New chip on the block

I have a new love and he's a cookie.


For a long time I've been loyal to my choc chip cookie recipe but just once for something different I tested a new version.


I don' think I have ever felt this enthusiastic about a cookie, not even when I finally managed to perfect a french macaron.


When I saw Deb's post on Smitten Kitchen and read her ravings about Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies I decided that they needed to be baked to be blelived.


So, now, I'm a believer.


These cookies are fantastic.


Crispy, flakey, salty, mmm, good. They are almost hollow inside and they crack like a shell and melt away to salty sweetness in your mouth.


Let me put it this way, about 20 cookies lasted 2 days, I caught DH shoving 5 into his lunch bag, and the only photo I could get was this


Actually there were two others but she kept trying to eat the cookie (can you believe it?!) and so they're too blured.

The only change I made was to use dark chocolate chips, I'm not a fan of white chocolate and I already had the dark choc.

Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies

Makes 24

140g plain flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

200g unsalted butter, slightly softened

180g sugar

30g light brown sugar

1 large egg1 tsp vanilla extract

250g old-fashioned rolled oats

170g good-quality white chocolate bar, chopped

1/2 teapoon flaky sea salt (for sprinkling on top)

1. Preheat oven to 190C degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt in a medium bowl.

2. Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down bowl again. Add flour mixture gradually and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add oats and white chocolate and mix until well incorporated.

3. Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons. Roll between palms into balls, then place on lined baking sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart. Using fingertips, gently press down each ball to about ¾-inch thickness.

4. Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie5. Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, about 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool.

Lets get chip-faced!

With small children comes a constant need for biscuits or cookies. My kids are constantly grazing through the day and when they want something sweet in the afternoon cookies always always keep them happy.

One of my favourites for a long time has been Chocolate Chip Cookies. This recipe I have used since highschool. They are thin and chewy full of chips, just the way I love 'em. The kids seem to enjoy them too 'cause I have to make them in double batches or I don't get any.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
170gms plain flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

60gms caster sugar

100gms brown sugar

55gms butter, slightly softened

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp honey

180gms chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180C.

Mix together flour, baking soda and salt.Cream the butter and sugars. Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated.
Add the vanilla and honey stir well

Add dry ingredients to the wet in two parts. Stir through chocolate.

Place heaped teaspoonfuls onto a lined baking tray.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden all over.

Cool for 2 minutes on the tray, then move to a wire rack.

Makes 30-35 cookies

Bread to fight off boredom

Being a stay at home mum my time gets soaked up by household jobs, and entertaing my girls, however there are days when afternoon naps can't be avoided in favour of a trip to the library or the park and on these days I find myself chafing for something to do. That is how I end up in the kichen.

I abandoned the rich and sticky in favour of the savoury, and took a recipe from Baking Bites - Rosemary and Olive Bread, to go with our soup for dinner.

The bread went so well with our soup the aroma of the rosemary, fresh from the garden was lovely.

Rosemary Olive Bread

3 cups bread flour (ap will work fine, too)

1 tbsp sugar1 tbsp salt

3/4 cup warm water

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary

1/2-1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

Combine yeast and warm water until yeast becomes creamy, about 10 minutes.
Add olive oil, salt, sugar, rosemary and olives into the yeast mixture and add flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until dough comes away from the side of the bowl. Move dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.
Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turn to coat, and cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 205c.
Shape dough gently into a ball. Place on a baking sheet and let rise, covered with a damp towel, for 30 minutes. Dust the bread lightly with flour, slash the top and put into the oven.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, until bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
Place on a wire rack to cool.

Back in the kitchen again

I haven't been bloging this month as I've been sick with one thing or another for a few weeks.

Just as I thought I was getting over it I'd come down with something new. This is why I have winter.

So to break the drought I will blog about this Pita Bread that I made before I got sick.

I got the recipe from Baking Bites, I have done several types of bread from here including Soft Yogurt Sandwich Rolls. Nic's recipes are reliable, and she always recomends whats the best way to use the bread. I like that 'cause I really don't have much of a clue when it comes to bread.

The pita bread was easy, real easy, to make and to eat. Lets just say they didn't get cold. Simply the best pita bread I have ever had, I wont be geting it from the shops again.

We ate it with some home made cheese, but that's a post for another day.

Pita Bread
1 packet active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm (105-115F) water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Combine sugar, water and yeast. Let stand for 15 minutes, until foaming.
Stir in salt and flour until fully incorporated. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
Allow to rise in a lightly oiled bowl until doubled in size, 1 1/2 hours.
Turn on your broiler and lightly oil a baking sheet.
Punch the dough down, divide it into 10 pieces, and gather each piece into a ball; keeping all of them lightly floured and covered while you work. Allow the balls of dough to rest, covered, for 15 minutes so they will be easier to roll out.
Roll out until balls form circles about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick.
Place on baking sheet and broil for 3 minutes, until lightly browned. Flip over and broil again for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes. You just have to keep an eye on these guys depending on how hot your broiler gets.
Remove from oven and cool between kitchen towels to keep the pitas moist.
Store in an airtight container.