These are the cookies Santa is waiting for each Christmas Eve as he frantically makes his journey across the planet on his sleigh.
Rich, chunky, chocolatey and with a hint of rum they will give Mr Claus a much needed energy fix to help him keep on keeping on. The oats will help his cholesterol levels after all those other treats he has snacked on during his journey and the rum will soothe his weary bones.
The recipe is courtesy of Donna Hay and is easy to make during the day on Christmas Eve. If Santa doesn’t polish of the lot they will be a welcome addition to your Christmas table, or even as a sweet-hit on Boxing Day.
I tweaked this recipe a fair bit: I halved Donna’s suggested amounts of raisins and brown sugar. I used spiced dark rum to add another element, and also mixed spice to give that Christmassy feeling. Miss7 had demolished all the rolled oats (also known as old-fashioned or steel-cut oats) so I used instant oats. I also reduced the flour by half a cup, and used dark choc chips rather than the choc chucks suggested by Ms Hay.
GATHER:
¼ cup dark rum
1 cup raisins
125g butter, softened and diced
½ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup cocoa powder
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
¼ cup milk
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup dark chocolate chunks
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 180ºC and line two baking trays with non-stick paper.
Place the rum and raisins in a small saucepan over low heat and simmer until the raisins have absorbed the rum. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool.
Place sugar, vanilla, cocoa, flour, baking powder, egg and milk in bowl of food processor and blitz until a soft dough forms.
Tip into a large bowl and stir in oats, chocolate and raisins.
Using your hands, mould 2 tablespoons of cookie mixture into a flat round. Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, leaving room to spread. Repeat with remaining mixture. Bake for 15–18 minutes, cool on wire racks.
