Chocolate chip cookies

This recipe was given to my mother when we lived in Canada. We were small children at the time so this was welcomed by all. As my mother did, I have converted the use of American measuring cups, this time into grams.

Note: American measuring cup = 8oz or 225g while an English measuring cup = 10oz or 280g

100g unsalted butter

100g caster sugar

100g soft brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

225g plain flour, sieved

½ tsp salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

50g walnuts, chopped (optional)

50g chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Line 2 baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

Sieve the flour and add the salt and bicarbonate of soda. Chop the walnuts.

I tend to use walnuts as they are healthy and have a good texture, but you can also use pecans. If you decide to omit the nuts, double the quantity of chocolate chips.

Cream the butter and sugars together in a large bowl. Add beaten egg and vanilla extract, and then slowly beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.

Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to harden slightly before putting on a wire rack to cool completely.

Keep an eye on the timing or your cookies will not be soft and chewy! They will keep up to a week in an airtight container

Cookies - a bit of explanation and some recipe ideas

In England, a cookie and a biscuit are two very different things. Cookies are soft, while biscuits are crisp – think Digestive or Rich Tea (made for dunking in that afternoon cup of tea!). In North America, however, the term ‘cookie’ has become the universal name for biscuit, whether it’s crisp or soft. I am going to stick with the English explanation here.

The word cookie is derived from the Dutch word koekje, meaning ‘small cake’ while biscuit comes from the Latin bis coctum meaning ‘twice baked’.

So, cookies are softer, chewier, and can be made with a variety of ingredients – arguably the most popular being chocolate chip. They are traditionally made from a soft dough which is rolled into balls and placed onto a baking sheet. An easier way of making them is a tray bake, which can then be cut into squares once cooked. Flapjacks or cookie bars are the obvious example of this.

Making cookies is easy. Once you’ve got the basic recipe, you can adapt it to suit, adding chocolate, spices, dried fruit, nuts or oats.

Check out my soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe with the option of added nuts

For Halloween, chocolate chunk pumpkin cookies, a combination of dark chocolate, oats and golden syrup with a hint of pumpkin.

And for Christmas, white chocolate and dried cranberries make the perfect festive cookie for an afternoon treat.

Spicy tomato and red pepper chutney

A taste of Spain in a jar! This is one of my own chutneys - the chilli pepper gives it a slight kick but it's the flavours of the red peppers and the paprika that shine through.

2 onions, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, grated

2 red peppers, seeded and finely chopped

1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

(or 1 tsp dried chilli)

1 kg ripe tomatoes, quartered

450ml white wine vinegar

350g soft light brown sugar

100g raisins (optional)

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 tsp smoked paprika

¼ tsp ground cloves

1 cinnamon stick

First of all wash and sterilise your jars - if you're not sure how to do this, learn how on 'all you need to know about making chutney'.

Put all the ingredients into a large pan and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 1-1½ hours until thick, stirring towards the end of the time to make sure it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan. Once it’s ready, remove the cinnamon stick and allow to cool slightly before spooning into your sterilised jars and putting the lids on.

This makes 2 large or 5 small jars