basesixty

Tag: cream cheese

  • Garlic, Mushroom and Quorn Pies

    Makes 2 pies.

    You will need:

    • calorie controlled cooking spray
    • 1 leek, sliced
    • 150 g (5½ oz) chestnut mushrooms, sliced
    • 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
    • 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
    • 200 g (7 oz) quorn chicken style pieces
    • 75 g (2¾ oz) frozen petit pois
    • 60 g (2 oz) low fat soft cheese with garlic and herbs
    • 100 ml (3½ fl oz) skimmed milk
    • 2 x 45 g (1½ oz) filo sheets, measuring 50 x 24 cm (20 x 9½ inches), and defrosted if frozen
    • salt and freshly ground black pepper

    Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200ºC/fan oven 180ºC. Heat a medium size, non stick saucepan and spray with the cooking spray. Add the leek, mushrooms and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring regularly. Stir in the thyme, Quorn and peas. Cook, stirring, for another 3 minutes.

    Add the soft cheese and milk, season, and cook for a minute until hot. Spoon the mixture into two 250ml (9fl oz) pie dishes.

    Scrunch up each sheet of filo pastry and then place on top of the pies to fit the dishes. Spray the top of the pies with the cooking spray, place on a baking sheet, and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.

    TIP: Use puff pastry to line the pie tin and top the pies if you want a nicer pie

    TIP: You may want to increase the sauce level for these pies. To do that, increase the cheese and milk a little to taste.

    Original Recipe: RTE Lifestyle

  • Red Velvet Cookies

    Makes 16 – 18 cookies

    You will need:

    • 175g soft salted butter
    • 200g light brown soft sugar
    • 100g caster sugar
    • 1 large egg
    • 2 tsp vanilla extract
    • ½-1 tbsp red food colouring gel, depending on strength
    • 225g plain flour
    • 25g cocoa powder
    • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
    • 150g white chocolate chips or chunks
      For the drizzle:
    • 2 tbsp soft cheese
    • 6 tbsp icing sugar

    Beat the butter and sugars together with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and food colouring until you have a bright red batter. Sieve over the flour, cocoa and bicarb. Fold everything together to make a stiff evenly-coloured dough, then fold in the chocolate chips.

    Put the dough on a sheet of baking parchment, fold the parchment over the dough and mould into a sausage shape about 6cm wide. Chill until ready to bake. Will keep for a week in the fridge or one month in the freezer.

    Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Cut the cookie dough into 1cm thick slices using a sharp knife and arrange on two large baking sheets lined with baking parchment well-spaced apart so they have room to spread in the oven. Bake in batches, keeping the unbaked cookies on the sheet in the fridge while the rest are baking.

    Bake in the middle of the oven for 13-15 mins until the cookies are crisp at the edges, but still soft in the centre. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Beat the soft cheese in a small bowl to a loose consistency, then stir in the icing sugar. Use a piping bag or spoon to drizzle the icing over the cookies. Un-iced cookies keep for five days in an airtight container, or two days iced.

    TIP: Be careful not to overcook these. If the edges feel crispy in the oven, you have cooked them too much. You should take them out then the edges look bubbly and the middle is still soft. The cookies firm up a lot once they cool (like flapjack!).

    Original recipe: Anna Glover – BBC Good Food