Treats

Love Heart sweets were one of my favourite treats as a child. We used to swap them in the playground and used to feel very adult and grown-up, exchanging our secret messages. Some of the messages on the sweets, like ‘Gee Whizz’ and ‘Cutie Pie’ weren’t exactly part of our young Irish lexicon, so they felt all the more exotic to us. They also tasted yummy and fizzy and gave us that sugar high that we craved as kids. I ate a Love Heart sweet recently and couldn’t get over how sweet it was. I guess I’ve grown up, and my tastes have changed. Messages have changed too on the newer Love Heart sweets and you are more likely to see Text me and Email me instead of Gee Whizz. It’s funny to see how these old fashioned sweets are keeping up with the times. Continue Reading…

I’ve made a few different types of biscuits before, but like everyone else I’m always looking for something new. Then I discovered Alfajores in a local Argentinean café and it was love at first bite. Alfajores (pronounced alfa-HOAR-ays) are popular cookies in many Latin American countries especially at Christmas time. There are loads of different familial and regional versions of Alfajores, but this version with dulce de leche and coconut is my personal favourite. The biscuits are so small, light and crumbly and they are so much nicer than a heavy mince pie. They can be made in different sizes, but I like them no bigger than an espresso cup. They’re crumbly and delicate and are the perfect complement to a rich, dark cup of coffee. I always try out a new batch on my work colleagues (and the OH’s colleagues) and these were especially popular – that’s always a good sign. They’re simple to make and I guarantee people will be asking for more.   Continue Reading…