Cookies and Carnage.

Yesterday, the little wrens had friends to play and so the perfect kids spaces I showcased on yesterday's blog are today looking just a little rough around the edges. Actually, I think the phrase I used was 'a complete tip' and

at bedtime last night I just kicked aside the piles of dressing up clothes and manouvered across the Lego minefield (there are few things more painful than standing on one of those little badboys!) to tuck the little monsters, exhausted, into bed. Serious carnage! We saw The Lego Movie at the cinema in the afternoon and it was INCREDIBLE!!! Genuinely brilliant - see it if you have children. In fact, see it if you don't. I mean, who doesn't love Lego? Unless you're stepping on it, in which case who doesn't hate it?

In the morning we did a little playdate-fuel baking in the form of cookies. Now boy wren, George, is vegetable and fruit-phobic at present (he's 7) so he could not conceive of baking girl wren, Mary's, choice of apricot and ginger cookies. He wanted your classic chocolate chip and, well, who can blame him? I always use the same basic cookie dough recipe (from Nigella's Feast - her Cranberry and White Chocolate cookie recipe) and add in whatever flavourings we fancy that day. There is something about her ratio of oats, to flour, to butter and sugar that makes the most divine, chewy cookies that always turn out brilliantly no matter what else you add to them. So we made a big batch of the plain cookie dough then split it between two bowls and the kids added their own choices. So here we go. I'm calling them 'Two-take cookies' - perfect for parents of children who have failed to develop the ability to compromise!

owl mug - anthropologie

Two-take cookies

150g plain flour (I used spelt again, but you can stick with the usual!)

75g rolled oats

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

125g soft butter

75g soft brown sugar

100g caster sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

George's version added - 1/2 tsp cinnamon & 75g milk chocolate chips

Mary added 1/2 tsp ground ginger and 75g chopped apricots

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl.

In another bowl (or free-standing mixer for ease) cream the butter and sugars together. 

Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients and mix well.

 Split mixture between two bowls and add your choice of flavour combinations. 

Mix to combine.

Dollop tablespoonfuls of dough onto two lined baking trays and bake for 15 minutes until pale gold. (you may need to bake these in a few batches depending on the size of your baking trays & oven)

Leave to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tray. 

Utterly delicious!

In grown-up news this fell into my shopping trolley earlier:

Now if I can just get an hour to myself.....