Gooey, fruity & nutty chocolate chip cookies!

It’s a miserable day outside so I decided to get baking. What better way to deal with the cold than to make cookies and have them with tea (or coffee) sitting in front of the fire – and this is the result – Enjoy!

Preparation: 10 minutes                    

Cooking: 15-20 minutes

Oven: 190 C (fan 170 C)                 

Equipment: 2 x greased & lined trays

Makes 12 large cookies

Ingredients

75g chopped hazelnuts

75g sultanas

100g white chocolate chips

180g plain flour

110g dark brown sugar

120g butter (soft)

1 level teaspoon baking powder

1 level teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

Method

• Put all the ingredients - apart from the nuts, sultanas & chocolate chips - in a bowl and mix with a hand mixer or a wooden spoon (I used my hands – great fun if you want to get children into baking).
• Once mixed add the rest of the ingredients and mix to combine all the items. Don’t over mix or the dough will become too wet.
• Divide the mixture into 12 balls and place on the 2 trays with ample space in between for the cookies to spread. I put 6 cookies on each tray.
• Put in the oven and after 10 minutes turn the trays around to get an even bake - check after 15 minutes and if they look golden and crisp the cookies are done. It is important to keep an eye after 15 minutes or the cookies may burn at the edges.
• Once cooked, leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before removing carefully using a spatula. Let the cookies cool down completely before putting them in a sealed container where it will keep for 3 days unless devoured by cookie monsters!

Notes

1. You can use any combination of nuts, fruits and chocolate chips so feel free to add or remove as you like.
2. Make smaller sized cookies by making teaspoon sized balls but make sure you check the cookies after 10 minutes as cooking times will reduce. You should be able to get up to 30 small cookies.