Ooooooey Gooooooey Marshmallow Cookies

Hallo lovelies!!

Those who 'like' me on facebook woulda seen this photo already...

Don't think I've told you yet, but I work at a Marshmallow Shop! I work with a super duper fun Marshmallow Lady, so it doesn't even feel like work, it feels more like I get to hang out with a friend while I play with marshmallows and Dom, our coffee machine.. (short for Dominatrix ;] )

Anywhooos, one of the perks of working at a mallow shop is an abundance of mallows to bring home when the boss lady deems them "not good enough for the shop"... These mallows are still delicious, but the Mallow Lady only wants the freshest most tip top mallows at the shop for our customers. So I get to bring the mallows home to put in my hot chocolates or for toasting or baking fun...

Photo taken from the Burgh Bakes Facebook page

Because the Mallow Lady called and said I didn't need to go to work today because it was POURING rain and there was a thunderstorm (how cool is THAT!?! Ok, so it's not so great for hours, but for someone who despises going out in the rain and travels to and from work on foot or by bicycle, it's PERFECTION!).. I decided to do some baking instead!

Coconut tucking into a mallow cookie!

adapted from recipe found here

what I used:

1/3c golden granulated sugar
1/2c brown sugar
1/2c butter spread
2 eggs (at room temp)
1/2 t vanilla extract

1 1/4c plain flour
1/2c self raising flour (the original recipe called for 1 3/4c AP flour which I didn't have, so I improvised)
1/4c unsweetened cocoa powder
1t baking soda
12 cubes of marshmallows cut into quarters

yield was approx 20 cookies

what I did: 

1 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Rummage madly to find baking sheets.

2 In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars until smooth. Try hard not to spray it all over the kitchen & me with the hand mixer!

3 Beat in the eggs, one at a time; then stir in the vanilla. 

4 Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually mix into wet ingredients. Scrape any sprayed mixture from the sides into the bottom of the bowl as you go.

5 Fold in the chopped marshmallows. 

6 Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto baking sheets about 2 inches apart. These will spread quite a bit, so make sure the cookies aren't any closer or they'll stick together.

7 Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. 

8 Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

tips & tricks:

I found that the mixture was REALLY sticky, which made it almost impossible to work with, so I threw the mixture into the fridge for a few minutes which made life a LOT easier! I also threw the batter in the fridge between batches.

I always work with two trays when baking cookies, so while one is baking, I can load up the second tray, then throw the second tray in when the first comes out of the oven.. I find that once they've cooled a little I can move the cookies over to a rack then I can load up the tray ready to replace the next one coming out of the oven.

You also don't want to make these cookies too big otherwise the marshmallow will burn if your cookies take too long to bake.. these cookies are nice and crunchy on the outside but soft and chewy inside... they are especially good fresh out of the oven when the mallows are still very gooey, though be careful not to burn your tongue!! ; )

Happy Baking!!

Do you like marshmallows?

Have you tried 'gourmet marshmallows'? Ones which are handmade rather than the pink and white ones or the horrible hard mini ones that some places put in hot chocs?

Entertainment vs. Ethics

Hallo lovelies

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is on at the moment and we have seen some brilliant shows and a few not so brilliant ones... We saw a show today which although entertaining in some parts really made me question the fine line between entertainment and ethics...

Part of the show involved some acrobatics which involved a little boy... if I had to hazard a guess, he is probably about 4 or 5... and although he put on a great performance and was an absolute trooper.. he was pretty much being used as a human prop...

So imagine the amphora/urn is the small boy and you pretty much have the act... The boy was being spun in circles while laying flat like a starfish, then flipped onto his back and spun.. and also flipped.. so he would start sitting on the man's feet, then fling his head back and be flipped through the man's legs in a fill turn and end up seated on the man's feet again... and again.. and again... and again... over and over and over and over... all very entertaining... but I was really concerned about the boy's brain... bashing around inside his skull! I'm no doctor or anything but I'm fairly certain that while a brain is still developing, it is very fragile and should not be subjected to that much force... I mean, after all, that's why we don't shake babies! The entire act made me really uncomfortable and then it seemed to go on and on and ON... there were a couple of times when he 'fell' off and was half caught by the man... but they just went straight on and tried the 'trick' again.. and again... for me.. it was just painful.... I was tempted to walk out of the show because it made me so uncomfortable.

I was glad to find out that I wasn't the only one. I was voicing my concern after we left the show and a lady on the street in front of us turned around and said "I agree!"....

The only other time I've felt this way was in Spain when we went to watch the bull fighting. But on that occasion I'd made a conscious decision and had kinda of mentally prepared myself to be slightly uncomfortable with what I was witnessing... We also decided to leave half way through the performance and actually witness the bull being butchered out the back of the ring, so as much as it was quite horrible to watch, it was good to know that all parts of the bull would then be used in various things. I digress...

On this occasion, I just really wasn't mentally prepared for it and it just seems so much more disturbing when a young child is concerned.

Have you ever been to a performance where you didn't really agree with what's going on?
Did you stay or did you leave?
Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill?

Most Magnificent Sunnies....

One of the prompts for this month's photo-a-day challenge by Fat Mum Slim was "glasses"... I'd been out to a couple of  job interviews and happened to wandering around town, enjoying the sunshine and checking out a few shops...when I happened across these most magnificent sunnies!

If you follow the blog on facebook you woulda seen these already... but for those of you who haven't made the leap to follow me across the digital ditch...

Ta da!!

Moustache Glasses!!!

Aren't they just hilarious!!??? I love them!! I was so close to buying them... If I had any festivals planned this summer.. I totally would have bought them!!

What do you think??
Are you a lover of whimsy??!!

Super Simple Quinoa Salad

Hallo lovelies!

The weather has been hot and sunny around these parts of late (well, by Edinburgh/UK standards at least!) and we had Miss Sok to visit at the weekend, so we haven't been eating the most balanced diet!

In a quest to eat something light which would up my vege intake, I threw together this super simple salad as part of dinner tonight and wanted to share it with you all!

I'd already made the quinoa as part of another dinner earlier in the week so just had the leftover sitting in the fridge.. so without further ado...

Ingredients:
1cup uncooked quinoa - it puffs up a LOT when you cook it, so don't be fooled by the teeny amount one cup seems to be when it's dry. Should yield about 2 cups when it's cooked, tho I didn't really measure.
1 red pepper (you could use orange as well)
1 yellow pepper
Juice of 1/4 lemon
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Give the quinoa a quick rinse in cold water.
Cook the quinoa according to instructions on the package.. Mine recommended 1c quinoa to 2c water, bring to the boil, simmer for 15mins, then fluff with a fork. Throw the quinoa in the fridge to cool.
Dice the two peppers.
Throw the peppers in with the quinoa.
Squeeze 1/4 lemon juice over everything.
Mix everything up by tossing lightly.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Et voila!

I served mine up with panfried mushrooms & onion along with oven cooked chicken. It was super tasty and light and the quinoa is very very filling!

Earlier in the week I served the quinoa hot with pan fried salmon & spinach. I've also thrown it into soup before to thicken it up a little and make it just that bit more filling. Beware that it does soak up LOADS of liquid so only add a little bit at a time and only if your soup has lots of liquid!

Quinoa is super versatile and also super duper healthy! There's all sorts of info on the interwebs, so I'll let you do your own research and make up your own mind.

But aside from the health benefits, it's a nice alternative to rice and it's super yummy nom noms!! So if you haven't tried it before, give it a go!!

If you have other tasty quinoa recipes, please leave 'em below..

Happy Monday!!