibble on and keep in the fridge for up to a week in a sealed container that is air tight.

The thing I really love about these, is that the middle- caramel is really chewy. So it is more like fudge, opposed to caramel. It keeps its shape and doesn't dribble out when biting into it. This pleases the perfectionist in me. :)

I used milk chocolate to go on top of these, as I didn't have dark and I generally feel that majority of people prefer milk chocolate. But I love all three kinds and think the only kind that wouldn't go well with these would be white, too sickly sweet.

This week has been a great one! Really busy, really exciting and really fun! This week I've had an order for 250 cupcakes for an event for Thinking Day, I've had an order for 20 coffee cupcakes with coffee buttercream for a meeting and I've had an order for Orange and Rapeseed Oil Traybake squares and Apple and Cinnamon Traybake squares for a dinner party! It has been really varied, in bakes and quantities and it was amazing! Here's to more weeks like this!

Orange and Rapeseed Oil Practice cake

Orange and Rapeseed Oil cake, practice cakes

94 Yellow cupcakes for the 250 cupcake order - Thinking Day

92 Red cupcakes for the 250 cupcake order - Thinking Day

94 Orange cupcakes for the 250 cupcake order- Thinking Day

20 Coffee cupcakes for the meeting order 

Apple and Cinnamon Traybake squares, for dinner party order

Orange and Rapeseed Oil Traybake squares for dinner party order 

I really love these big orders, as I do all my orders! The thing about bigger orders is that it really challenges you. It allows me to test myself and what I really love, is seeing it all completed at the end! Amazing or what!? I've enhanced and gained so many skills like; time keeping, administration skills, marketing and advertising skills, accountancy skills, working to a budget skills, liaising skills- and all I can say is I've never been so damn happy in my life!

So if you are having an occasion, any occasion, and are looking for some baked goods to give as gifts, for the dessert or party favours, then why not order from CVL Bakes!? I'm a local, home-catering, passionate baker and tailor your orders to what you want- making it wonderfully unique and personalised!

Just go to Facebook- CVL Bakes and message me and I would love to help out and make your special occasion or any occasion, a great one!

Now, back to these Millionaire Shortbread! First thing's first; the equipment you'll be needing;

The equipment you'll need is;

- 1 x 20cm Square Cake Tin, deep as you need depth for the layers
- 1 dessert spoon
- Non- stick pot
- Wooden spoon
- Baking paper
- Glass bowl
- Large knife
- Space in the fridge
- 1 Fork

The ingredients that you'll need for these are:

Shortbread:

Now, many people will have their own recipe for shortbread and I don't want to get in the middle of you and your shortbread recipe. So if you have a really good recipe, use that. (BBC Food recipe)

- 125g, softened Butter
- 55g Caster Sugar
- 180g Plain Flour

Bake these at 190 C in a fan oven until it is cooked all the way through and is a very light golden brown on the surface.

Caramel/Fudge:

- 150g Butter, cubed and softened
- 150g Dark Brown Sugar
- 397g Can of Condensed Milk

Plop the butter and sugar into a non-stick pot, with the heat on high and stir the butter until it begins to melt. Keep stirring until the sugar and butter are combined and getting to know one another.

Once the sugar and butter and bubbling away, all happy and smelling beautiful, add the condensed milk. Now if you are like me, and seem to be unable to open cans with a can opener, then don't stab it with a knife and wait half an hour for the milk to dribble out into a glass. What you should do is seek someone out, I got my mother, ask them to open it. Once this is opened, it can join the party with the sugar and butter. Yum!!

Now, get those muscles out or lack there of, this really has nothing to do with anything apart from the fact that I enjoy babbling. It is time to stir, stir and well, stir. You need to have the heat on medium- high and constantly stir this butter, sugar and condensed milk mix until it begins to bubble, goes a sticky, darkish caramel colour and is thick. This for me, took a long time to start. Seriously, it was getting thoroughly tedious and I was apprehensive that this was going to turn out like the first attempt at making these. It didn't! :)

After around 10-15 minutes, it began to bubble and go thick. You need to keep stirring it though, as when I stopped, it nearly stuck to the pot. I've already doomed one pot in the house, I'm not too sure mother would be as understanding if I doomed another. (It's not like I even hid it well either. Leaving it outside, charred in front of the kitchen door, isn't what I would call skilled in the art of being sneaky)

Chocolate: 

- 600g of good quality Milk Chocolate.

Now, this is the only thing I will say. 3 words. Don't buy drivel! If you buy poor ingredients, your product will taste the same. Now, I know that sounds slightly snobby and possibly controversial, but all I am saying, is the better the ingredient quality, the better the end result will be.



So it has occurred to me that as I am about to talk about the method of how to make these, I've almost already explained that under each of the ingredients sections. But, as I love to talk, I might just add a little more.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160 C in a fan assisted oven and grease a square tin, with a removable bottom with butter. Line with baking paper and then leave aside.

For the shortbread, you want the butter to be really cold, but still kinda soft. This may seem impossible to some of you out there, but it is possible. You just have to believe. If you leave your butter in a cool, dark and dry place for a few hours, it'll stay cool, but won't go rock hard- this for me anyway, is the ideal texture for making shortbread.

Bung the butter and sugar into a bowl and give it a good whisk/mix. This should take around 5 minutes. You really want to give this butter a good mix so that all the air is incorporated and makes the butter fluffy almost. I feel this helps mix in the sugar and flour at the end.

Add the caster sugar and give it another mix for a few minutes until light, fluffy and pale.

Chuck in the flour and mix until just combined. Even though you want it mixed well, you don't want to over mix it, making it tough. Once it has just come together, tip it out onto something clean, preferably a counter top and knead a little with your hands until it is smooth and easy to manipulate. Clean your hands though :).

Tip this shortbread dough into the greased and lined tin and use the back of a spoon to spread and push the dough into all those little corners and against the edges. Use the spoon and spread it all over the surface of the shortbread until it is smooth and evenly spread. Then using a fork, poke little holes all over, to allow the steam out. Not too many though, you don't want the caramel to fall through the holes.

Bake for 12 mins until lightly golden and baked through. Once baked, take out of the oven and leave to cool completely.

For the caramel, (you could do this while the shortbread is baking), as mentioned earlier, bung the butter and sugar into a non stick pot and heat through until it is all melted and combined.

Add the condensed milk and mix constantly until bubbling, thick and a dark brown caramel colour.

Once this is done, let the golden fountain spill all over the slightly warm shortbread base, still in the tin. Using a pallet knife, spread it all over the base until there is an even layer. It should be looking deliciously divine. I mean, it looked so good, I could have eaten it there and then.

Caramel

Now you want to melt the chocolate. Boil the kettle and pour it into a pot, preheating on the hob. Put a glass bowl on top of this and allow it to heat up a little. Tip in the chocolate, all cracked and crumbled up. Stir occasionally until it melts and looks silky and delicious!

Pour this on top of the caramel, once it has had a chance to set a little. Spread the chocolate on top as you did for the caramel. Once all three layers are done, allow this to sit in the fridge and chill completely.

All 3 delicious layers. Ready for the fridge

Once it is all set and firm, dip a sharp knife into some boiling water (this will enable it to cut through the layers easily) and cut the square into little rectangles.

Then plate up and enjoy!

Next time, I think I want to try different flavours, like orange or something? I'm a big fan of orange and chocolate together. This is a really fun, but elegant looking dessert in the end. You could just hack into it when it is set and ready to eat, but if you are serving it for a dinner party or are giving it as a gift, I find that cutting it into little rectangles makes it look really professional and special!

Until next time friends!

Ciara