Sunday 23 February 2014

Roast Hazelnut, Choc Chip & Sour Cherry Oat Cookies

Yesterday my parents came for a visit. We planned to go out for lunch but I wanted to bake us a little treat to have with afternoon tea when we got back to my flat. I settled on cookies. I haven’t baked a batch of cookies in ages, cake being my usual go-to treat but the cookies made a lovely change.

I’ve said it before but I’m a person who loves different textures in their foods. These cookies are no exception making use of wholesome oats (gluten free ones naturally), gooey dark chocolate chips, nuggets of roasted hazelnuts and chewy tart dried cherries. A delicious combination.

The cookies are quite thick and substantial, meaning they have a wonderfully crisp edge yet stay soft and slightly doughy in the middle, mmmm. The oats add a wholesome bite and flavour while the nuts add crunch and an intense nutty flavour when bitten into, even more so as I pre-roasted them. The chocolate chips stayed soft and melty, while giving an intense dark chocolate flavour which paired brilliantly against the sweet/tart chewy cherries. Every bite was slightly different and it made the cookies very moreish.

I used to make this type of cookie quite often but for some reason I haven’t made them in the past 2-3years! Now I’ve rediscovered them I’ll definitely be baking more soon.

You can of course add whatever add-ins you like. Cinnamon & raisins are classic, but crystallised ginger & lemon or cherry & flaked almonds also work brilliantly.

Roast Hazelnut, Chocolate & Sour Cherry Oat Cookies
Ingredients
150g butter
100g light soft brown sugar
70g caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g roasted hazelnuts, halved
50g dark chocolate chips
40g dried sour cherries
170g gluten free porridge oats
20g tapioca starch
135g rice flour
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp bicarbonate soda

Method
Roast your hazelnuts in a 180C oven for 5-6 minutes until lightly toasted and golden brown, then set aside to cool (optional)
In a large bowl, cream the butter together with both the sugars until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. Stir in the hazelnuts, chocolate chips and sour cherries.
Add the oats, tapioca starch, rice flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into the bowl and mix together using a spatula until all incorporated.
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out balls of dough onto a baking tray. You can pack them close together for now.
Place the cookie balls into the fridge for chill for 20 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 190C and line another baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Remove the cookie balls from the fridge and arrange half on them onto the new baking tray. Leave 2-3 inches between each one. Gently press the tops of the cookie dough balls down, to form thick flat round discs.
Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown at the edges and still slightly pale in the middle.
Cool on sheet for 1 minute before transferring to a rack with the help of a palette knife. Repeat with any leftover cookie balls.
Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. They also freeze well.
Makes 15-16 cookies

7 comments:

MuchRatherBake said...

Oh my, these look good and I love the idea of that flavour and texture combination =)

The Caked Crusader said...

They look lovely -exactly the sort of biscuit I love

Beth (jamandcream) said...

I think my kids would love the cinammon and raison version. Will gove these a go

Gluten Free Alchemist said...

I love oaty biscuits. They are so versatile. These look lovely..... great combination of flavours!

Johanna GGG said...

I used to make choc chip cookies a lot too and have fallen out of habit - love your add ins - I love lots of nubbly texture too - hope you had a nice time with your parents

Unknown said...

I'd love to make these and use up some rice flour, but I don't have tapioca starch. Can I use something else instead? (we eat gluten)

Katie said...

Hi Anna Maria,
If you don't have tapioca starch you can you some wheat flour as you say you don't need to avoid gluten.

You can replace all the flours with plain wheat flour if you like, although you say you want to use up some rice flour, so a combination should work too.