This week Olive and I went on an eBay road trip to pick up her 'new' tap shoes. I could have just had them posted but I had an ulterior motive. The pick-up location, although right over the other side of town, was reasonably close to my old neighbourhood which happens to be a mecca for great food and coffee.
After picking up the tap shoes (and bonus ballet shoes the seller thoughtfully included) I was looking forward to lunch. But as soon as I pulled out of the car park, the sky turned black and the rain started to pour. Bugger. I kissed my lovely lunch dreams goodbye and did what any sane parent of a three year old would do in the same situation - I headed for the nearest shopping centre with an underground car park.
Ten minutes later I was sitting in the food court eating ricepaper rolls while Olive got Happy (I think you know what I'm talking about). Not quite the foodie experience I'd been hoping for.
Every cloud has a silver lining and as I sat there amidst the sea of tables and chairs, I thought of a way I could redeem my afternoon. Instead of buying an inadequate food court coffee, we jumped in the car and hurtled home to switch on the oven and coffee machine.
Within 20 minutes of walking in the door we were sitting down to still warm double choc cookies that I'd stashed in the freezer for a 'rainy day'. Umbrellas and gumboots are entirely optional.
Recipe: Rainy Day Double Choc Cookies
Recipe from In the Kitchen (Allan Campion and Michelle Curtis)
Makes: 40+ cookies
Ingredients
150g soft butter
150g caster sugar
100g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
150g self raising flour
100g plain flour
50g cocoa
190g small chocolate chips (dark, white, milk or a mix - whatever you have)
Method
- Preheat oven to 180C and line two baking sheets with baking paper.
- Cream the butter, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and beat well until combined.
- Sift together the flours and cocoa and then stir into the mix, taking care not to over mix.
- Finally fold through the chocolate chips.
- Roll level tablespoons (UK/US 15ml tablespoon) of the mixture into balls and place them evenly on the baking sheets allowing room to spread.
- Gently flatten them with a fork or spoon. (You can flash freeze the cookies at this point to bake at another time.)
- Bake in preheated oven for approximately 10 minutes - they should be dry on top and still slightly soft in the centre.
- Remove from the trays from the oven and leave to cool on a cake rack.
- Store in an airtight container.
Freezing Notes:
- To freeze uncooked cookies, place flattened cookies onto baking paper lined tray and place it in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Transfer frozen cookies into an airtight container and freeze up to three months.
- Bake straight from frozen in a 180C preheated oven for 10 minutes whenever the urge for freshly baked cookies strikes.
Comments
@Keely - oh yes, Olive was very pleased on both counts. :-D
@Lorraine - my unspoken rule is NEVER drink food court coffee....life is too short for bad coffee as well!
@Indie-Tea - yep, everyday yumminess! Thanks for visiting!
Anne @ Domesblissity