I spent hours in the kitchen trying to create the perfect chocolate brownies. These are the result. They are rich and dense and the coffee just takes the edge off the sweetness without giving them a full coffee flavor.

*Can be made gluten free*

INGREDIENTS:

2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or rice flour for gluten free)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon finely ground espresso coffee
1/2 cup walnut pieces

UTENSILS:

8-inch square baking pan
Small saucepan
Pyrex or other heat resistant bowl
Hand mixer or whisk
Wooden spoon or spatula

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease the baking pan or line it with waxed paper.

3. Roughly chop the chocolate and butter and place it in a bowl. Put a small amount of water in the saucepan. Place the bowl over the pan. The bowl should sit on the rim of the pan with the bottom of the bowl just touching the water - it should not fit inside the pan. Place the pan on a low heat. Stir the chocolate and butter occasionally.

4. When the chocolate and butter have melted, remove from the heat and stir the mixture.

5. Stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture.

6. Beat the eggs into the mixture one at a time.

7. Stir the flour, salt and vanilla into the mixture gently.

8. Add the coffee and walnuts.

9. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

10. Cool on a rack before cutting.

11. Enjoy!

TIPS:

1. It's better to slightly undercook these brownies rather than overcook them. You should take them out of the oven when they are barely set in the middle. Test this by putting a knife into the middle. If it comes out with a little bit of goo on it, they are done. If it comes out completely covered in goo they need a few more minutes.

2. If you eat a gluten-free diet you can substitute rice flour for all purpose flour. In fact, it makes the brownies even more gooey and yummy.

3. You can use decaffeinated coffee. It still takes the edge off the sweetness and makes the brownies rich and decadent.

4. You don't have to use walnuts. If you prefer pecans or any other type of nuts, feel free to switch them.

5. You don't have to use nuts at all. If you prefer pure, unadulterated chocolate you can skip the walnuts entirely.

There are hundreds of recipes for chocolate chip cookies, but I think this one is the top dog. It's really simple and produces soft, chewy cookies which are scrumptious straight from the oven!

INGREDIENTS:

2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar (packed)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

UTENSILS:

Cookie sheet
Large mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Hand mixer or whisk

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream together the butter and both sugars.

3. Add the eggs a little at a time using either an electric hand mixer or a whisk to beat until well mixed.

4. Add the salt and vanilla extract to the mixture.

5. Fold in the flour and baking soda.

6. Stir in the chocolate chips.

7. Drop golf-ball sized balls of the dough onto the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

8. Bake in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes until the cookies are golden brown around the edges but soft in the middle.

9. Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before placing the cookies on a cooling rack.

10. Enjoy!

I discovered these cookies when I was looking for something to cure my husband's coconut craving! They're crunchy and delicious and very easy to make.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup oats
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

UTENSILS:

Cookie sheet
Large mixing bowl
Wooden spoon

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease the cookie sheet or line it with waxed paper.

3. Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the large mixing bowl and mix them well.

4. Add the white sugar, brown sugar, butter and egg and mix until smooth.

5. Stir in the vanilla extract.

6. Fold in the oats and coconut.

7. Roll into balls (about the size of a golf ball) and place on the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

8. Bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes until light golden brown around the edges.

9. Place on a cooling rack.

10. Enjoy!

TIPS:

1. If you find the mixture is sticking to your hands after a while when rolling it into balls, rinse your hands with water after rolling every few cookies.

These came about when I had a real baking emergency. I had promised to bake some cookies, but discovered that I had no flour or butter. What on earth could I bake without flour and butter? The answer? These delicious peanut butter cookies.

*Gluten free*

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter

UTENSILS:

Large mixing bowl
Hand mixer or whisk
Wooden spoon
Cookie sheet
Fork

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease the cookie sheet or line it with waxed paper.

3. Beat together the sugar, egg, baking soda and vanilla until well combined.

4. Add the peanut butter and mix well.

5. Place tablespoon size balls of the mixture onto the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

6. Press the balls down lightly with a fork or your hands.

7. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

8. Place on a cooling rack.

9. Enjoy!

TIPS:

1. For crunchy cookies use chunky peanut butter. For slightly softer cookies use smooth peanut butter.

2. If you want extra crunch you can add 1 cup of chopped peanuts when you add the peanut butter to the mixture.

3. I love Laura Scudder's Old Fashioned Peanut Butter because it is pure peanuts - no hydrogenated oils or trans fatty acids!

These oat bars came about when I was looking for something healthy to eat before and after surfing. These bars are perfect because they're chock full of slow releasing energy. They're also great to take hiking or on camping trips.

*Can be made gluten free*

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups oats
2 cups cornflakes
1 cup all purpose flour (or rice flour for gluten free)
3/4 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup dried chopped apricots
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup walnut pieces
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup butter
1/2 cup corn syrup

UTENSILS:

9" x 13" baking pan
Large mixing bowl
Heat resistant bowl
Wooden spoon

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease the baking pan or line it with waxed paper.

3. Place the oats, cornflakes, flour, sugar, dried fruit, nuts, baking powder and cinnamon in the mixing bowl. Mix them together until they are well combined.

4. Put the butter and corn syrup in the heat resistant bowl and place them in the microwave to melt. Once they are melted whisk them well until they are evenly combined.

5. Pour the butter and syrup over the dry ingredients and mix them well.

6. Put the mixture into the baking pan and press it down evenly.

7. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and firm.

8. Leave to cool completely in the pan before turning out and cutting into bars.

9. Enjoy!

TIPS:

1. If you don't eat gluten you can substitute rice flour in this recipe as well.

2. If you try to turn them out of the tin and/or cut them before they are cool they will probably fall apart.

This recipe is the perfect way to use up over-ripe bananas that no-one wants to eat.

*Gluten free*

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups oats
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup walnut pieces

UTENSILS:

Large mixing bowl
13" x 9" baking pan

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease the baking pan or line it with waxed paper.

3. Cream together the butter and sugar.

4. Mash the bananas with a fork until they are a smooth pulp.

5. Add the egg, bananas, cinnamon and salt to the butter/sugar mixture and stir until well combined.

6. Add all the remaining ingredients to the mixture and stir well.

7. Pour the mixture into the baking pan and press it down evenly.

8. Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

9. Leave to cool in the baking pan before turning out and cutting into bars.

10. Enjoy!

This is another recipe that I discovered when I was trying to use up over-ripe bananas. It's delicious and so easy to make.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 ripe bananas, mashed
3fl oz buttermilk (or normal milk with 1½ tsp lemon juice)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup pecan pieces

UTENSIILS

2 large mixing bowls
Hand mixer or whisk
9" x 5" loaf pan

METHOD

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease the loaf pan or line it with waxed paper.

3. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.

4. In the other mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.

5. Add the eggs, mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well.

6. Fold in the flour mixture and cinnamon.

7. Mix in the pecan pieces.

8. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan.

9. Bake in the oven for about an hour, or until it is well-risen and golden brown.

10. Leave to cool in the loaf pan for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

11. Enjoy!

TIPS

1. If you don't like pecans you can substitute walnuts or leave them out altogether.

If you're going to be able to bake emergency cookies when friends drop in unexpectedly, you're going to have to make sure you keep the right ingredients in the cupboard. Here's a list of the basic baking ingredients that you should keep at home, ready for those surprise visits!

1. Unsalted butter
2. Eggs
3. White sugar
4. Soft brown sugar
5. Baking powder
6. Bicarbonate of soda
7. All purpose flour (or rice flour for gluten-free)
8. Self-raising flour
9. Unsweetened chocolate
10. Chocolate chips
11. Walnut pieces
12. Oats
13. Cinnamon
14. Vanilla extract
15. Almond essence
16. Corn syrup

Just in case you're caught short without a well stocked pantry, I've included a couple of delicious recipes that can be made with very few ingredients.

If you liked this lens please check out some of my other lenses:

South Island of New Zealand
The Isle of Jersey
Surviving Long Haul Flights

You can also visit my freelance writing and photography website.