So I am lucky enough to be going on holiday at the end of this month, the sort of holiday that requires a bikini. Why am I telling you this? Not to make you insanely jealous or to rub in your face how great my life is – so don’t hate me for it, but it is part of the story. The story of …why the hell am I making cookies when I should be in hardcore health mode.

Well here it is, I really fancied some cookies. I spent Monday afternoon listening to Joy the Bakers podcast whilst I was working and it really got me itching to get in the kitchen. Then someone mentioned cookies and I was sold. Sold in a kinda oh it’s really cold and windy outside and it’s dark and I have been working hard, so I need a cookie. It’s all starting to make sense now isn’t it?

Well there I was, me, my imagination and some baking ingredients. I hadn’t gone out to get anything special and instead of being selective I tried my hand at using everything I had. And produced an Oatmeal, raisin, chocolate chip, hazelnut and cinnamon cookie.

In short it’s a bit schizophrenic in it’s identity. That said it so doggone delicious I don’t really care.

Don’t you love oats in cookies, there is something so comforting about them. I think it might be something to do with my mothers penchant for homemade flapjacks when I was a child, something about the oats just really do it for me.

Anyway this could be a quick mid week treat or an immense Sunday afternoon bake. Either way chill out and let yourself eat a cookie, if you enjoy it then that’s the whole point.

Ingredients

120g unsalted butter, softened

100g brown sugar

100g caster sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

100g porridge oats

130g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

50g dark chocolate chopped into chunks

2 large handfuls of raisins

1 handful hazelnuts – chopped into chunks

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper
2. Cream the butter and sugar together  until creamy
3. Beat in the egg and the vanilla until everything is combined and smooth
4. Measure all the dry ingredients together except for the chocolate, raisins and hazelnuts
5. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and combine
6. Then sprinkle in your chocolate, raisins and hazelnuts. Stir until everything is combined
7. Flour your hands and shape about 1tsp of mixture at a time into small balls and place on the baking tray
8. Keep going until you have done them all ( This was about 2 baking trays worth)
9. Place in the oven to bake for about 10mins
10. Remove and leave to cool, before eating yourself silly

And that as they say is the way the cookie crumbles (as an aside this isn’t a very crumbly cookie – they are kind of scrumdiliumptiously chewy) (damn it… now I need to eat another one)

Happy Weekend.