Friday Afternoon Oat and Coconut Cookies.

Oh dear....Hi....I think if I’m not careful this could easily turn all ‘Woe Is Me’, and that’s no good for anyone. I’m not woeful, so don’t worry about that...I just think my body feels a bit like it could do with being separated from my brain for a bit. Its brain is mean and nasty you see and keeps forcing it to do things it doesn’t want to do like waking to alarms set for times with sixes in them, and running around outside on days so windy it makes running dooooowwn hill a struggle and cycling....CYCLING, this body was not built for THAT...is anyone’s??

I think Miss Body would like to just take off her hat for a while and remain very still and very horizontal for a whiiiiiile. And then she would like to stir, just a tiny bit, just enough to notice a big duvet hug and take in the joy of a film with a guaranteed happy ending...you know the sort of thing, will they, won’t they, oww they broke up, aaaahh they’re back together again happily ever after. A biscuit or 2 would also not be unwelcome.

Thing is though, you can’t temporarily take your hat off, and this hat seems to have given up being able to allow much lounging....it’s always on my to do list, it’s just that it’s the last point on the list; coming after bread making, pants folding, running up and down hills, finding things and writing more lists. And something aaaalllways happens which means the 24 hours that I’ve written this list for shrink right down, to almost nothing, leaving no time for lounging. A shame really as I have a nice range of louuunge weeeear (for some reason you just have to say loooounge weeeeear all posh and elllonnggaaaattted).

Oh well...am presuming that’s just what happens when you’re not 12 anymore. But at least not being 12 anymore means you can eat biscuits whenever you want and you get to put too much sugar in your coffee...and that is what I shall do to stop this body’s nose getting any closer to this keyboard in front of it. With Love and Cake.

Oat and Coconut Cookies.

From Breakfast, Lunch, Tea by Rose Carrarini

A few notes:

• These are soft and chewy and sweet and syrupy tasting. The perfect side to your afternoon coffee on those Fridays on which you require an extra kick up the bum to see you through to the end. A spot of Van Morrison to accompany them doesn't go amiss either.
• Apparently they are Australian and otherwise known as Anzacs. You won't care what they're called though, when you've got a mouthful.
• I used half plain flour and half wholemeal bread flour here, because I wanted a bit more bite than 100% white flour could provide and bread flour was the only wholemeal I had to hand. Feel free though to go all plain or use regular wholemeal, either as a half or for the whole amount.

Makes around 20

You will need

a large baking sheet, lined

125g butter

1 tbsp golden syrup

80g plain flour

80g wholemeal flour

100g desiccated coconut

180g soft light brown sugar

100g rolled oats

pinch of salt 

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tbsp recently boiled water

• Oven....160°c.
• Pop the butter and syrup in a small saucepan and heat gently so the butter melts.
• Stir the flour, coconut, sugar, oats and salt together in a bowl.
• Mix together the bicarb and water and pour into the syrup and butter mixture.
• Pour the syrupy loveliness over the dry ingredients and mix so everything is well combined and you have a stiff dough.
• Break walnut sized blobs of dough off and use your hands to shape them into patties, around 5 centimetres across.
• Lay them on your baking sheet with plenty of room for expansion (I cooked mine in 2 batches).
• Bake for 15 minutes until puffed up a bit and golden.
• Once out of the oven, leave the cookies to firm up on the baking sheet for 5 minutes or so; they will sink and become more cookie like.
• Pop the cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely or grab your mug, press play and have a happier afternoon.