Recipe no2

This recipe is one i have in the cupboard which means it's one I've tried, i think i remember saying it was one I'd use again which is always a good recommendation. This recipe is for all purpose cookie dough and then the variations are at the bottom of the recipe.

Makes a truckload of cookies!

225g unsalted butter, softened

375g light soft brown sugar

50g caster sugar

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

400g plain flour

2 level tsp bicarbonate of soda

The variations are as follows:-

For oatmeal and raisin cookies, reduce the flour to 300g and add 200g rolled oats, 1 tsp cinnamon and 200g raisins. For double peanut butter cookies, replace the butter with 225g crunchy peanut butter (and a little milk if necessary) and stir in 200-400g unsalted or washed peanuts. For dark chocolate chunk cookies, replace 50g flour with 50g cocoa and stir in 400g dark or milk chocolate chopped roughly. Forapricot and almond white chocolate cookies, stir in at the end 200g chopped apricots, 200g chopped blanched almonds and 200g chopped white chocolate.

This recipe is taken from here  I have halved the ingredients with a view to having some ingredients left over for other things and have used a mix of dates and mixed peel amounting to 200g.

First lot just out of the oven, they have had around 15mins but the first batch are slightly over brown so may turn the oven down a bit. 

First impressions

They look great

   They taste pretty good

This recipe made about 60 (and that was half the ingredients!)

So i would give this recipe a 7/10

Tried and tested recipies

So today just for a change i am baking cookies lol. Yesterday i tried baking some cookies using a recipe i found online which suggested you could use marg instead of butter, anyway i wasn't in the best frame of mind and although i did what i should have i was less than pleased with them. Actually later on they tasted fine. I must admit i do get a bit muddled when it comes to eggs and quantities. We buy large quantities now as i use them for baking as well as cooking and sandwiches but when it says large i do as a friend suggested and add another egg so whether that was a contributing factor to the less than satisfactory cookies i don't know. 


What i do know is i expect cookies to look a certain way and taste a certain way...
So i am doing a tried and tested experiment for me and anyone else that likes making them. I am so muddled with all the different recipes i have tried that i am going to log them and rate them starting with this one Chunky Chocolate Cookies found over on a fellow blogger blog Pumkins and Toadstools 

4oz (115g) unsalted butter

4oz (115g) light muscovado sugar

1 egg

1tsp (5ml) vanilla essence

5oz (150g) self-raising flour

3oz (75g) porridge oats

8oz (200g) roughly chopped chocolate.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 (190C/375F)

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until smooth and fluffy. 

Add the egg and vanilla and mix in well.

Fold in the flour then add the oats and chocolate and stir until evenly mixed.

Spoon onto greased baking sheets and bake for 15-20 minutes or until beginning to turn pale golden in colour. 

Transfer to cool on a wire rack and enjoy.

Now the only thing i have done different is substituted 200g of chocolate  for 100g of currants and 100g dates purely because i used up all my choc chips yesterday and I'm up for anything in my cookies so as i had currants and dates left they went in.The first batch are in the oven now and when i have them out and cooled and tried them I'll be back to rate them.Thanks Michele for sharing your recipe and some hints and tips regarding your experiences making them. I think as a non baker you do wonder about using different sugars and ingredients and how much difference it'll make :)


First impressions

They look like cookies yay!

   They taste yummy

This recipe made more than 20 too which is always a bonus lol!

So i would give this recipe a thumbs up and 7/10 

All in two days work :)

Well it's been a productive couple of  days, although in all fairness it's only 09.40 of day two lol. At the top of the list is baking, baking, baking one of my favourite pastimes. In the top left corner are the Condensed Milk Chocolate Chip cookies i was making around seven this morning, they are my favourite choc chip cookie so far. Next to them is Anzac Biscuits, based on an old recipe for Scottish Oatcakes both of these recipes are taken from 

This book which has been a source of inspiration.The flapjack is a modified recipe i found online to which i added some ginger yesterday, not sure what i think yet but time will tell.

So then there is Otis, this is a pattern i have from online, somewhere. I have many owl patterns because i love owls. I haven't touched my felt in months but yesterday felt the urge and so here he is. I cut out the pieces before i picked Brett up from nursery and in the afternoon when i got too hot and bothered i put him together :)

This is my new t-shirt which i picked up for £3 from Adsa, a couple of days earlier i had bought some transfer paper and so the experiment began. The butterfly got printed onto the transfer paper, the butterfly is one of my drawings. The one thing i didn't anticipate was the edge that i left showing and in my haste i didn't cut it exceptionally neatly. So in order to disguise the edge last night i sat and sewed some alternating beads round it and voila! Mind this morning i was a bit worried when my t-shirt seemed to have adopted a greasy looking hand print which I'm guessing wasn't grease as it came off but i have no idea where it came from. I will definitely be trying this again with other things. How well the transfer will last i don't know but I'll keep you posted. Phew now i must go prepare dinner. Listening to some early 80's tunes. So cool :)