Peppermint chocolate squares
A chocolate cornflake base, a layer of peppermint icing (tinted green if you like), and a smooth topping of cooking chocolate. The book uses Scotbloc cooking chocolate; any plain cooking chocolate works.

Sour chicken noodle soup
In the Republic of Moldova, zeamă is the soup of weddings, christenings and Sunday lunches, and a pot of it is said to cure everything from a cold to a hangover. A homegrown chicken gives a golden broth, thin homemade egg noodles go in, and it is soured with borș, the fermented wheat-bran liquid sold in bottles at every market from Chișinău to Bălți, then scented with a big bunch of lovage. The taste is clean, bright and tangy, with the green, celery-like note of lovage on top. It is eaten piping hot, often with a raw onion or a hot pepper on the side. A common mistake is cooking the noodles in the broth for too long, which clouds it; boil them only until just tender. Chef's tip: if you cannot find borș, use the juice of 1 lemon instead, adding it at the end and tasting as you go.
A new country every day, from every cuisine on the site.
A chocolate cornflake base, a layer of peppermint icing (tinted green if you like), and a smooth topping of cooking chocolate. The book uses Scotbloc cooking chocolate; any plain cooking chocolate works.
A cinnamon and lemon honey shortbread base, spread with a lemony condensed-milk coconut filling and topped with grated frozen dough and cinnamon sugar. Crisp on top, soft and tangy in the middle.
A slice version of florentines: a layer of dark chocolate topped with a chewy bake of cornflakes, almonds, glacé cherries and sultanas bound with condensed milk. Cut into small squares; it is rich.
A no-bake white chocolate slice full of crunchy rice crisps, currants, mixed peel and toasted almonds. Children love helping to make it.
Crunchy muesli bars of oats, oat bran, coconut and roasted peanuts, held together with honey and crunchy peanut butter. A healthier snack for school or work.
A crisp ginger shortbread base spread with a hot toffee topping of golden syrup, butter, roasted cashews and glacé ginger. Cut into fingers once set.
A chewy, buttery flapjack of oats and coconut with a layer of chopped dried apricots in the middle. Press it firmly so the slices hold together, and leave them to cool in the tray before lifting out.
Crunchy energy bars of oats, rice krispies, bran flakes, pecans, raisins and apricots, baked and then topped with swirled dark and white chocolate. Great for a lunchbox or after sport.
A no-bake chocolate fudge loaf layered with plain biscuits and packed with brazil nuts, ground almonds, apricots, peel and glacé cherries, finished with scribbles of white chocolate. Make it the day before: it needs 8 hours to set. Serve in thin slices.
A chocolate pastry base topped with a chewy brown-sugar, coconut and mixed nut layer, then drizzled with dark chocolate and cut into squares. Rich and satisfying with a cup of coffee.
Chewy, golden oat bars bound with butter and golden syrup and studded with walnuts, sultanas and chunks of chocolate. They are cut in the tin and keep well in an air-tight container, so they are handy for lunchboxes.
Hearty wholemeal cookies with rolled oats, mixed nuts and coconut. Pressed with a fork and baked until brown, they are a wholesome tea-time biscuit.
Warmly spiced butter biscuits with cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and a kick of freshly ground black pepper, made rich with ground almonds and cream. Dusted with icing sugar, they are perfect at Christmas.
Chewy brown-sugar cookies loaded with roasted macadamia nuts, white chocolate chunks, oats and coconut. A bakery favourite that is easy to make at home.
Buttery cookies with chopped pistachios, crushed rice bubbles, coconut and a hint of chocolate, each topped with more pistachio. Crunchy outside and tender inside.
Chewy-crisp cookies made with crunchy peanut butter, honey and condensed milk, with rice crisps for crunch and roasted peanuts on top. No creaming needed: everything is melted together.
Crisp, lemony biscuits flecked with passion fruit seeds and glacé ginger, sandwiched with a passion fruit butter cream and dusted with icing sugar. A tangy, tropical treat for tea parties.
Wholesome, lightly sweet biscuits with wheat bran flakes, wholewheat flour and chopped dates, warmed with nutmeg. A good mid-morning snack.
Soft golden butter cookies, brushed with warm plum jam after baking and dipped in desiccated coconut. Bright, simple and loved by children.
Big, crunchy cookies made with jumbo porridge oats and desiccated coconut, then rolled in more oats and coconut before baking. Wholesome and filling, perfect for lunchboxes.
Classic crunchy ginger biscuits made with golden syrup and plenty of ground ginger. Good for dunking in tea, and they keep for weeks in an air-tight tin.
Short, crumbly crescent biscuits flavoured with instant coffee and ground walnuts, rolled in caster sugar while still warm. Lovely with an after-dinner coffee and at festive times.
Melt-in-the-mouth biscuits made with semolina and coconut, each pressed into a mix of shredded pistachio and almond. Similar to nankhatai, and very easy: everything goes into one bowl.
Crisp brown-sugar biscuit rings sandwiched with an orange butter cream, then half dipped in melted chocolate and sprinkled with chopped pistachio. They look like they came from a smart bakery and are perfect for gifting.
Rich, crunchy biscuits made with equal weights of flour, sugar, butter, cashews and desiccated coconut. Simple to make and very more-ish with tea or coffee.
Pretty slice-and-bake butter biscuits with a chocolate and vanilla chequerboard in the middle, wrapped in a plain border. They take some patience to build, but the dough is simple and the result always impresses on a biscuit plate.
Golden butter biscuits flavoured the Indian way with saffron and coarsely ground cardamom, each topped with flaked almonds. Light and crisp, they are lovely for Diwali tins and with tea. For plain biscuits leave out the flavourings, or add 1 tsp vanilla essence instead to make vanilla biscuits.
Wholesome oval biscuits made with wholewheat flour, wheat bran, crushed cornflakes and a mix of seeds, then coated in more sesame and linseed. Crunchy and only lightly sweet, with unrefined sugar.
Crisp, golden finger biscuits flavoured with aniseed, made in the book with a biscuit press (No. 4 disc) to give long ridged strips. Without a press, shape small ovals and mark them with a fork.
No-bake squares of crushed cornflakes, rice crisps and coconut held together with peanut butter and golden-syrup toffee. Quick to make and great for parties.
Wholemeal pastry sweetened only with honey, sandwiching a thick filling of dates, lemon and mixed nuts. Glazed with milk and sprinkled with sugar, it is like a home-made fig roll in slice form.
A quick baked oat bar with coconut and a touch of cocoa and golden syrup, pressed thin and cut while warm. Crisp, buttery and very easy.
Nankhatai are crumbly Indian shortbread biscuits made with ghee, butter, semolina and a little gram flour, scented with cardamom and nutmeg. Each one gets a yellow dot in the centre. A must for Diwali.
A big batch of crunchy cookies with rolled oats, coconut, chopped almonds and chunks of cooking chocolate. For a change, use cashew nuts instead of almonds.
A big batch of party biscuits: a buttery dough with mixed nuts, chocolate pieces, cherries and coconut, bound with coco-pine juice (mixed coconut and pineapple juice). The dough is shaped into rolls, chilled and sliced thin, so you can bake as many as you need. Leftover coconut milk can be frozen in ice-cube trays and used whenever required.
Soft-centred chocolate cookies with chopped roasted peanuts in the dough and more on top. Yogurt keeps them tender. A favourite with children.
Flaky little crescents made from a rich yeasted dough, cut into wedges, spread with cinnamon sugar and rolled up from the wide end. Serve them with coffee or tea; they are best on the day they are baked.
Chikki is an Indian brittle. This crystal version is made with plain white sugar, melted until clear and golden, with peanuts, almonds, pistachios and sesame seeds, scented with cardamom and saffron. Work quickly: the brittle sets in moments.
Crunchy, wholesome biscuits made with crushed Weetabix (wheat biscuit cereal), coconut and mixed nuts, rich with fresh cream and rolled in more cereal and pistachio. If the dough is too firm, add 1–2 tbsp milk.
Rustic, crunchy cookies made with wholewheat flour, porridge oats, brown sugar and fresh coconut, with a gentle aniseed note from fennel seeds. Not too sweet, so they are good with a cup of tea or masala chai, and they keep well in a tin.
Small, soft eggless vanilla cupcakes in paper cases, topped with sugar sprinkles: just right for little hands and children's parties. The same mixture also bakes as one large basic cake in a 25 cm round tin.
Plain, crisp, old-fashioned biscuits flavoured with custard powder, the kind that fill a big tin. Shape them as thin ovals with a fork, or roll and cut rounds and prick holes in them. For a change, swap the custard powder for 5 tsp ground ginger and 1½ tsp ground cardamom, or use wholemeal wheat flour instead of plain flour.
Barfi churmoo is a rich Gujarati sweet: a firm dough of coarse wheat flour and gram flour is fried in ghee, ground to an even crumb, then bound with roasted mawa (khoya), hot ghee and saffron syrup and set in a tray. It's crumbly, fragrant with cardamom and nutmeg and topped with nuts. Makes about 40 pieces, perfect for Diwali boxes and weddings.
Kesar paneer kali are oval sweets of soft home-made paneer coloured with saffron, poached in light rose syrup and soaked overnight, then split and filled with cherries and pistachio. They're spongy, juicy and delicately floral. Serve them chilled; the book's photo shows them topped with a swirl of whipped cream too.
Kesar mani is a rich, crumbly Gujarati sweet of gram flour roasted in ghee with popped edible gum, then mixed with milk powder, coconut, ground nuts, cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. It's nutty, fragrant and warming, a favourite in the winter months. Makes 25–30 pieces.
Katlo pak is a traditional Gujarati winter sweet, eaten for strength and warmth: wheat flour and oats roasted in ghee with fried edible gum, coconut, nuts and a warming blend of katlo, dill, aniseed, fenugreek, ginger and spices, set with a dark jaggery 'pie'. It's crumbly, rich and spicy-sweet. Makes about 50 pieces; eat one a day in the cold months.
Lapsi is a festive Gujarati sweet of coarse cracked wheat (bhaidku) roasted in ghee, then cooked soft with jaggery water, fennel and saffron until the ghee shines through. It's grainy, buttery and gently sweet, finished with nuts, sultanas, nutmeg and cardamom. Serve it hot, on its own or as part of a festive thali.
These gulab jambu are made with milk powder, grated carrot and a creamy semolina mixture, fried slowly until golden and soaked overnight in syrup so they're soft and juicy all the way through. The carrot gives them a lovely colour and gentle sweetness. Serve them halved, decorated with nuts and rose petals, with fresh cream.
Siro (sheera) is the Gujarati version of sooji halwa: semolina roasted in ghee until light brown, then cooked with hot saffron milk and sugar until the ghee separates. It's soft, rich and fragrant with cardamom and nuts. Serve it hot, as a festive sweet, for prasad, or as a comforting treat.
Madhureem are elegant festive sweets: a smooth, green pistachio coating cooked in syrup wraps a filling of roasted mawa (khoya) and chopped nuts in saffron and cardamom syrup. Each is pressed and topped with edible silver leaf (varakh). Makes 15–20 — a beautiful sweet for weddings and Diwali.
A soft, fudgy halwa of fresh coconut and cashews cooked in sweetened milk with cardamom and a little ghee, rolled out thin and topped with almond and pistachio flakes. It's creamy, nutty and melt-in-the-mouth. Makes about 30 squares for festivals or a gift box.
Dhosa ladoo is a traditional Gujarati ladoo: a thick wheat and gram flour dough is baked twice until dry, ground to a coarse crumb, then bound with melted jaggery and warm ghee and pressed into balls. They're crumbly, rich and warm with nutmeg, with poppy seeds on top. Makes about 35, and they keep well for festivals.
Kaju katli is one of the best-loved Indian sweets: finely ground cashews bound with a sugar and milk syrup, rolled thin, scattered with nuts and cut into diamonds. It's smooth, dense and delicately sweet with saffron and cardamom. Makes about 40 diamonds; perfect for Diwali boxes and gifts.
A no-cook barfi that children love: chopped dried fruit, nuts, crushed biscuits, cornflakes and rice krispies, with mixed peel, cherries and chocolate, all bound with butter and golden syrup and pressed into a tray. It's chewy, crunchy and full of colour. Makes about 42 squares, great for lunch boxes and party trays.
A lighter way to make lapsi: fine cracked wheat (bhaidku) is roasted in a little oil, mixed with jaggery water and steamed until soft and fluffy instead of cooked in lots of ghee. It's gently sweet and grainy, with a toasty flavour. Serve it hot with warm ghee poured over at the table.
Coconut pinwheels are a pretty no-cook sweet: a soft dough of desiccated coconut, milk powder and icing sugar is split, half coloured, rolled together into a swirl and sliced. They're sweet, coconutty and great fun for children to help make. Makes about 60 slices, perfect for party platters.
A crunchy no-bake chocolate slice: crushed rich tea biscuits, cornflakes, rice krispies and shredded wheat, nuts and coconut are bound with cocoa, margarine and golden syrup, then covered with melted chocolate. It's sweet, crisp and chocolatey, like a homemade cereal bar. Makes about 50 fingers, ideal for parties and lunch boxes.
Shrikhand is a classic Gujarati dessert of yogurt hung until thick and creamy, then sweetened and flavoured with saffron, cardamom and ground nuts. It's cool, tangy-sweet and silky. Serve it chilled with hot puris, or on its own as a dessert; add fresh fruit for fruit shrikhand.
Kesaria ghari are pretty fluted sweets: a soft coating of paneer and mawa (khoya) cooked with sugar and milk wraps a golden filling of coconut and milk powder in saffron syrup. They're milky, delicate and fragrant with cardamom. Press them in a patterned mould and decorate with flaked nuts; the recipe makes 14.
A royal kheer that combines roasted vermicelli and short-grain rice in thickened milk enriched with mawa (khoya, dried milk solids), ground almonds and pistachios. Saffron and cardamom perfume it, and crisp cubes of fresh apple are stirred in at the end. Serve chilled, topped with almond and pistachio flakes.
Soft, milky pendas made from mawa (khoya) and crumbled paneer cooked down in sweetened milk, flavoured with saffron, cardamom and a little nutmeg. The mixture is pressed into small moulds to give pretty shapes. Makes 15; serve as a festive sweet or offering.
An easy baked sweet of grated mawa (khoya) and fresh coconut mixed with warm milk, nuts, saffron, cardamom and nutmeg, baked until set and fragrant. It's soft, rich and milky, somewhere between a halwa and a pudding. Serve it hot, decorated with nuts and cardamom.
Pandadi are delicate layered pastries: thin rounds of butter dough stacked with custard powder, rolled, sliced and fried so the layers puff and flake. Once drained they're dusted with icing sugar, ground nuts, cardamom and saffron and scattered with rose petals. Makes about 40–45; a special-occasion sweet that keeps well in a tin.
Showing 63 of 7,888 recipes
Show more recipesPage 846 of 877