Saturday 5 May 2012

Just call me the Cookie Princess!



Saturdays for me are a time of relaxing with my children and doing a bit of recreational baking. I kid you not when I say that my husband absolutely hates cake pops. Never eats them. Although I think this stems from the time he ate three in one sitting when I first started out, but it might also be because he's just sick of the sight of the things. Anyhoo, I digress. What I was getting at is that my husband likes me to bake cookies. Preferably the chocolate ones, but it's obscene how much chocolate I put into my choc chip cookies that I like to bake the raisin ones so I can feel at least a little like my kids' teeth aren't going to rot in their heads. 


Without further ado (am sure you're sick of my waffling), I present my cookie recipes. I love to tweak them to get new variations, but the basic recipe remains the same as I love the texture of the oats. And oats are good for you, right? RIGHT?! :)





Oat & Raisin Cookies


1 1/4 cups Butter
3/4 cup Soft Light Brown sugar
1/2 cup Golden Caster Sugar
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups Plain flour
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Ginger
3 cups Large, rolled, oats
1 cup Raisins
1.5 cups dessicated coconut (optional but LUSH)




Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies


1 1/4 cups Butter
3/4 cup Soft Light Brown sugar
1/2 cup Golden Caster Sugar
1 Egg
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups Plain flour
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon Salt
3 cups Large, rolled, oats
200g Bar of Dark Chocolate (inside a strong plastic food bag, beat into chunks with a rolling pin)
100g small Plain chocolate Chips
1.5 cups dessicated coconut (optional but LUSH)




Preheat oven to approx. 180 degrees Celcius, fan assisted.


Beat margarine and sugars until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add combined flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices; mix well. Stir in oats and raisins/chocolate chips and coconut, if using.


Roll golf-ball sized pieces of cookie dough, place on a baking sheet and press down gently to flatten ever-so-slightly. If you're using a non-stick tray, you don't need to grease or line, otherwise you might want to. If you prefer your cookies a little crunchier, you might want to flatten further. They don't spread excessively, but do ensure you leave plenty of space between them on the tray just in case. 


Bake approx 9-11 minutes (depending on whether you like them chewy or crunchy). In the picture I've baked them for 11 minutes. 


Enjoy delicious smells wafting around your house. 


Cool 1 minute on the baking sheet before transferring to wire rack.


Store tightly covered. They do honestly get better with age, although I doubt they're going to last that long. 


Oh yeahhhhhhhh, baby.