Because sometimes chocolate chunk cookies are required.
I’ve made cookies!
Regular readers will be aware that it’s been ages since I’ve posted anything even remotely sweet and indulgent like a cookie or cake recipe. That’s because I’ve not been making such treats, or anything even hinting at calorific as I attempt to lose the extra weight I piled on last year (12 lbs down, btw!).
I’ve got one of those naturally trim husbands (I’m insanely jealous, you should know). How he does it, I don’t know, given my love of cooking and baking and the endless supply of food he has at his fingertips. No, I tell you know he does it – he firmly believes that pudding is something which should be eaten only if you are feeling hungry!
Seriously! After you’ve finished your dinner and if you are still feeling hungry, only then can you indulge in a sweet treat. Not because sweet treats are a pleasure and enjoyment to eat, but rather simply to fill a biological hunger gap. So, since he fills up on his dinner the pudding, cake, biscuits, etc get neglected.
I don’t want the children to gorge themselves on sweet treats either, so after they’ve had a reasonable serving that leaves the majority of the treat sitting there on the kitchen counter, gently calling me come 9 pm at night while I’m watching Netflix. One cookie leads to three, and then the next thing you know I’ve lost count and I’ve put on two kilos.
So, for the sake of my waistline, I stopped making treats.
Until yesterday.
Our neighbourhood has turned into a building site. All the houses are having some serious external refurbishments – new roofs, new outer walls, new windows, new outer doors. From 8am – 4pm every day all I hear is the sound of jackhammers and heavy plant, and they haven’t even started on our house yet (we are in Phase 2, scheduled to start in March). From the vantage point of my kitchen table I watch them demolish my neighbours houses. I’ve felt really bad for them as the whole first week they were here it rained, relentlessly, lashing painful precipitation. This week we’ve seen sun at least!
I have it under good authority that builders can polish off an entire cake in 2.8 seconds flat (a blogging friend of mine has had builders working on her house for the last five months and she has said this is the case) so, to solve the problem of not baking while I’m dieting, I’ve taken to dropping off some home bakes for the builder’s morning break time.
Win-win!
Last week they got a banana bread (three day old, as, like I said, my family seem to forget I’ve baked and the cake gets neglected) and this week they’ve had two lots of chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies, a recipe adapted from the age old Neiman Marcus £250 cookie recipe scrawled in my ancient notebook.
I did taste test one (completely blowing my daily carbohydrate allowance yesterday) and I can attest to their awesomeness; a lovely oatmeal cookie base dotted with proper ooey-gooey chunks of chocolate. Blending the porridge oats before adding them to the mixture imparts a rather smooth and chewy texture to the biscuit.
Double Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 225 grams butter softened
- 250 grams granulated sugar
- 200 grams light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 250 grams porridge oats blended to a fine powder
- 350 grams plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 150 grams plain chocolate coarsely chopped
- 150 grams white chocolate coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190 C.
- Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well.
- Stir in the finely ground porridge oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Fold in the coarsely chopped chocolate.
- Pinch off pieces of dough the size of a small walnut. Roll into balls and place on a baking tray 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until light golden. Leave to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Linking up with Alphabakes by Ros The More Than Occasional Baker and Caroline at Caroline Makes. This month the letter we are challenged to bake with is L, and as this recipe includes light brown sugar it fits the challenge.
I’m also linking up with Recipe Clippings, a new blogging challenge by Janice over at Farmersgirl Kitchen. This recipe has been lurking in my book since 1996 and this was the first time I’d ever made it (well, a variation of it given the ingredients I had available in my kitchen!).
The Biscuit Barrel by Laura of I’d Much Rather Bake Than… and guest hosted this month by Alexandra, The Lass in the Apron, asks us to share recipes with a new technique or innovation. I’ve never blended oatmeal to a powder before to use in a cookie recipe, so I’m sharing this recipe with them.
Tea Time Treats, co-hosted by Jane at Hedgecombers and Karen at Lavender & Lovage is all about packed lunches. Hubby took some of these biscuits to work with him in his packed lunch, so I reckon it qualifies (Note: I suspect if I hadn’t given half the cookies away to the builders he would have forgotten about them like he usually does! I might be on to something here!)
OTHER CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIE RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE
Buckwheat and Chia Seed Chocolate Chip Cookies by Nazima
Chocolate Melting Moments by Camilla
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chunk Cookies by Elizabeth
Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies by Elizabeth
Chocolate Chip Cookies by Jen
Chocolate and Cacao Nib Heart Cookies by Laura
Follow Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary’s board Cookies & Biscuits on Pinterest.
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Mum of three, daydream adventurer, OU Life Sciences graduate, occasional crafter, ex-pat Canadian & quite possibly Britain's most northerly food blogger.
Jorgelina says
I love oatmeal cookies, these look amazing!
Ursula Hunt says
Nothing beats a homemade biscuit with a cup of tea
Irene Murdoch says
I want to try making these – they look yummy
Maya Russell says
Have roofers here tomorrow. You have given me a great recipe for Builder’s Biscuits!
carolyn joyce says
I am poorly in bed right now and so NEED some of these to help me recover lol. I dont reckon anyone is going to make them for me though lol
Elizabeth says
Oh dear! I hope you are feeling better soon!
Penny H says
These look so good! I can’t believe that cake is made and LEFT in your house, we have the opposite problem here…..
Heather Haigh says
Yum! Nuff said.
Sarah Gibson says
These look lovely will definitely be making these with my son
Choclette says
CT never seems to put weight on and he eats masses. Luckily for me he’s more than happy to eat all the bakes I make – when I haven’t given them to someone else that is. These biscuits look delicious Elizabeth. I bet the builders loved you.
Heather Haigh says
Cookies are one of my favourite things to make. And to eat. Lots…. Yours look delicious
Paul Wilson says
Love homemade biscuits.
Fiver Feeds says
These cookies look so delicious, I’m really gonna try making them. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Janie says
So, in Chinese medicine it is believed that to promote your digestive energy, a SMALL amount of sweet food should be consumed after a meal. There. Fact. So tell your hubby that whilst nibbling at one(?) after dinner cookie 😉
Janie x
PS thanks for linking up to Tea Time Treats!
Laura says
I really cannot desribe how wonderful and inviting that tower of cookies looks. The only thing stopping me baking a batch is that my skin doesn’t seem to like oats – bizarre I know seeing as oats are supposed to be good for your skin! Please tell the builders the next time they get some that they need to enjoy an extra one each for me =D
bakingaddict says
Cookies are my weakness and I don’t think I’d be able to resist these! Lucky builders – bet they were extremely grateful. Thanks for entering AlphaBakes
Emily @amummytoo says
They look like just my kind of cookies – lovely clear, bright pics too.
Paul Wilson says
They do look delicious.
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
I have a husband too who seems to think that cakes and biscuits should be a rare treat and is largely unexcited by sweet stuff (I have made it a mission to try and tempt him with everything I make!)
The cookies look very melt in the mouth and delicious. I use a lot of home-made oat flour in my cooking….. I love them!
Nikki Fraser says
they look really yummy and you managed to get a lot of cookies out to the recipe. Reading this has made my tummy rumble and my sweet tooth kick in.
Keep Calm and Fanny On says
Lovely, I might just have to whip up a batch… Sadly no workmen around to scoff them, but I’m sure they’ll soon disappear!
Jen @ Blue Kitchen Bakes says
Gorgeous looking cookies and lucky builders, sounds like they needed a treat working in the bad weather. My OH has an annoying habit to forget about things I’ve made sometimes, other times he’ll scoff away happily. Unlike your hubby he has a very sweet tooth and he would prioritise pudding over mains if he could, another naturally slim man too! Well done on the weight loss, it’s a great achievement 🙂
Janice says
Lovely cookies. I too have a slim husband but unlike yours he always has room for pudding or cakes but seems not to put on weight the way I do! Thanks for joining me for #RecipeClippings
Helen says
These look delish! Will try them soon.
Helen x
Holly Hollyson says
They look good. My Luke is always super trim too 🙁
Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet says
Gorgeous looking cookies! Well done with your weight loss. Going low carb takes some getting used to but in my case having one day off a week lifts my spirit enough to last another 6 days. Let’s get sex-ay!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
YES! Love that they’ve got huge chocolate chunks rather than just small chocolate chips. And I very much admire your willpower not to eat the lot!
Gemma says
Good lord, these look amaaazing! Would love one of those with my cuppa right now x
Sarah @tamingtwins says
These look heavenly! I think it is your DUTY to taste test before giving away isn’t it..?
lisa prince says
omg they actually look so melt in the mouth to die for edible , mmm yummy
Nazima Pathan says
Well done you – such lovely cookies and you are resisting temptation. I do like that you have at least 2 other choc chip cookie variants of your own on the blog! good luck with the building work!