Oaty Cranberry and Milo Cookies

I made these cookies for my children's lunchboxes - they are a variation of the Oaty Muesli Bars but with Milo to give it a slight chocolatey/malty taste, and some dried cranberries for some tangy sweetness.

(I imagine instead of the Milo, cocoa powder would work well too - although I would probably increase the amount of sugar to 100 g. I will try this variation next time.)

Cream together the soft butter and brown sugar, then add an egg.

Beat in the egg (add a tablespoon of the flour first as it makes the mixture smoother)...

...then fold in the rest of the flour, and then the Milo.

Stir in the cranberries...

...and then the oats, until the mixture is well combined.

Put on a baking sheet and heat the oven to 180 C. I made round cookies and some longer muesli bar shaped cookies which are good for school recess/morning tea.

Cook for 15 minutes. They will still be quite soft when they come out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool.

The cooked cookies! They keep their shape well because they are crammed full of oats.

Ingredients:
50 g butter, softened
80 g light brown sugar
1 egg
50 g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp Milo
175 g rolled oats
50 g dried cranberries

Chocolate and Vanilla Biscuits

I suddenly decided to make these thisevening in the middle of making dinner (I sometimes get inspired at strange times) and mixed up the dough, with the children's help, and then let them make their own dessert cookie.

I found the recipe in 'Apples for Jam', and although mine don't look quite like the biscuits in the book, they were pretty good anyway.

In a large bowl, squash together the soft butter and sugar and a pinch of salt, then add the egg and vanilla. Mix in the flour, reserving 20 g for later. Quickly knead to make a soft dough. (I had to add a little more flour as the dough was very sticky and un-kneadable.)

Divide the dough into halves and to one half sift and mix in cocoa powder, and to the other half mix in the reserved 20 g of flour.

Flatten out dough into discs, cover and refrigerate for 30 mins to firm up.

On a lightly floured surface, shape dough with hands or roll out with rolling pin and cut out shapes. I gave some to my children and they had fun making their own cookie each.

Cook at 180 C for 12 - 15 mins until crisp. (I think I could have cooked mine a bit longer than I did because they were more 'doughy' than crisp - probably because they were quite thick.)

The dough spread a bit, so it would work fine with simple cutter shapes like circles, but the detail would probably be lost if more complicated shapes were cut.

These were fun and easy to make, and we decided they taste a lot like chocolate cake!

Ingredients:
180 g butter, softened
150 g caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
240 g plain flour
20 g cocoa powder

Oaty Muesli Bars

A muesli bar and a nice cup of rooibos tea.

I sometimes make these for my children to take to school. They are filling, tasty and non-sticky which makes them good for lunch or recess boxes.

Officially they are a cookie recipe, but they are easy to shape into 'bar' shapes, and they don't lose their shape as they cook. I also make a few smaller, round ones for my youngest son.

I usually make double the recipe and put some in the freezer, so they're handy to put straight into lunchboxes every now and then.

Beat butter and sugar together in a large bowl until well-mixed. Add egg and vanilla and beat in. Sift in flour, salt, sugar and cinnamon and stir in. Add oats and sultanas, and any other fruit or nuts you like, and mix.

Shape into elongated ovals on a lined baking tray (it helps if you wet your hands as it can get a bit sticky).

Bake at 180 C for 15 mins or so. Don't overcook. Allow to cool on the tray for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.


They look pretty much the same after cooking, which is perfect!

Ingredients:
50 g butter, softened
100 g light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
50 g flour
pinch salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
100 g quick cook oats
75 g rolled oats
handful of sultanas, and any other dried fruit you like

Adapted from a Linda McCartney recipe.

Vi's Mum's Oat Cookies

I needed to make something for the boys' school lunchboxes tomorrow, and I had run out of eggs - so I decided to try Vi's Mum's oat cookies.

Melt butter, sugar and golden syrup gently in a pan, and in a large bowl combine flour, oats and bicarb.

I used half white and half brown sugar because I like the caramel-like flavour that the brown sugar adds, and I also stirred in a handful of sultanas.

Stir the melted ingredients into the flour and oats, then put dessertspoonfuls on a baking tray.


Cook at 180 C for 12 - 15 mins. Leave to cool for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Yum!

Ingredients:
100 g SR flour
100 g porridge oats
1/2 level tsp bicarb
100 g butter
100 g sugar (I used 80 g)
1 tbsp golden syrup

Flapjacks

This is another recipe from my trip to England. Flapjacks are well-known, but my auntie, Marcia, makes the best ones in my opinion. We stayed with her for a few days and she gave me her recipe and I've managed to make authentic Marcia flapjacks in my own home!

I like these flapjacks because they are non-flaky and non-greasy, and are chewy and slightly crispy around the edges. (The flapjacks I have made before tend be a bit crumbly and leave you with buttery fingers.)

I think the secret is to use quick oats rather than whole rolled oats, and to only have a thin layer of mixture in the tin so the whole lot can get thoroughly cooked through in the oven.

Combine porridge oats and brown sugar in a large bowl, then gently melt butter and golden syrup together in a pan (don't boil). Pour the butter/syrup into the oats/sugar and mix well. Press firmly into a foil or baking paper-lined square tin 21 x 21 cm (or 8 x 8 inches) and cook for about 20 mins at 180 C until evenly lightly browned.

Allow to cool for a few minutes then mark squares or rectangles, then allow to cool completely before removing from baking tin and foil.

Ingredients:
150 g quick-cook oats
75 g soft brown sugar (I use 60 g)
75 g butter (I use unsalted)
1 1/2 (or one v generous) tbsp golden syrup

Oaty Chocolate Cookies

I was looking for a quick and easy recipe for my 10 year old son to make, and he asked if it could include chocolate chips.

I found this on the choc chip manufacturer's website, and they were very easy to make, just mix everything in a bowl.

I like cookies that include oats because I think it makes them more filling, and they were a great snack for the boys after swimming thismorning.

I have to admit I would have liked sultanas in them, but I'd have sultanas with almost anything! I might add them next time.

Just mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, and put blobs of the mixture on a baking tray. Bake at180 C for 20 - 25 mins or until golden.

Ingredients:
180 g butter, melted then cooled
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar (this makes a pleasantly un-sweet cookie - add a bit more if you like)
1 cup choc chips (I used milk choc)
1 egg, lightly beaten

Milo Biscuits

I originally found this recipe on the internet after doing a search, because I had a tin of Milo that was well past its use-by date and was trying to find ways of using it up. I've changed it slightly since, and these biscuits are worth making even if your Milo isn't a bit old!

Cream together butter and sugar, then add an egg and some Milo. Stir in oats (and some sultanas if you like), then flour to make a slightly crumbly dough.

Make little balls of dough, put on a baking sheet not too close together, and flatten slightly with a fork. Cook for 12-15 mins at 180 C. Leave to cool on tray for a while to become firm before moving to a cooling rack.

Ingredients:
125 g butter, soft
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup Milo
1/4 cup porridge/quick oats
1 1/2 cup self-raising flour

For another way of using Milo in a biscuit, see Oaty Cranberry and Milo Cookies

Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies

These cookies are from 'Feast' by Nigella Lawson, and are very nice! I reduce the amount of sugar to avoid them being too sweet, because the choc chips add a lot of sweetness.

You cream together the butter and sugar, beat in the egg and vanilla, then the combined flour, baking powder, salt and oats. Stir in the cranberries, nuts and choc chips.

Cook tablespoonfuls of the mixture on a lined baking tray at 180 C for 15 min or until tinged with gold.

Ingredients:
140 g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
75 g rolled oats
125 g soft unsalted butter
50 - 75 g brown sugar
70 - 100 g caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
75 g dried cranberries
50 g pecans, chopped
100 g white choc chips

Part of today's lunch - bread rolls (from the bread shop), apricots, cookies (as above) and blueberry buttermilk cake.

Pistachio Biscotti

I've always been impressed by people who can make their own almond bread or biscotti, and thought it would be really difficult to do. It's actually very easy, it just takes a little while because you cook them twice.

I followed a Bill Granger recipe, and supposedly they will last for a month in an airtight container - but I don't know how anyone ever manages to keep them that long. Oli helped me with the flour sieving and stirring.

First you beat eggs and caster sugar together for 3 mins with an electric hand-mixer, and sieve in flour. Mix in until almost combined, then stir in almonds and pistachios. Form into a dough with your hands, divide into two and on lightly floured board, make each half into a 15 to 20 cm loaf. Transfer to a baking sheet and flatten to 2 cm thick. Bake 20 cm until firm (see above) and cool completely.

When cool, cut into 7 mm-thick slices and bake at 120 C for 20 min, turning over once. Cool completely on wire rack.

Very easy to make, and the bit I thought would go wrong (cutting the loaves into slices) was no problem.

Ingredients:
150 g caster sugar
2 eggs
350 g plain flour
50 g shelled pistachios
50 g whole almonds

Two of the biscotti looked like little shocked faces - a bit like the biscuit version of the painting "The Scream"!

Spice Men

They look like gingerbread men, but as there's no ginger in them I have to call them 'spice men'. I add cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves for flavour, and they taste like Dutch biscuits - the ones that often have flaked almonds embedded on one side. (spekulaas or something like that?)

I love to make these because you can make the dough in one saucepan, so not much cleaning up to do afterwards. You melt brown sugar, golden syrup, spices and a little water in a medium saucepan, bring it to the boil then turn off the heat. Add butter and some bicarb until melted and combined. Then stir in flour until you get a dough. Cover and cool the dough and then roll it out with more flour. Use cutters to make shapes. The dough is easy to use, so it's good for children to help with.

When it was Oli's birthday I made 40 or so little spice men (by doubling the recipe) to send to pre school with him so all the children and teachers could eat one after their lunch.

Ingredients:
75 g soft brown sugar
3 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp water
a sprinkling of spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves - or ginger if you prefer
95 g butter, cut up
1/2 level tsp bicarb
225 g plain flour

Cook at 180 c for 8 - 12 mins depending on size and thickness, until slightly golden.

Jam Drops

These are really old-fashioned, un-fancy biscuits that I imagine people's grannies might make for them! They're the sort of biscuits that children really like. Crispy, light and sweet.

After beating together butter and sugar, you mix in an egg and some vanilla extract, then stir in flour. It makes a non-sticky dough that's easy to handle, so would be great for children to help with. Put 2 tsp blobs of dough spaced apart on a baking sheet, then make an indentation in the top of each biscuit and dab a little jam in.

Cook for about 12 min on 190 C then cool on tray.

Ingredients:
125 g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups SR flour
jam (eg raspberry, apricot)

Smartie Cookies

I had all three boys at home with me today, we all have colds and felt pretty awful. If I had been on my own I probably would have spent the day in bed, but I couldn't do that today because the bed would have ended up covered in whingy children. So instead I decided to make some cookies.

I can't remember where I got this recipe, but the idea is that the cookies are soft rather than crunchy. They are simple to make, very sweet and chewy and very popular!

Ingredients:
100 g butter, soft
100 g soft brown sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
150 g SR flour (plus a handful of quick-cook oats because I always do this!)
90 g Smarties

Beat together butter and sugar until creamy, then beat in syrup. Stir in half the flour and the oats, then stir in the Smarties to the remaining flour and stir that in too. Divide dough into 14 balls, place well apart on baking sheet, do not flatten. Cook 180 C for 12 mins until pale golden. Cool on tray, then on rack.

Breakfast Bars

This is adapted from the Breakfast Bar recipe in Nigella Express, which interested me because it uses condensed milk to bind everything together, rather than fat. You warm the condensed milk in a pan and then stir in oats, shredded coconut, dried cranberries, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds.

I halved the recipe and instead of pressing the mixture into a baking pan to cook it, I used cake papers as I don't seem to have much luck making bars - they are either too hard or too crumbly.

Other changes I made were to use dried currants in place of some of the cranberries (because I didn't have enough for the recipe), and I used chopped cashews instead of the peanuts.

These were really tasty - I thought they were a bit sickly at first because of the sweetness of the milk and the coconut. But the next day when they were completely cool, the sweetness was less obvious. These are great for lunchboxes so I'll be making them again. It would also be very easy to adapt to whatever seeds/nuts/dried fruit you happened to have.

Oaty Biscuits

I make these quite often for the boys to take to school. They're adapted from a Linda McCartney recipe, and they contain sultanas and pecans, and plenty of oats.

Very quick and easy to make, especially if you get someone to mix for you while you tip the ingredients into the bowl (thanks Richard!)

Sparkly Cut-out Biscuits

I found this in my photo file - I made them a few months ago. These are the biscuits I decorated before the boys had their turn with the icing etc. (It's not as easy as it looks, dealing with icing - that's why they look a bit blobby.)

I didn't take photos of the ones they made, but they were very creative with the colours and generous with the sprinkles, so I think you can imagine what they looked like!