Chewy Cranberry, Dark Chocolate & Oatmeal /Oatmeal & Raisin Cookies

Oh my, these are soooooo very delicious. You better make lots because they won't last for long.
This recipe will make approximately 24 cookies
At the end of the post you will see that I've also added my oatmeal & raisin cookies, just substitute the cranberries for raisins the chocolate can be left in or out your choice

you'll need to line 2 baking trays with parchment paper and set the oven to 170c/ 320f/gas 3

If you prefer to measure your ingredients here's a handy Conversion Chart

6oz/175 g dried cranberries
3½ oz/100g good dark chocolate broken into small pieces
3½ oz/100g porridge oats
1¾ oz/ 50g unsalted softened butter
6oz /175 gms caster sugar
3fl oz / 100 ml  corn or sunflower oil
5oz /150g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large beaten egg
Icing sugar to sprinkle over (optional)

method.

Place the sugar and butter into a bowl and mix together. I just squished this together with my hands.
Sift the flour and Baking Powder together
Place everything in the bowl with the sugar & butter and bring it all together with your hands
Roll walnut sized pieces of the dough in your hands and place onto the baking tray leaving about an inch and a half or so between each cookie.
you should have 12 cookies on each tray.
Now flatten them slightly and refrigerate for around half an hour
You can freeze them at this stage and bake whenever you want them.

Bake for around 15 minutes, the cookies will still be soft but starting to brown
remove from the oven and leave on the oven tray until they are cold and set.
remove from the oven tray with a palette knife and store in an airtight container.
Sprinkle with icing sugar if you like.

Orange and Cranberry Bundt Cake with Fresh Orange Glaze

This morning was wet, cold & miserable...what a perfect opportunity to turn out a few kitchen cupboards.  It's a job I never relish but hey ho it has to be done.  I found a packet of dried cranberries left over from Christmas that needed to be used up.  I had oranges in the fruit bowl so what better than an orange & cranberry cake.  It was also a great excuse to at last use a bundt tin that I bought a while back.

The cake batter was just a regular sponge... 3 eggs, 6oz of self raising flour, sugar & butter.  I made it extra specially moist by pre-soaking the cranberries in orange juice before baking. Needless to say the cake turned out really well and is packed with lovely citrusy flavours along with the sweet/sour bite of the cranberries.

Ingredients:- to serve around 8 good portions.

I used my small 17cm/ 6¾" Bundt tin.  Make sure it's well greased and floured or alternatively use a quick release spray. Alternatively use a 2lb loaf tin or an 7 inch cake tin lined with parchment paper. 

If you prefer to measure in cups rather than weigh your ingredients here's an Easy Conversion Chart  until I can manage to convert it for you . 


For the cake:-

175g /6oz each of self raising flour, softened butter, caster sugar
3 eggs
175g of dried cranberries
2 oranges zested
the juice of 1 ½ oranges
 ( in cups 1½ cups  Self raising flour, ¾ cup superfine sugar, ¾cup/1½ sticks softened butter)  ¾ cup dried cranberries, 3 eggs) 

method,

Before you start baking...soak the cranberries in the juice of 1½ oranges and leave to soak for an hour or so.

Heat the oven to 160c/325f/gas 3

Cream together the butter & sugar until light & fluffy
add the eggs one at a time until well combined...  beat well with each addition
Carefully fold in the flour and the orange zest
Strain the soaked cranberries and orange juice ... reserving the juice for the glaze
add the soaked cranberries to the batter
Mix gently through the batter
Add to the tin.
Should come around 2/3rds of the way up the tin
Place any excess batter in a smaller tin/dish to bake later on  

Bake for approx 35 mins... check to see if baked right through by placing a skewer towards the centre of the cake.   It should be golden brown with no wobble and the skewer should come out clean. If not quite ready then check at 5 minute intervals until cooked through.

Leave in the tin for at least 10 minutes before turning out carefully and leaving to cool on a wire rack.

The glaze, to be applied when the cake is cold.

If there's any orange juice left from soaking the cranberries then add enough icing /confectioners sugar to make a thickish but still runny icing and dribble it over the cake. 
Just use the juice from the last half of the orange if the cranberries have soaked the juice up

Serve & enjoy

This cake should keep for a few days in an airtight container

A Christmas review of John Waite's Viennese Whirl Mince Pies & Delia Smith's Cranberry Mincemeat

                                 John Waite's Viennese Whirl Mince Pies

As soon as I saw John Waite's recipe for these Viennese Whirl Mince Pies I absolutely knew I had to make them.  It's approaching Christmas so quickly and as an added bonus I had made Delia Smith's wonderful Cranberry Mince meat only a few days before.

I normally prefer to use my own sweet pastry recipe but I trust John and decide I'd go with his.  Although it turned out well in the end and beautifully short and flavoursome I found it rather dry & crumbly to work with.    I also had to make a couple of batches of the Viennese as it was too stiff to pipe.  Perhaps it was just the flour I used as I realise that some flours absorb more liquid than others. On the second batch I added a little more cornflour than stated in place of the plain flour ... this time it worked so much better.  John does state that you really need to work the butter and sugar together until light & fluffy before adding the flour...this is absolutely essential or you'll have trouble piping it.

Like John I find nothing wrong with using a good shop bought all butter shortcrust but if you prefer to make your own try my link below.  
click here Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (Pate Sucree)  I never have any trouble at all with this recipe.

                                             John Waite's Viennese Whirl Mincemeat Pies

  Click here for John's  Viennese Whirl Mince Pies  recipe 

Personally I think the triumph of the pies was Delia's Cranberry Mince meat recipe... so very easy and although most people keep it a while to mature...I didn't... I used it after a couple of days and it is so very deliciously Christmassy... the bonus is that it'll keep indefinitely...not a chance here as I will have used the whole 6 jars over the festive period.

                                   The wonderful Ingredients for the mince meat

 Click here for Delia's Cranberry Mince meat recipe

                                     Delia's Mince Meat all jarred & sealed 

I have made a second batch of these, recipe tweaked a little to suit myself,   these I placed in the freezer unbaked..ready to take out and bake on the day... what could be better than a freshly baked mince pie at Christmas tea time.