Christmas baking

For those of you who wanted the recipe for the Christmas cookies this year, look no further than here:

CRANBERRY, OAT AND WHITE CHOCOLATE BISCUITS

150g whole almonds, skin on

150g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

75g wholemeal flour

150g jumbo rolled oats

¼ tsp salt

225g unsalted butter, at room temperature, roughly cut into 3-4cm pieces

100g caster sugar

finely grated zest of 1 large orange (1 tbsp)

125g dried cranberries, chopped in half and soaked in 25ml orange juice

250g white chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 180°/160°Fan.
2. Spread the almonds out on a baking tray and roast for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and, once cool enough to handle, roughly chop into 0.5–1 cm pieces. Transfer the nuts to a large bowl and add the flour, oats, and salt. Mix together and set aside.
3. Increase the oven temperature to 190°C/170°C Fan. Line two or three baking trays with baking parchment and set aside.
4. Place the butter, sugar, and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment in place. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until combined and light. Add the almond and flour mix to the butter and sugar and continue to mix on a low speed until the dough just comes together. Add the cranberries and orange juice and mix for another few seconds to combine, then tip the dough on to a lightly floured work surface. Knead into a ball, sprinkling over more flour if needed to prevent it from getting too sticky.
5. Cut the dough in half and roll out one half so that it’s just over 0.5 cm thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut the dough into rounds. Transfer these to a lined tray while you continue with the remaining dough. Bake for 18 minutes, until lightly coloured all over. Remove from the oven and set aside until completely cool.
6. Meanwhile, place the white chocolate in a small bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring occasionally, until melted. Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water. To coat the cookies, use the back of a dessertspoon to spread a tablespoon of melted chocolate over each. Set aside on a cooling rack for the chocolate to set, which can take up to an hour, before serving.

Adapted from Ottolenghi SWEET

CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1⅔ cups (227 grams) all-purpose flour

1 cup (80 grams) rolled oats (not instant)

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ to 1 cup (150 grams) sugar

½ to ¾ cup (150 grams) packed light brown sugar 

1 teaspoon fleur de sel or ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1¾ sticks (14 tablespoons; 7 ounces; 198 grams) unsalted butter, melted and still warm

¾ pound (340 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into irregular bits

WORKING AHEAD:

The dough can be made ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’d like, freeze scoops of dough and then bake directly from the freezer, adding a couple of minutes to the baking time.

1. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat it to 190º. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. Whisk together the flour, oats, and baking soda.
3. Working in a large bowl with a flexible spatula, stir together both sugars, the salt, and cinnamon, if you’re using it. Drop in the eggs one at a time and beat with the spatula to blend, then stir in the vanilla. Pour in the melted butter—do this in two or three additions—and stir until you have a smooth, shiny mixture. Add the flour and oats all at once and stir gently until they’re almost incorporated. Add the chocolate bits and stir until the dry ingredients are fully blended into the dough. (You can wrap the dough and refrigerate it for up to 5 days or freeze it for up to 2 months.)dough. (You can wrap the dough and refrigerate it for up to 5 days or freeze it for up to 2 months.)
4. Portion out the dough using a medium cookie scoop (one with a capacity of 1½ tablespoons), or use rounded tablespoons of dough, and place about 2 inches apart on the sheets—these are spreaders. 
5. Baker for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheets from front to back and top to bottom, until the cookies are golden and somewhat firm around the edges but still soft in the centre—they’ll set as they cool. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for about 3 minutes before carefully transferring them to racks to cool to just warm or room temperature.

STORING:

The cookies can be kept at room temperature for about 5 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

Adapted from Everyday Dorie