I had a bad week last week.
In fact, I believe the country did.
The comfort siren call of my Kitchen was the succour I needed in such a time of disappointment and all I could think of was one word.
Cookies.
I used to be a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan (I was a Faith girl myself) and remember being in floods of emotional teenage tears when the show concluded. Stick with me, there’s context here.
I read an interview with the writer of the shows final episode. After Buffy and her squad of bad bitches saved the entire world and looked into the abyss of their crumbled hometown, Buffy stares at the wreckage and smiles. The interviewer asked the script writer what they thought Buffy was thinking when she looked at the destroyed world she had to rebuild.
The script writer said “She was thinking about cookie dough”.
Well Buffy, as I stare at the shambles of the country we now have to rebuild, you and me both girl.
So I made cookies. Because it was the only thing I had real faith in.
Yes these are slightly thinner and ‘diskier’ than I usually like my cookies but I wanted to introduce a smoky, fruity note to the cookie so brought in some olive oil in place of butter which naturally alters the texture.
But the crunch here is exactly what I wanted in lieu of my usual buttery cookies because unlike the rest of my country apparently, I wanted something a bit more stable and robust.
I’ve paired olive oil and chocolate together before with my Chocolate Olive Oil Cupcakes after being inspired by Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Olive Oil Cake and the pairing genuinely is a really welcome combination.
However if you’re monstering for a cookie and want something chewier, fudgier and all sorts of delicious in a different and more conventional way, I of course recommend my Double Chocolate Chip & Cherry Rye Cookies.
This recipe will make roughly 12, coaster sized cookies so double up if you want more.
Drop 150g of plain flour into a bowl and follow it with 1/2 a teaspoon of baking powder and a sprinkle of salt. Fork these together and leave to one side.
In another bowl, combine 160g of soft brown sugar with 40g of white caster sugar and then pour in 100g of olive oil. Stir to combine.
Finely chop up 150g of dark chocolate (I just use a big knife and hack away on a chopping board). You want a mix of rubble and 5p size chunks. Chuck the chocolate rubble into the oil mix.
Now crack in one fridge cold egg and a drizzle of vanilla extract. Beat this into the oil mix.
Pour the oil mix into the flour and using a wooden spoon and a strong arm, mix the wet into the dry until you can’t see any flour lumps.
Get yourself two big squares of cling film and halve the dough. Put a section of dough each on to the cling film and roll them in the cling film until you have two big fat cookie sausages.
Chill them in the fridge for an hour or so.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 170c. Line a roasting tray with baking parchment and break off golf ball size pieces of dough.
Using your palms, roll them into neat golf balls, place them on the baking tray and gently pat down to flatten slightly.
I could fit 6 on my baking tray so I baked 6 balls at a time, keeping the rest of the dough in the fridge in between bakes.
Bake the cookie dough balls for roughly 10-12 minutes and when you take them out of the oven, allow them to cook for about 10-15 minutes before removing them to a cold plate or a cooling rack.
Enjoy them. Fill your world with positivity.
And remember a majority vote does not necessarily mean a moral one.
Stay positive 👍🏼
MIKEY AND THE KITCHEN. 