Double-chocolate sablé cookies

Double-chocolate sable cookie recipe

Let’s get baking! Find over 100 scrumptious Christmas cookies here.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate (about 56 g or 2 squares)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Fry’s
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chopped white chocolate (about 170 g or 6 squares)
• 2 tbsp chocolate sprinkles

Instructions

• POSITION racks in top and bottom thirds of oven. Preheat to 350F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Fit a large pastry bag with a #9 or large open star tip.
• MICROWAVE dark chocolate on high, 30 sec to 1 min. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool. Sift flour with cocoa into a medium bowl. Set aside.
• BEAT butter with sugar and salt in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium- high, until fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla and melted dark chocolate. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture until smooth. Dough will be firm.
• SPOON half of the batter into pastry bag. Pipe into large shell shapes 1 in. apart on prepared sheets by squeezing very hard, letting the batter fan out before pulling the bag toward you to form a point. Refill bag with remaining batter and repeat.
• BAKE in top and bottom thirds of oven, switching sheets halfway through, until tops of cookies are firm, 12 to 13 min. Cool on sheets 5 min. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• MICROWAVE white chocolate on high 1 min. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Dip the point of each cookie in melted chocolate, or apply with a brush. Sprinkle chocolate sprinkles over white chocolate. Transfer to a rack to dry chocolate completely before serving, at least 1 hour or preferably overnight. Store cookies in an airtight container up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month.

HOW TO PREPARE TEA WITHOUT TEA BAGS

Why don't more of us use loose-leaf tea when it makes a better cuppa and is better for the environment?

Economist, environmental campaigner and wife-of-the-governor-of-the-Bank-of-England Diana Fox Carney has taken some stick for getting exercised over the environmental cost of teabags. It may sound trivial to some, but she makes a good point on the waste involved – we use about 55bn teabags in the UK each year – that's about 370,000 tonnes of waste that mostly end up in landfill.

Even Unilever, maker of a little brand called PG Tips, deems sustainability an important enough issue to tackle, asking people whether they will compost or recycle used bags

But the question should be, why do we need any kind of bag when loose leaves make better tea? In 1968, only 3% of households in Britain used teabags – a foreign, American invention that went against our love of leaves. Loose leaf tea, on the other hand, has been made for around 3,000 years, and just requires one brilliant bit of kit – a teapot.

I have never understood why so many of us think it's a real hassle to make proper tea, but happily use a cafetiere for coffee. You get better flavour when you allow the leaves room to unfurl as they infuse. No chemicals, no waste and it's really not complicated.

And the waste isn't just limited to the bags. If you're using good tea leaves, you'll find they can be infused several times. Each time you brew the tea, different subtleties of the delicate flavours will be released. In China it is widely believed that the second or third brew of fine tea is the best.

The trick is not to leave the tea leaves to stew once they have been brewed to the desired strength. Straining the tea completely will prevent the leaves from becoming bitter and allow a second and third brew.

Making a perfect cup of tea

Measure out a cup of water and a teaspoon of tea for each person, with one for the pot if you like it strong.

Pour the water from the freshly boiled kettle into the teacup first and then into the teapot – this way the proportions will be perfect – once the tea is brewed all the liquid is poured out so the leaves won't stew and will be in perfect condition for a second or third infusion. It will also cool the water to the right temperature – for proper tea, an ideal temperature is around 85C.

Remember, leaf teas need a little longer to infuse than teabags. Teabags give up their paltry flavour in an instant. A tealeaf has so much more to offer and takes its time.

White and green teas don't really work with milk but with black tea, anything goes. It's entirely a matter of taste. The great thing about proper leaf tea is that it's delicious on its own or with milk.

Milk in first or second? It's up to you. I put it in second so I can tell how strong the tea will be by the colour. No doubt there will be some who disagree – do share your tea rituals.

How to Make Chapati

Chapati is very common not just in Kenya but other countries although it goes by different names. It is a flat bread prepared using wheat flour. It is usually served in many occasions and celebrations. It is not difficult to prepare but one needs practice in order to get the right measurements of flour and water.


Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• Salt
• Oil

Preparation

1. Add flour to a large bowl and add salt. Mix well.
2. Add the water and mix to form a smooth dough. Knead it and if it is too sticky add a little more flour. 
3. Add oil to the dough and continue kneading until the oil is evenly spread and the dough does not stick to the hands.
4. Using a knife, cut the dough into a handful and form a ball. Make balls with the entire dough and place them on a floured tray or surface.
5. Sprinkle flour onto a rolling board or flat working surface. Taking one ball of dough at a time, roll them using a rolling pin to a circular shape.
6. Using a spoon, drip oil around the dough and spread evenly. Take the edges and fold to form a coil then to a circular ball as shown below. Let them stand for a few minutes.

 7. Place a frying pan or heavy bottomed skillet on heat and warm it. In the meantime, take one dough and roll out on a floured rolling board or flat working surface. Spread it into a circular shape.
8. When the frying pan or skillet is hot enough, transfer the rolled out dough onto it. Cook for about two minutes then move it around the pan without turning over.
9.  Cook for another two to three minutes then turn over and cook the other side. In the meantime, take another ball of dough and roll out like the first one.
10. Using a spoon, spread oil evenly onto the chapati on the skillet then turn over and do the same to the other side. Cook for a minute then remove from heat. Repeat the procedure for the remaining dough.

The oil is necessary not only for nutritional purposes but also to make the chapatis soft and manageable while cooking. Too little oil can leave the chapatis dry and hard. Do not use a lot of salt.

They are usually served with any type of stew, soup or vegetable dish. They can also be served  with other dishes like rice or pilau especially during feasts. They are very popular in restaurants and hotels where one can have them with tea.