Six Little Hearts: Chocolate, Walnut and Oat Biscuits...

Tuesday, 21 April 2015

Chocolate, Walnut and Oat Biscuits...

When I made this batch of biscuits recently, I was unsure how popular they'd be with my kids. I knew the chocolate chip factor would be well accepted; the oats? No problem, but I wasn't too sure about the inclusion of the walnuts and the little people.

Kids can be so dang fussy!

I need not have concerned myself. Just as soon as these biscuits were baked, the kids were buzzing about the kitchen like flies, waiting for the okay to taste. This opportunity did not arrive until the following day however. (I was baking for lunchboxes after all.)

I baked these right on dinnertime and it was one of those last minute, crazy ideas that once you've started you think why? WHY?!! Total, end of a school day mayhem...

Anyhoos, I am so glad I did make these biscuits because by all accounts, they're a bit delicious - almost in a too good for the tastes of kids kind of way.

If you think walnuts are beyond the palate of your children or you've allergy fears, try this plainer chocolate chip cookie recipe I have blogged previously. If you're keen to learn more on these biscuits however, read on...

This recipe makes a whopping great batch of around 24 cookies of decent size. (Actually, I am pretty sure it made even more but there was a bit of snacking involved shortly after the baking process.) They're healthy and adult friendly, super-nice with tea or as a mid-morning snack while you deal with your day.

Chocolate, Walnut and Oat Cookies:

150 grams of margarine (or butter)
1, 1/2 cups of light brown sugar (crystals)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
1, 1/2 cups of plain flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of chopped walnuts
2, 1/2 cups of rolled oats
Approx. 3/4 cup of chocolate chips.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C.

Mix together the margarine and sugar and when creamed, add eggs and vanilla. (I used an electric mixer for fast results.)

Add the flour, baking powder, salt and stir well before adding the rolled oats, chocolate chips and walnuts.

At this point I had a few little helpers around who are always keen to 'step up to the plate' so to speak!

On baking paper lined biscuit trays, spoon clumps of cookie dough, brick-wall style.

This batter is quite wet and I was worried this meant my cookies were going to blend from several smaller cookies into one gigantic cookie on my baking sheet. Thankfully, this does not happen at all, thanks to the use of plain flour over SR. They grow, but don't really spread like some other catastrophic cookie baking attempts I have made! (You know the kind I mean - the mega cookie!)

Pop your cookies in the oven for around 10-15 minutes depending on your oven. I found closer to 15 minutes sufficient for the nice, golden glow of an appetising biscuit. Allow the cookies to cool on the tray before transferring to an airing rack.

Remember how I said I had chosen to bake these at a really inconvenient time of day - the witching hour?

Well, while my cookies baked, here's some cute little behind-the-scenes shots from my kitchen at this time of day:

Chocolate chip munching and funny toddler faces...

Stab! Stab! Stab! Over-mixing of the dough remaining in the bowl by the six year old, keen to get every single cookie onto a baking sheet so that he could lick the dishes clean... (There were probably a few unauthorised 'taste tests' happening when my back was turned too.)

And then...bench climbing antics from the toddler in an effort to get in on the bowl licking action!

Perfectly baked cookies just keep coming from this recipe so it's a highly recommended one if you've need for a whole lot of biscuits, quickly. Baking these can save you quite a bit of cash on lunchbox snacks and they're a pretty healthy option too. My kids love them!