Christmas spirit – CLARE HOPKINS

XMAS Healthy Salted Caramel Cookies

December 16, 2017April 23, 2020Posted in ALL POSTS, CHRISTMAS, FOODTagged Australia, baking, CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS, Christmas baking, Christmas spirit, climate, cookies, delicious, dessert, dessert recipe, desserts, holiday, hot, recipe, salted caramel, snack, treat, yum2 Comments

Okay so yes this is your usual Salted Caramel cookie recipe, however, for a sprinkle of Christmassy festivity I added cinnamon, nutmeg and rich dark chocolate to the dough.

Read on if you’re interested in my simple, yet divinely tasty XMAS Caramel cookies. Or better; create them yourself in 20 minutes.

Gather the following:

Chocolate Chips (I love Doorstep Organics Dark Chocolate Drops Chips)
3/4 Cup Coconut Oil
3/4 Cup Maple Syrup
1.5 cups coconut sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 cups plain flour
1/2 cup caramel sauce (I use Natvia No Sugar Caramel Sauce)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp baking soda
Sprinkle of salt
Cinnamon
Nutmeg

The Method:

Mix all the ingredients (except chocolate chips) together, until you form a cookie dough. You can add almond milk gradually if the mixture is too flour-y.

2. Use a rolling pin to knead the dough out on top of an acrylic/plastic/stone surface.

3. Here’s where it got a little more complicated. I’m currently experiencing an Australian summer, so naturally the sun was beating down at 30˚C, which made all my cookie dough melt and stick to my hands. So, I wrapped it in cling wrap and popped it in the freezer for 5 mins to make it think it was in Antarctica.

4. Cut little shapes out with the cookie cutter.

5. As the cookie cutter will make the raw cookies a lot thinner and smaller than Betty Crocker recommends for cookie sizing, you only have to place them in the oven for 8 minutes at 180˚C (350˚F), so they don’t burn.

The perfect Christmas treat. Enjoy!

New Brunch Spots, High Tea, and Health Shots

December 11, 2017April 23, 2020Posted in ALL POSTS, CHRISTMAS, FOOD, HEALTHTagged bellagio cafe, blogger, breakfast, brookvale, brunch, Chatswood, CHRISTMAS, Christmas spirit, Colourpot, delicious, diary, family, flowerchild, FOOD, friends, happy, HEALTH, health shots, healthy eating, immune, journal, laneway, life update, manly, momo bar, others, personal, photography, restaurants, summer, Sydney, the north spoon, the rocks, the tea cosy, thoughts, warm, wild sage, writing4 Comments

Thankfully its been warm, sunny weather in Sydney, and as we FINALLY turn into Summer and Uni has finished, I’ve been trying to catch up with all my friends whenever I can around work.

I’ve been dotting around Sydney trying some good (and not so good) places. There are a couple I would highly recommend.

Flowerchild is a sweet little cafe in both Brookvale and Chatswood and I’ve managed to go to both in the past fortnight. It’s has dainty, flower embellished decor and serving up platters that look more like works of art than meals.

I’ve also been having scone cravings lately. I’ve tried baking some myself, but my favourites are from The Tea Cosy in the Rocks. We indulged in cheesy scones with smoked salmon, sour cream and chives, alongside some classic scones with strawberry jam, thick cream and Nanna’s Apple Pie Tea. This was a fruity, warming black tea that reminded me of Christmas – you can buy it in their shop!

I also tried out Momo Bar in Manly, who brought the Poké trend to Sydney. I had the Tiki Bowl: edamame, cabbage, seaweed, ginger, onion, carrot and fried shallots, with roasted sesame sauce. Delicious!

I have also had incredible brunches (i.e. A LOT of smashed avo on toast) at Laneway, The North Spoon, Wild Sage and The Bellagio Cafe.

Processed with VSCO with c1 preset — Momo Bar Manly – *Tiki Bowl*

Another thing I’ve caught onto lately is the health shot trend. These supposedly prevent you from low immune, and at first I was a little sceptical.

However, after looking into the argument for them, it makes a lot of sense – it’s a little shot packed with all the good-immune-boosting stuff.

I’ve been making my own health shots to accompany morning tea. They are bitter and slightly off-putting so you will need a palette cleansing chaser. I blend kale, mixed leafy greens, water, turmeric, and chia seeds.

If you’re struggling with low immune, or just want to boost your daily nutrients, it’s something I would try!

Healthy Mulled Wine? Recipe

December 24, 2016April 16, 2020Posted in ALL POSTS, CHRISTMAS, FOOD, HEALTHTagged blog, CHRISTMAS, Christmas baking, Christmas meal, Christmas spirit, Colourpot, festive, Gluhwein, guide, healthy mulled wine, healthy recipes, holiday recipes, journal, mulled wine, spirit, wineLeave a comment

Despite being an alcoholic drink, mulled wine touts a couple of fantastic health benefits, which can be boosted if you make a couple of clever substitutions.

It’s important to note that mulled wine is never going to be as ‘clean’ as kale or broccoli, but don’t discount the powerful properties this delicious Christmas drink has.

Citrus Fruits: Citrus fruits are a powerful source of vitamin C, which is an immunity booster. Don’t waste the orange in this recipe – make sure to enjoy it after you’ve taken the rind!

The Wine: Red wine itself has several health benefits, and is recommended to be consumed to reduce ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol levels and provide antioxidants to the body.

Nutmeg: Nutmeg improves the cardiovascular system, which boosts heart function.

Cinnamon: Cinnamon is a wonderful anti-inflammatory spice, and it has also been shown to reduce sugar cravings.

You will need:

1 bottle of red table wine
2 cups of water
1/4 cup raisins
5 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 grated nutmeg
Rind of 1 orange
1 chunk of ginger

Method:

Bring water, raisins, cloves, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, orange rind and ginger to the boil in a saucepan. Then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the red wine and simmer for another 10 minutes. Strain the mulled wine and serve immediately. I like to put little orange peel curls or cinnamon sticks in each glass for decoration and extra flavour.

Merry Christmas Eve!