Tuesday 21 January 2014

Oatmeal and Ginger Cookies from Lorraine Pascale's "A Lighter Way To Bake"

This a really easy recipe for scrummy biscuits - they taste like a cross between a hobnob and a ginger nut - they are perfect for dipping, or just by themselves. Kids seem to love their taste just as much as the adults who tried them- and they're so easy to make that even the kids will be able to help make them. 

The recipe comes from Lorraine Pascale's new book called "A Lighter Way To Bake"(thanks to my lovely Mother in Law for buying it for me for Christmas) - in the book she cooks loads of delicious cakes and bakes, all of which are lower in calories than a standard comparison recipe - so you really can have your cake and eat it!

:-)

OATMEAL AND GINGER COOKIES

Makes 12 big, or 24 small biscuits

ingredients

50g unsalted butter
100g light soft brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tsp olive oil
125g wholemeal flour
100g rolled oats
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt

method

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees (150 Fan oven), and line a large baking sheet with baking parchment.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until combined then stir in the egg and olive oil until well mixed.

3. Add the flour, oats, ginger, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Mix everything together until a dough is formed. 

4. Using damp hands divide the mixture into 12 or 24 equal sized balls - place on the baking tray spaced out and lightly press them down slightly so they're about 1.5 cm thick. 

this pic shows half of a batch of 24, if only making 12 they would be larger

5. Bake for 10-15 minutes until they are cooked through but soft to the touch (they firm up as they cool). 

6. Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes then move to a wire rack to cool completely. 

7. Eat still warm, or store in a air tight container to enjoy at any time. 


143 calories per biscuit if you make 12
71.5 calories per biscuit if you make 24

I made these for family who were visiting on Thursday - they were soooo good that I couldn't wait to make another batch, this time with my little cousins on Saturday morning after they'd had a sleepover at my house. 

They found the cookies easy to make with my help and really fun to cut into all sorts of shapes with my (rather large) collection of cutters. They devoured the cookies quicker than lightening, but did manage to share a few, and had a couple left to take home to their Daddy! 

my gorgeous cousins all proud with their cookies!

the girls' fab cookies! cut all by themselves without any help 

Why not give them a try?

Mrs B

xxx