Tea and biscuits, milk and cookies

Tea and biscuits

Tea and biscuits, sometimes in life only this will do, I suppose that sounds very quaint and English but it is true.


Ask anyone, they all have their favourite biscuit for tea, either to eat along side a cup of tea or a good biscuit to dunk, (for the record, mine is a good old digestive) these biscuits aren't so good for dunking but nevertheless they are fantastic tea biscuits, I suppose I like them so much because they remind me of my Dad's favourite biscuit the 'Hobnob'.

At first bite I wasn't too impressed with these biscuits, but they are seriously addictive, they are quite robust but light at the same time, and they contain lots of oats so they are practically health food, if only.

This recipe comes from Rachel Allen's 'Food for living'













Oaty shortbread

275g oats
100g plain flour
150g caster sugar
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 level tsp salt
25g butter, softened.

Preheat oven to 180c
Whiz oats in a food processor until they are quite fine
Add the remaining ingredients and whiz until the dough comes together.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface to a thickness of 5mm.
Cut into shapes and place on baking trays.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until pale golden and slightly firm
Transfer to a rack to cool.

This will make around 40 biscuits, they keep very well, if you can bear to leave them alone.


Milk and cookies

Chocolate mint cookies
A favourite with my children, chocolate mint cookies from Nigella Express.
Chocolate and mint, a match made in culinary heaven. My kids love them as they taste just like those lurid green Aero bars that I don't like them eating. These are a breeze to make and were decorated by my daughter.

The cookies are chocolate chip cookies and the mint comes from a icing glaze, having made these before I knew that I'd up the amount of mint extract for a more pronounced flavour. I also didn't make up for the extra liquid in the icing with more icing sugar, going for a sticky glaze instead of a hard set icing.

Chocolate mint cookies

100g soft butter
150g light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
150g flour
35g cocoa powder
1/ tsp baking powder
200g dark choc chips
Glaze:
75g icing sugar
1 tbsp cocoa, sieved
2 tbsp boiling water
1/4 tsp peppermint extract (I used 1 tsp)


Preheat oven to 180c
Cream butter and sugar, beat in the vanilla extract and the egg.
Mix the flour, cocoa and baking powder in a bowl and gradually beat into the cream mixture.
Finally fold in the chocolate chips.
Using a rounded 15ml tablespoon measure, spoon out scoops of cookie dough and place on a lined baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for 12 minutes, cool slightly before moving to a wire wrack.
Put the glaze ingredients into a saucepan and heat until combines.
Using a teaspoon, zig - zag the glaze over each cooling cookie. (We poured over the cooling cookies, lol.)
Makes about 26.

My kids love these with a glass of milk as a after dinner snack.