A lot of the time words flow freely for me.. in fact in some posts I have to do serious editing to make it a readable length. This post however is harder to write.
I am part of a really close knit food blogging community and in March, sadly we lost one of our gang. Isabella King who wrote the blog Coriander Queen passed away at the age of just 29 and it hit our group hard. We were at a bit of a loss to find a way to both honour her and celebrate some of her gorgeous recipes. We ended up deciding that we would all make, then share one of her recipes on our blogs on the same day at the same time. I like to think she would have liked this way of showing her the respect she had from her fellow food bloggers and I hope for her family and friends it brings a little light into a dark time.
When chatting in our group about Izzie, I was struck by how similar our thoughts on her were. A lot of us in the group have never met, yet we are incredibly close and support each other through a lot. I never met Izzie in person but every single contact, message, blog comment and discussion I had with her was positive and cheery and she was always so incredibly kind and thoughtful. Some people have personalities which just shine and I think she was one of those people. Like most of us in the group her blog was very important to her and she was good at it.
I have spent a good while browsing her blog this past month, she created some amazing recipes and I finally chose the Stuffed Nutella Cookies as the recipe I would recreate. I remember her first sharing the recipe last Autumn, I drooled a little at the time and I am also a bit of a Nutella addict. I admit that following her recipe and baking her cookies was emotional but it was a nice way to remember her.
I encourage you to go check out the original recipe over on Coriander Queen by clicking here and maybe spend some time browsing her recipes.
Stuffed Nutella Cookies
You will need:
150g Self Raising Flour
115g Butter
115g Light Soft Brown Sugar
15ml Golden Syrup
12 teaspoons of Nutella
Firstly place your spoonfuls of Nutella on baking paper on a flat baking tray and pop in the freezer for 30 minutes. Now preheat your oven to 180c. Cream you butter and sugar together until smooth, now add half your flour and syrup and mix until well combined. Now add remaining flour. Remove Nutella blobs from freezer and use your dough to form balls around the Nutella. Place back on the baking paper ( its is fine to use the same piece again ), leaving space to spread and bake for 14-16 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and leave to cool slightly.
These cookies are so easy to make and everyone that has tried them has loved them, I can see me making these regularly now and it feels like a really nice way to remember Izzie ( aka Coriander Queen ).
Now that I have whet your appetite why not go check out some of the recipes that my fellow bloggers have been recreating:
Easy 5 ingredient pesto tomato tart on Amuse Your Bouche
Globe artichoke with balsamic dip on Natural Kitchen Adventures
Cider, apple and sausage casserole on Farmersgirl Kitchen
Chocolate orange oat bars on Veggie Desserts
Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies on Tin and Thyme
Arancini (risotto balls) on Coffee & Vanilla
Rich coffee cupcakes on BakingQueen74
Gingerbread cupcakes with orange buttercream on The Veg Space
Marmalade and ginger loaf cake on The Crafty Larder
Ginger and oat cookies on Kavey Eats
Amatriciana pasta on Kitchen Sanctuary
Treacle tart on Patisserie Makes Perfect
Crispy fried halloumi on Supper In The Suburbs
Chocolate fridge cake on Jo’s Kitchen
Chocolate almond butter cookies on Rough Measures
Eggless chocolate chip cookies on Simply Sensational Food
Boozy decadent hot chocolate on Fab Food 4 All
Easy no bake blackberry cheesecakes on Casa Costello
Best coriander / cilantro recipes on Fuss Free Flavours
Easy gingerbread popcorn snack on Celery & Cupcakes
Elderflower and vodka cocktail slush on The Hedgecombers
Fruit flapjacks on The Petite Cook
Tomato, garlic and prawn spaghetti on Hungry Healthy Happy
Lemon drizzle loaf cake on Penne For Your Thoughts
Chicken ramen on It’s Not Easy Being Greedy
Stuffed Nutella cookies on Munchies And Munchkins
Easy Berry Compote on Eats Amazing
Caipirinha on Lovely Appetite
Garlic and Lime Coriander Prawns on Travels for Taste
Some of Izzie’s family and friends are fundraising for cancer research, you can find out more here.
A lovely tribute xx
Those cookies look absolutely delicious and this is such a lovely tribute to Isabella.
Beautiful post, I understand just what you mean. We chose biscuits too, and they were super simple and so delicious. This one is on the list to make too.
They look delicious Becky I am not surprised you chose is recipe. A lovely tribute
Nutella in cookies now who would say no to them, they look great. Beautiful tribute.
I remember way back when I first found out Izzie was poorly and I remember thinking surely not! She’s always so happy and positive! She did so well to stay so strong and I’m gutted that it has ended the way it has. But this and all the other recipes have been the perfect tribute. You found all the right words and Im sure she’d be smiling now reading this xxx
A beautiful tribute and wow these cookies look amazing!
It’s funny, I do always associate nutella with you! Such a great recipe for you to choose and re-share, a lovely tribute to a fellow nutella fan in Izzie x