Gem and Jo Bake Again

So if you saw our last post you'll know that we had a BBQ to celebrate the end of summer. For dessert we decided to keep things simple and we baked brownies and chocolate chip cookies. When we say keep things simple, we really kept things simple and we decided to use easy to bake items. These really cut down on the time need to make them and they turned out really delicious. Also Gem cannot cook without burning the whole house down so easy bake is the way to go!

We decided to begin with making the Home Cook Chocolate Fudge Brownies as these required a bit more time in the oven than the cookies. These were super easy to make. We just added all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and blended them together. What was great about the Home Cook brand was that it came with it's own baking tray that could be thrown away when the brownies were baked. This meant that we didn't have to do much washing up, and if there's one thing that we despise with the intensity of a thousand suns, it's washing up.

After taking the brownies out of the oven and perhaps eating one or two while they were still hot, we started to make the cookies! We picked up Odlum's Quick Chocolate Chip Cookie mix.These too were super simple to make (well in reality all you really do is mix!). Like the brownies, you only need a few ingredients such as some water, butter or margarine and mix it all together! Simples! 

The next part is the best! You get a hand full of dough and roll it into a ball in your hand, then stick it down on a lightly greased tray and press a little with your finger tips! 

Then stick the tray in the oven and bake them puppies until golden brown!

Both of these easy bake products were simple and easy to bake and tasted amazing when they were done! We will definitely be getting the Odlums Cookies again, they were absolutely delicious and had just the right amount of vanilla! 

Check out Odlums Here

Check out Home Cook Here

Both of these websites have tons of recipes and baking tips that will have you baking like a master in no time! 

Thanks for reading guys, let us know if you've tried either of these recipes or if you have a favourite recipe by Odlums or Home Cook! 

Until Next Time, 

Gem and Jo Take on Brownies

To go along with the cheesecake that we made on Friday, we decided to make brownies too! Now this recipe belongs to Jo, it is her creation and so we ask that you do not claim it as your own, that would be mean.

Here's what you'll need:

3 oz. of dark chocolate, the brand of your choice.
4 oz. of butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
6 oz. of caster sugar
2 large eggs
4 oz. of plain flour
half a teaspoon of baking powder
pinch of salt.

These are some of the brands we used!

 So to create these little squares of deliciousness, this is what you'll have to do:

1: melt the butter and chocolate together, now you can do this either in the microwave or on the hob. We used the hob because chocolate can burn really easily in the microwave!
Plus you can eat it while it melts on the cooker!!

2: Add the sugar into the chocolate-butter stuff with a wooden spoon.

3: beat 2 eggs together and add to the mixture!

4: sift in the flour, salt and baking powder.

5: mix it all in really well and mix in the spoon of vanilla essence too!

6: pour the mixture into a baking tin, which is lined with baking parchment. (The parchment stops it sticking to the tin!)

7: Bake it in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius, (or for those using the imperial system:  356 degrees Fahrenheit!) for 20 minutes!

We recommend checking them after 15 minutes so you don't burn those beauts!!

8: After they've cooled, sprinkle some icing sugar on top and chop into squares!

Voila, you've created awesomeness!

Here's what ours looked like:

om nom nom!!

Don't forget to follow us by email and on twitter, @gemandjo. Thanks for reading! Until next time!!