“Which reminds me of a fortune cookie: you often find your destiny on the path you take to avoid it.”
Hector Elizondo
Hector Elizondo
I wake up every morning to my mug of coffee and Garfield screams loudly in my face…FACE IT!! Nothing like getting the message loud and clear in the morning. What a way to begin my day, but I love this mug to bits. It’s been with me for almost 20 years; I picked it up from a high street shop in London years ago. 
I have been ‘facing it’. Had a back to school party for the kids when the vacations finally ended. Of course the vacations promptly got extended soon after due to a heat wave. Thereafter, the son was home for a week with unexplained nausea and throat issues. Soon the inevitable happened. H1N1 hit our part of the world and the daughters’ class got quarantined because of a child in her class who tested positive. Finally all was well, and then both my kids decided to get a mild attack of H1N1…so of course, home again! SIGH…
These are more like ‘welcome back home cookies’ and I made them on a whim. The daughter seems to have developed a sudden dislike for walnuts in cookies. I’m like, ‘What? But you’ve always loved them?’ Well, I have to face it. They change like chameleons these days, and she did too. So I set off trying to reduce the ‘feeling’ and visible presence of walnuts, but wasn’t one to do away with them altogether. These are my super easy new faves that I make on the go. 
OAT COCOA WALNUT COOKIES
My recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vanilla sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
3 cups rolled oats
Method:
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Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly grease or line 3-4 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
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Whiz the walnuts with 1/4 cup vanilla sugar in the processor in short bursts till finely chopped. Add the cocoa, salt, baking soda and baking powder, & process again till well mixed, about 1 minute.
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Place the butter, remaining sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in a large bowl and beat till well blended and fluffy. On low speed, beat in the flour till incorporated completely.
- Now fold in the 3 cups of oats with a spatula, combining well.
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Place heaped tablespoons on the greased cookie sheets, leaving an inch of space around for spreading. Bake for 12-15 minutes til done. Keep an eye on them after 12 minutes so they don’t get too brown.
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Cool on racks and store in an airtight container.
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥
Have you met my little winged companion who seems to have adopted me? Sits on the fence and watches me each time I take the paraphernalia out to click some snaps. The dove is about 3 weeks old, and hatched in a nest in our hedge. Loves being clicked!!