Blood Orange Macarons

My eagerness to post another blood orange recipe before Lidl stops stocking them and ultimate life goal to master (alright wouldn't go as far as master, nor declare them my life goal but these turned out pretty darn well) macarons very conveniently led to this fancy pastel coloured post: blood orange macarons. I say fancy because this is definitely a baking milestone for me! Plus I have a lot of making up to post wise since ya know, I'm abysmal at following my self set post schedule!! Uni seems to have thrown all-the-work-ever at us these past few weeks, but deadlines have now all been met and I can breathe PHEW (when I say breathe I mean watch back to back episodes of Angel because I have finished Buffy *sobs uncontrollably*).

Emotionally Repressed Valentine's Day Almond Shortbread Biscuits

This is just a really quick post, I have a full length post lined up to be published soon though nobody fret, but in the Valentine's spirit I thought I'd whip up some really easy, super speedy lovey-dovey almond shortbread biscuits - or rather some emotionally repressed V-day almond shortbread biscuits in true Brit-stereotype fashion inspiration courtesy of this Buzzfeed article. I found it through my friend on facebook and I thought was pretty bloody funny (small children don't need to see the last one!) and took some of the greetings (for lack of a better word, what are the words on cards collectively called?! HELP!) and stamped 'em onto my biscuits with my Tala letterpress cookie cutters (which are super awesome btw).

You make tea properly is my favourite, I made several for my other half and guess who made me several perfect cuppas on my return from a 9 - 5 day in the lab n'awwwwww.

Here is one really-crapply-photographed-slightly-lumpy-un-emotionally-repressed cookie just for you guys, who I know are out there (my stats tell me so even if you never blummin' comment! :P ), not to get all mushy, cos ya know, British, but readers, I really do love ya!

 

Blood Orange Chocolate Loaf Cake

 

January has gone so. very. very. very. slowly. I couldn't be more glad that it's over. February isn't much better what with its dreary drab miserable weather perpetually teetering on the edge of snow (come on if it hasn't snowed by now it should just try again next year please don't make me walk through a sludgy brown mess to get to uni).

Winter-hating aside I finally located some blood oranges! Like a top plonker I've been searching for them since the summer... (for fellow plonkers winter is blood orange season, duh :P ). Anyway I don't go in for the whole 'new year new me' stuff and if I did my self control definitely doesn't stretch to new year healthy eating, so I cracked out a tin of cocoa and made a delicious, dark, moreish, and dare I say it, moist blood orange chocolate cake with a zesty glaze.

In the interest of long term health and well being for those of you possessing the self control to eat all healthily this cake does have some naturally good-for-ya ingredients so it can be enjoyed by everyone, and those adverse to 'healthy' sweet treats won't suspect a thing. Win win sitch right there.