Friday 24 February 2017

Recipe: Chocolate Orange Fudge Cookies, Feat. The Devon Fudge Company

I was recently contacted by the super duper lovely Nicole (Hello Sleekchicblog!) on behalf of The Devon Fudge Company, asking me if I would like to try out some of their fudge. As a Devon gal through and through I of course jumped at the chance, I mean, who turns down Devon fudge? The Devon Fudge Company is a family run business based in beautiful Dartmoor. A stones throw from where I was born in Torquay, which brings back such fond memories. In their own words: 'All of their fudge is handmade in a copper kettle, with each batch taking an hour to cook and is lovingly stirred continuously with an extremely large wooden spoon! The temperature and cooling process is essential to the scrumptious creamy product, and all the fudges are cut and packed by hand.' Packed into their lovingly made fudge are only natural ingredients, such as local butter and clotted cream (of course!) All of their delicious fudge flavours are free from gluten, palm oil and artificial nasties.

I chose the zesty chocolate orange fudge, as Terry's chocolate orange is one of my favourites and I thought why not try it in fudge form? It did not disappoint! I have created a cookie recipe to share with you lovelies, using the chocolate orange fudge (that I tried not to munch my way through whilst baking...) that is delicious and pretty easy to make.
This recipe makes six cookies.
You will need:
40g of butter or margarine (I used Flora Light)
40g of coconut sugar (You can swap this for soft brown sugar)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 medium egg
80g of self raising flour
6 - 8 squares of fudge, chopped into small chunks (You can use more or less depending on the size of your fudge, but try not to overload your cookies)

Method:
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees (fan-assisted electric oven) Beat the margarine and coconut sugar using an electric hand mixer or wooden spoon, until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla extract and egg, beat until the egg is fully combined. Fold in the flour and fudge chunks. You now have your fudgy mixture, it may look a little runny, you can always add a little more flour, until you get a thicker consistency. Place each blob onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 12 - 14 minutes until golden brown and gooey in the middle. Allow to cool and enjoy! These cookies are best eaten the same day, as the fudge will harden too much, but will last one or two days max in an airtight container. 

These cookies are crunchy on the outside, but soft and fudgy in the middle, the perfect afternoon sweet treat with a cup of tea. I hope you enjoyed this chocolate orange cookie recipe - Are you a fudge fan? Have you ever tried The Devon Fudge Company fudge? I can highly recommend the zesty chocolate orange flavour, but you can never go wrong with classic clotted cream fudge! If you give my cookie recipe a whirl, please tag me on social media as I'd love to see your creations.

If you fancy getting your hands on some delicious Devon fudge check out The Devon Fudge Company website here for a nosy, and a drool over their delicious flavours.

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Love Lauren x

Tuesday 10 January 2017

Lifestyle: New Year, Same Me, Different Mindset

Happy New Year! I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas full of fun and food, and a great start to 2017. It's been a long while since I last sat down and typed up a blog post. It's been a difficult time for me and my family lately, my grandma sadly passed away before Christmas which has suddenly brought up a lot of grief, sadness, shock and feelings I experienced when my mum passed away when I was 15. It's been a tough time for me lately, and it still is hard and upsetting and I do cry a lot but I thought I would try to lift myself up and make myself smile, by writing out a happy/positive/can't wait for/let's bloody smash it life list.

Every year come January, everyone starts making 'new year, new me' resolutions. Which is a great thing, it's so nice to see people feeling positive and motivated about a new year and the things that they want to achieve. I just love the positivity! But for me personally I don't feel that I necessarily need to change who I am or 'become a brand new me' to have a positive and happy 2017. So instead of the classic 'new year's resolutions' I thought I would write a list of the things I want to do and the things I want to stop doing, to be able to go back to the person I always have been, she's in here somewhere it's just a matter of finding her again.
Visit Bath
It's one of those places that is just so beautiful and unique. With it's cobbled streets, cute little cafes and magnificent historical features - it's definitely a place I want to explore. Me and the boyfriend have a three day trip planned for the end of January. I can't wait to be able to unwind, take my mind off everything and take in all the wonder that Bath has to offer. P.S If you have any Bath travel tips, send them my way!

Spa Day
I've never been to a spa before nor had a manicure/pedicure/facial/massage (I know! I need to get my pamper on) so I would love to have a day (or maybe even a weekend) of pampering, relaxation and zoning out from the world. My sister's thirtieth birthday is in July so I might whisk her away for a spa day as a birthday treat. My best friend Katie and I have also always wanted to have a lazy, girly spa day so maybe I'll be lucky enough to have two pamper days this year - winner!

Dream Trip
Me and the boyfriend have been dreaming/wishing/lusting over the Dominican for a couple of years now. 2017 is going to be the year we scrimp and save like crazy, to hopefully jet off and sun ourselves for two blissful weeks in January 2018. Wish us luck! Again, any travel trips are much appreciated.

Date Night
As a couple we usually go out on a dinner date night once a month. It's a nice way to get out of the house, dress up a bit (hello heels, where have you been hiding) chat and connect without being distracted by our phones or the TV or Netflix (By the way bloody loving Fresh Price at the moment, serious nineties vibes!) I think it's important to keep that romantic spark going in a relationship. We've been together four years (3rd Jan, woo!) and we have been a bit lacking in the date night department in 2016, but hopefully 2017 will be the year we're chucking romance around like the fools we are.

Saving
I have been saving for a mortgage/house deposit for what seems like a jillion years now (maybe a slight exaggeration, it's been about 3 years but still... snore.) so I'm hoping that this year I will  continue to save, save, save and be a bit closer to buying a place to call my own. 

Confidence
I haven't been feeling confident in myself, my appearance or my body for a while now. Whenever I feel down and upset I always take it out on my appearance. I feel that in the last four months of 2016 my confidence took a big hit and I haven't yet had the strength to be able to build myself back up. I have always been a big believer in body positivity and happiness in yourself, which makes me feel bad as I always want every single person to feel happy and confident no matter what. 2017 is going to be the year I build myself back up, tone up and keep up with my fitness and healthy intuitive eating. I love exercise as it makes me feel amazing and strong and capable. Exercise is the best mood booster for me, I love to lose myself, forget about everything and just sweat it out. I'm going to up my game, try new workouts and continue to work on myself. After all we are all a work in progress...

Comfort Zone
I am the queen of the comfort zone. I rarely leave mine as my anxiety doesn't make it easy. I'm 24 years old, and I am quite frankly sick and tired of feeling scared/worried/unsure/panicked, 2017 is going to be the year that I finally stop letting my anxiety and insecurities rule me. Who cares what other people think about me, my body, my appearance or my personality? I am me, I can only be myself and I will not change myself to suit someone else. Yes I laugh at my own jokes, yes my laugh is ridiculous, yes I prefer not to drink, yes I love to exercise, yes I love eating healthy, nutritious food, yes I love lazy Netflix nights in and yes I do care about saving over splurging. If you don't like me as I am, then tough luck Chuck. 

Fashion Fright
I love fashion, I love shopping and I bloody love buying clothes, but I feel like I am stuck in a style rut. I often see a dress or skirt and think it's gorgeous, but tell myself I don't have the figure for it/can't pull it off/will look like a potato wearing it. I'm not saying that I'm suddenly going to be head of the fashion pack, but I want to try some new styles, add new pieces to my wardrobe and stop being scared of what other people will think of my outfit. Wish me luck, I'm only slightly terrified. Any tips from you fashion bloggers babes would be super, duper helpful!



What are some of your wants/needs/must dos/kick ass goals you want to smash in 2017? 
I'd love to know, leave me a lovely comment below.

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Love Lauren x