All the mummies in the house - raise your hands if you phewed! a slight sigh of relief and danced a jig of joy at the beginning of the week as you sent your kids back to school again. ;-) Ditto!
Raise your hands again if you had a tiny guilty conscious after that jig! Ditto!
Why is that?
While I am a fun, responsible and maybe at times over-protective parent, I sometimes get tired of the colossal responsibility one automatically has as a parent. There are times when I get uptight at the weight this responsibility carries and begin to crumble. Where are those carefree days when I did not have to plan my meals ahead, go to the movies on the spur of the moment without having to see if the babysitter was free and potato-out on the couch all day if I wanted to? Times like these I would give anything to run away to a tiny island where no one can find me!
After two weeks of Easter break I was feeling like that by the time the weekend rolled around and was counting down the hours to Monday morning. Don't get me wrong I had a blast with Soeren! We did a lot of great things together and he spent a lot of the time outside with his friends too - but I always felt the presence of that weight. Never underestimate the few hours you are able to transfer a bit of that weight to the teachers or grandparents!
I think I totally flipped out on Thursday, when I asked Soeren to get a bottle of fruit infused water from our pantry so that we could take it with us on the picnic we were planning. When I heard a thump! followed by a loud clinker of broken glass all I could do was hang my head into the kitchen sink and count to 10! From Soeren came a meek "oops!" and then "Mum I think I have a problem here!"
I walked over to the pantry and noticed he had managed to drop two full beer bottles, glass shattered everywhere and beer flowing into the tiniest crevice! On the days when I am really cool I would have shouted "quick get the straws!" as a joke - but I was not feeling cool on this day! Instead I told him to go to his room, then I picked up the phone and dumped my frustration on Tom! Nope not cool at all!
I spent 45 minutes cleaning out the pantry that day, after which I had no enthusiasm for a picnic or anything else. But as a mummy you have to pep yourself up and stand tall in spite of it all. So when Soeren came down and said "Sorry mum, I did not mean it!" I had to take him in my arms and explain it was not his fault, it happens but he needs to pay more attention to what he does in the future. The usual pep talk - this time it was not just for him but also for me! It was too late to go on the picnic and as I had to work my way on Tom's good side again, we decided to bake cookies. You know me I like to bribe ... errr I mean charm ... with my goods!
And so we baked!
Nevertheless first day back at school was a relief. In my opinion the few hours apart gives me plenty of time to focus on other things, put down a tiny bit of that weight and re-charge my mummy-batteries again. However, even when we are apart I spend a bit of my time missing him and thinking of things we can do together when I pick him up from school. Crazy I know!
These cookies are not your usual nut and chocolate cookies. These are the type of cookies that cause an uproar with the kids and an addiction with the adults. Salted macadamia and chunky white chocolate give these cookies texture and as the cookies bake the butter begins to brown, giving the cookies a delicious browned-butter aroma. They are crispy on the outside and have a gorgeous chewy inside and one is never enough!
Salted Macadamia Nut and Chunky White Chocolate Cookies
Printable version of recipe here.
Ingredients
375g all-purpose flour
11/2 cup Muscovado sugar
225g butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
250g good quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped
150g salted roasted macadamia nuts, coarsely choppedMethod
- Preheat the oven to approx. 175-180 degrees C. Line 2 cookie sheets with some baking paper.
- Sift together flour, salt and baking soda into a medium sized bowl. In a larger bowl whisk butter with an electric mixer until fluffy.
- Add the sugar and continue to whisk until blended, then beat in the eggs, one at a time making sure the egg is well incorporated after each addition.
- Add the dry ingredients and with a spatula fold into batter. Do not over-mix - just enough so that all the flour has been incorporated and no lumpy bits are in the batter.
- Depending on the size of cookies you want drop either heaping tablespoons or leveled tablespoons of batter onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving approx. 5 cm space between each cookie.
- Bake the cookies until golden. Larger cookies will take approx. 18-20 minutes and smaller sized ones approx 12-15 minutes.
- Remove form oven and allow to cool. Once completely cooled store in airtight containers.
Food Guide Tips:
Verdict
One of the Clients I work with and regularly do photo shoots for, once asked me why I do not have many cookie recipes/photographs on my blog/portfolio. It's true - if you browse through my Scones/Cookies category you will see that the cookie recipes are limited. It's not like we do not bake many cookies - we do - however it's usually all of the usual cookie favorites kids love everywhere. So, the regular chocolate chip cookie from cookbook x and blog y are only minutely different from each other and one will find about 356,000 hits on Google if you enter chocolate chip cookie recipe. I presume another one from me would go unnoticed. However, there are times when we experiment with our basic chocolate chip cookie recipe and come up with an extraordinary creation that has to be shared. This is one of them! These are the way we love cookies - crispy on the outside chewy on the insides, chunky and with substance. They also are perfect to bribe or charm your way right back on the good side of both your kid and partner!
You might like these cookies and scones from WFLH:
Chunky Chocolate Chip Scones | Lime Kisses | Ginger Shortbread |
From around the blogs:
- Chocolate Amaretti – No Special Effects
- Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookies – Vintage Victuals
- Carrot Cookies made with maple syrup – The Go Lightly Gourmet
Daily Tiffin Reading Tip
Fresh Frozen or Canned? written by Andrea
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2009 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First
Cookies are looking so delicious, m drooling over them :) Love the pictures..
ReplyDeleteWonderful! I love amcadamia nuts in cookies! Very nicely presented and photographed, as usual!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Rosa
I've some salted and roasted macadamia nuts left out. Now i know how i'll be using them and above all i love chewy cookies.
ReplyDeleteThanks for recipe Meeta :)
Ramya
I hear you Meeta.. I have 2, one of them at the notorious 3 year age who prefers doing flipping in the air, rather than walking, & they are supposed to be girls...& often i have to tell myself that it's human to lose it sometimes.
ReplyDeleteMy kids did not have a recent break:-( & I am v v tired running around taking them places to do things thru the day. i could use some pampering with these cookies, my cuppa & a book under a tree.. all alone.
Liked the idea of using a straw:-D
Meeta I come to your blog to satisfy my eyes for a good 15 minutes with the photographs and then read your post. I just love the pink background against the milk and cookies..It's just so awesome.
ReplyDeleteYeah even I long for that break from my 4 year old son and at times let my husband take him out for an hour or two while I sit back with a book or simply relax..but like u said half of that time I think about my son only.
This cookie is really gonna be a hit with my son who is not that fond of store bought cookies
I loved that "straw" usage..:D..The cookies are amazing..:)
ReplyDeleteI love Soeren more and more when you talk about him :)
ReplyDeleteThe head in the sink works for me too.
They look so chubby and yummy!! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to hear about your role as a parent. You present such a realistic perspective and I enjoy reading about your family Meeta. I'm sure everyone enjoyed these cookies. How could they not?
ReplyDeleteYou are sooo right! Nothing like a little time away to recharge those mommy batteries. Even a tiny little break helps! These kind of cookies were my first attempt to bake cookies, that was when I first got married and it was for the hubby..they are his fav.! Gorgeous pics.
ReplyDeleteI love that you used salted nuts...I think that adds so much more depth to the cookies.
ReplyDeleteRaised my hands both times - sigh...I feel terrible too when I lose my temper and bawl my 4 year old out. She's still a baby and its me who needs to have more patience and control. but we do our best and I know that somewhere at the core our kids will always know that!
ReplyDeleteThese cookies look very very interesting - the salted nuts and the white chocolate is such an interesting combination.
I love putting different things together too - just posted a white chocolate muffin which had candied amla bits in it :)
Hi!!!! I adore you blog, so full of colorful and beautiful photos. Wow! I linked you on my blog as 1 of my favorites!!!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree Meeta, when Shyama was small i loved her holidays, but alsoloved when she was in school too :-).
ReplyDeleteLove the cookies and the beautiful pic.
my mom loooves macadamia:)
ReplyDeleteHOLY YUM!!
ReplyDeleteIt's a pleasant moment for me when I visit your blog! beautiful pictures, and this cookies recipe seems delicious. Thank you...
ReplyDeletecookies look great....taking on the 24/7 responsibility of a child is VERY draining.....its tough to handle all the things it entails... your doing a great job Meeta...loved the get the straws bit!!
ReplyDeleteOh no not crazy at all Meeta. Parents in the hospital used to ask how I could work taking care of their kids in the hospital and then go home to my own but it was breaking from that responsibility, it was renewing even if the logic seems twisted.
ReplyDeleteLove the cookies.
Hi Meeta,
ReplyDeleteHave been a long time reader, but haven't commented so far. But I do enjoy your blog and your enthusiasm and live vicariously through your dessert creations. When I saw this post I had to comment for two reasons. I have a box of salted macadamia nuts I need to dress up and I saw a small piece on Wiemar - a small insert on a feature about Berlin- in the continental in-flight magazine that made me think of you.
I am going to try these cookies (wish me luck as I haven't baked anything in my life that has come out edible). Here is the piece on Wiemar, http://magazine.continental.com/200904-been-there#2
Raising and flapping both hands vigorously
ReplyDeleteIf I could bake like you, wouldn't feel the guilt at all
Oh Meeta, I love reading ur your stories and your recipes. I am sure your little post resonated with so many parents. And it was all good in the end coz everyone got some awesome cookies out of it ;-) You are awesome and Soeren is lucky to have a mummy like u.
ReplyDeleteIrresistibly delicious!
ReplyDeleteI hear you :-)...yummy cookies :-)
ReplyDeleteBribing with baked goods seems like a wonderful idea in my book! And these cookies look like the perfect bribe. Anyone could get over spilled milk...um, beer...with these cookies!! They look totally delicious!
ReplyDeleteAm I allowed to come over and break something... I can do that much for a hug and a batch of cookies from you.
ReplyDeleteLooking and sounding like a real treat. Yum!
ReplyDeletePaz
White chocolate and macadamia nut cookies are my all time favorite cookies. Yours look great!
ReplyDeleteYummy looking cookies, Meeta!
ReplyDeleteSalty, nutty, and chocolaty? Sublime.
ReplyDeleteI totally can see the same happening in my house too with my 2 year old. Of course, i am expected to keep my cool which i often dont :(
ReplyDelete