Is it possible to have too many ‘go to’ cookie recipes?  What about Choc and Nut Oaty Cookies that are sublimely soft, oozing dark chocolate chips AND with a nutty crunch?  I am such a cookie fan.  And there are very few things that beat a warm, fresh out of the oven cookie.  I think I could live on that and never get bored.

Do you have a favourite cookie?  It’s been an education going from cookies that always involved lots of butter, sugar and flour to ones that are often gluten free or even shortbread without butter!  But what an education ?  I love creating savoury recipe ideas but as a baker at heart my favourite days are cookie making days.

In my college days there used to be a ‘hole in the wall’ bakery in the local town that sold nothing but cookies.  No ordinary cookies though – these were ones that were literally fresh from the oven.  Meltingly soft to the point of not even supporting their own weight and oozing chocolate chips.

Since then I’ve wanted to recreate those cookies but my healthier take on them.  Still soft and gooey with melting chocolate chips but no refined sugar and the addition of oats to give an amazing chewy texture.

I’m also a recent convert to quinoa flakes since discovering them from Hodmedods.  They’re smaller than rolled oats and whilst they have similar amounts of protein in them to their oaty counterpart, the protein in quinoa flakes contains all the essential amino acids the body can’t produce on its own.  This makes these delicious cookies a great afternoon pick me up or a post gym treat.  Or “it’s Monday and I want a cookie”.  They tick that box too ?

Are you pre-heating your ovens yet?

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