These cookies are oaty, subtly milky and studded with big chunks of chocolate. You can mix up the combinations of nuts, chocolate, fruit and spices that go into them. Two that I love are:
- Pistachio, cardamom & dark chocolate
- Orange, ginger & dark chocolate
Makes 10–12 cookies | Prep time and cook time approx 40 mins
INGREDIENTS
125g salted butter, softened
30g sweetened condensed milk
75g golden castor sugar
120g flour (80g plain flour + 40g wholemeal flour (if you have it), otherwise use all plain flour)
90g rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
FOR PISTACHIO, CARDAMOM & DARK CHOCOLATE
120g dark chocolate, in chunks
60g pistachios
10 green cardamom pods, seeds removed and crushed in a pestle and mortar
FOR ORANGE, GINGER & DARK CHOCOLATE
120g dark chocolate, in chunks
60g candied orange peel
1/2 tsp ground ginger + 2cm knob of finely grated fresh ginger
Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan.
Beat the butter, sugar and sweetened condensed milk until pale and creamy (approx 4 minutes). Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, a hand beater, or a wooden spoon if you’re feeling game.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour(s), oats, baking powder, and salt (and ground spices if you are using them). Add this to the beaten butter and mix until just combined.
Fold through the chocolate, nuts, dried fruit.
Using a spoon, scoop out 50g of cookie dough at a time and form into a ball. Place them on the lined baking tray and flatten them so they are approx 7cm diameter and 1cm high.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15–18 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.
Remove from the oven. Leave to cool for 5 minutes on the tray, then carefully move each cookie to a wire rack to cool completely.
TIPS & TRICKS
The sweetened condensed milk gives the cookies a nice milk-caramel taste.
Replace the golden castor sugar with either white castor sugar, brown sugar or a combination.