Winter is coming...

There are few more satisfying things than snuggling up with a warm bowl of delicious porridge on a clear, cold morning. So that's just what I did. Lovingly wrapping my oats up in some almond milk, chopped banana, dried cranberries, a drizzle of honey and a sprinkling of cinnamon to make it that extra bit wintry. Sublime.

Is this whole winter, cuddly cosy thing affecting you at the moment? It's really taking over here! As I mentioned in the last post, the winter incense is already burning and the heating is keeping me toasty. All this is the required inspiration for some winter style cookies so that's exactly what I whipped up yesterday afternoon and whipped up is just what you can do with these cheeky chappies, they only take about 8 minutes to cook and require no refrigeration time! Perfect for those impulse cookie cravings.

These are however more than just butter, sugar and flour. The butter for a start is melted and beaten in with the egg which is what I think makes them that little bit more melty in the mouth. Then you've also got the ground almonds, oats, dried cranberries and white chocolate. All mixed together to make a soft, slightly chewy, wintry tasting dollop of goodness.

The recipe was very kindly donated to me by my mother in law who swore by them as some excellent winter treats to whip up for those last minute people popping in for a cuppa.

Ingredients:

150g butter melted
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g ground almonds
50g porridge oats
50g dried cranberries
50g soft brown sugar
50g caster sugar
100g white chocolate chunks (go for good quality white chocolate, it really does make a difference)
1 large egg or 2 small egg yolks

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180c
1. Melt the butter and set aside to cool
2. Sieve the flour and bicarbonate soda in a bowl
3. Stir in the cranberries, sugar, almonds, oats and chocolate
4. Whisk together the cooled butter and egg and then stir into the dry ingredients

5. Form walnut sized balls and place them 2 inches apart on a lined baking tray. Flatten them down with a teaspoon

6. Bake for 8 minutes. Leave to cool slightly on the tray and then transfer to a cooling rack. They will be squidgy when they come out but that's good - they'll continue to cook. If they come out too hard, they'll be like rocks when they've completely cooled.

Leave to cool for a bit  (but if a little bit accidentally breaks off and pops into your mouth, that's absolutely fine) then sit down and enjoy with a cup of tea and if you fancy a bit of a weep, the new John Lewis advert or the original of Real Love by John Lennon. What are your winter cookie go to's?

Lizzie x