Cherry Coconut Hearts

I made these for my husband for Valentine's Day. He was pleasantly surprised!
I would add a bit more sugar next time as they didn't turn out very sweet, though still very tasty.

125g butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar or more
1 egg
2 cups wholemeal spelt flour (substitute 1 cup SR and 1 cup plain wheat flour and omit baking powder if you like)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
water
preserved cherries (available in a jar at Aldi stores)

Oven setting: 180 C
Baking time: 15 minutes

Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and beat well. Add flour (with baking powder) and milk alternatively to form a firm dough. Add coconut and mix well. Add a little water if it's too dry.

Roll out mixture as thinly or thickly as you desire (I did 0.5cm); cut out shapes and place on a well-greased baking tray. Space the biscuits at least one cm apart from each other on the tray as they do 'grow' during baking.

Make slight indentations in the middle of each biscuit with your finger and place one cherry on each. You could put more on, but too many would hinder the baking process (it would make them too moist on top). Spread a little of the cherry juice around the biscuit with a teaspoon - not too much as it would make the dough too moist.

Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen the biscuits from the tray while still hot (use a plastic egg flip). Leave them a few minutes then stack into your biscuit storage container.

Carob Mud Cake

1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup wholemeal (or white) spelt flour
1 level teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar (or less)
2-3 tablespoons carob powder
1/3 cup honey
2 eggs
100g margarine (or butter, melted)
1/2 rice milk (soy will change the flavour)

Oven setting: 180 C.
Baking time: 30 minutes

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. In a seperate bowl combine eggs, margarine, honey and rice milk. Beat together well. Add wet mixture to dry mixture. Mix well. Pour into a 20cm round tin (lined with baking paper) and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and leave sit for a few minutes in the tin. Then remove, slice and serve!

Fruit and Nut Biscuits

1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup plain flour
125g margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons brown sugar
milk
100g sultanas
100g cashew nuts

Oven setting: 180 C
Cooking Time: 15 mins

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and mix well. Add flours and brown sugar; mix well. Gradually add milk until the mixture is moist enough. Lastly, add sultanas and nuts and mix through. Form small balls and place on tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 15 mins or until lightly browned.

Notes: Brown sugar adds colour and flavour. If you use baking paper, these won't flatten out at all. But if you grease your baking trays, they will flatten slightly.