Pistachio, chocolate, oat cookies

My 4 year old is a fussy eater. The only way she’ll eat oats is if it’s hidden in a cookie. I am always on the lookout for recipes in cookbooks or online to make something that my 4 year old will eat without a fuss.

When we lived in Belgium, the only English-language non-news channel to watch on TV was BBC1 and BBC 2. I loved the cooking programs on these channels and discovered some great UK chefs such as Jamie Oliver, Nigela Lawson, Rick Stein, James Martin, Gordon Ramsey, and of course, Madhur Jaffery. It was hard to get any English reading material, be it a book or a magazine in Brussels. There was one English bookstore in the city and one newsstand at the Brussels airport that had a limited section of English books and magazines. Whenever we traveled outside Brussels, we would hoard up on some UK magazines, such as, BBC GoodFood, Olive and Delicious. I would read every article in these magazines, articles on the use of fresh seasonal produce, nutrition, kitchen layout, recipes, etc. Later, when we moved to the US, I obviously didn’t have to hunt for English-language magazines but I did struggle to find the UK magazines I loved, especially GoodFood. Bookstores like Barnes and Noble had them in the international magazine section but they cost a lot.

Then one day… I opened my mailbox and there it was – the latest issue of GoodFood. Huh! How did this happen? My darling hubby surprised me with a yearly subscription. Was I thrilled or what? I have every copy of the magazine. One section of my kitchen cupboard is devoted to this beautiful tried and tested team. Every so often, GoodFood would include a special supplement, such as one on cakes, another on pastas, etc. They are all just pure mind blowing recipes.

The following recipe is adapted from one of the bonuses that I got with my subscription.

Ingredients:

• 125g/4 ½ oz unsalted butter
• 125g/4 ½ oz caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 125g/4 ½ oz porridge oats (old fashioned - not the instant ones)
• 75g/2 ¾ oz plain flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 100g/4oz shelled pistachio nuts, chopped
• 125g/4 ½ oz chocolate cut into chunks or chocolate chips

Method:

Heat oven to 180C/fan160c/gas 4. Lightly oil two baking sheets or use SILPAT.

Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg, vanilla, flour, baking powder and oats until well combined.

Stir in the pistachio nuts and chocolate chucks and mix well.

Divide the mixture into 16 and spoon, spaced well apart onto the baking sheets. Press down slightly with the back of a fork and bake for 15-20 minutes until slightly golden on the edges.

Allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.