Burr - Tanya Bakes

I first fell in love with chocolate chip shortbread when I was 17 and working in Starbucks. They sell huge triangle pieces of the stuff and I would often have one on my lunchbreak. As you can imagine, the baked goods at Starbucks could never compete with a homemade version, so when I stopped working there I created my own recipe and have never looked back. Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Ingredients: 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 75g caster sugar 175g cold butter 75g milk chocolate chips 75g white chocolate chips golden caster sugar, for sprinkling Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/GM4. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Mix together the flour and sugar, then work the butter in with your fingers until its the consistency of breadcrumbs.

Add all the chocolate chips, and work the mixture with your hands until a dough is formed itll be quite crumbly but should hold its shape when squeezed together. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to around 1.5cm thick and cut it into about 15 fingers, rounds or triangles. Arrange the shortbread onto the tray, leaving some space between each biscuit because they will expand in the oven. Bake for 1520 minutes or until golden. You might like to neaten the edges of each biscuit while still warm and sprinkle over a little golden caster sugar before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

These cookies are great for when you want some bite-sized treats; their mini-ness makes them super cute and each one is a little mouthful of joy.

Prep time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 810 minutes Ingredients: 200g unsalted butter, softened 300g caster sugar 1 large egg 325g self-raising flour 100g milk chocolate chips jar of chocolate spread, chilled Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/GM4. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper. In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix, then add the flour and chocolate chips and combine to form a dough. Place a small ball of dough in your hand, roughly 2.5cm in diameter. Poke a hole in the middle and spoon in a small amount of chocolate spread this is easier if the chocolate has been chilled.

Cover over the hole with a little more dough, then place on the baking tray and squash down slightly. Repeat with the remaining dough, making sure to leave plenty of space between each ball as they will spread in the oven. Bake for 810 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

I didnt actually try biscotti until I was about 16, as I would always opt for the gooier, more-chocolate-the-merrier treats over an almond biscotti in coffee shops. However, as soon as I tried a homemade version dipped in a hot milky latte, I was converted.

Now biscotti have a permanent place in my life. I decided to combine dark chocolate, pistachio and cranberry, and its a winning combination. Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 45 minutes Ingredients: 200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 1 teaspoon baking powder 200g caster sugar 100g pistachios, chopped 100g cranberries, chopped 50g dark chocolate, chopped 2 large eggs, beaten zest of 1 clementine 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/GM4. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Put the flour and baking powder into a bowl, then add the sugar, pistachios, cranberries and dark chocolate and mix well. Add the beaten eggs, clementine zest and vanilla extract and mix together to form a dough.

Split the dough in half and shape into two 5cm-wide cylinders on a floured surface. Place them on the lined baking tray and flatten slightly, leaving space between the two. Bake for 2530 minutes until golden. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then slice diagonally into 2cm-thick pieces. Place the biscotti pieces back on the baking tray and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Flip the biscotti over and bake for a further 3 minutes until they are golden and cooked through.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

These are really cute little biscuits that go perfectly with a cup of tea. When you get to the stage of rolling the dough into a cylinder, you can freeze it. This is great for when you have people coming over spontaneously, as you can simply defrost them and bake them fresh. Prep time: 15 minutes Chilling time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes Ingredients: 150g unsalted butter, softened 150g light muscovado sugar pinch of salt 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 100g pistachios, chopped Cream together the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla bean paste in a bowl. Work in the flour to form a dough, and fold through all the pistachios at the end.