If you know me, then you will be aware that the kitchen is not my favourite place to be. However, lockdown and the fact I have been lucky enough to find flour has provided me with the opportunity to revisit baking - something which I used to love (when I had a beautiful kitchen). Below, is my favourite recipe for cookies.
Ingredients
1 (125g) cup of plain flour
½ teaspoon of baking powder (not strictly necessary)
½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
115g of unsalted butter
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar (you can do half and half with brown sugar if preferred)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 and a half cups (150g) rolled oats
1 cup (150g) raisins
Method
1. Soften the butter in the microwave for 20 seconds (if you are like me and don’t have a butter dish or are too impatient to wait for it to get to room temperature).
2. With an electric whisk, mix the sugar and the butter until well combined (approx. 2- 3 minutes).
3. Add the egg and vanilla essence and combine.
4. Sift the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder into the mix and fold in with a large spoon.
5. Once well combined, mix in the rolled oats and raisins.
6. Place the cookie dough in the fridge for 20 minutes and preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
7. After 20 minutes, use a spoon to create 12 balls of cookie dough and gently flatten them onto a baking tray (lined with greaseproof paper)
8. Cook for 14 minutes or until golden on top. Watch the cookies from about 10 minutes as ovens vary (our convection microwave is terrible - our new kitchen was supposed to be delivered during the lockdown).
The secret to soft cookies is to take them out slightly prematurely, as they will continue to cook and harden off until they are cool.