Mmm Cookies!

My 2 year old seems to have caught the baking bug as when asked today what she wanted to do she chose to bake cookies over going out to the park! I can't blame her too much as it is a bit wet today but luckily we got to do both.

The following recipe always reminds me of my Nanny and the last few days she spent with us as my aunt Cindy brought these to the hospital for the family and nurses by the truckload. It is amazing how what is really a terribly sad time can live almost fondly in memory. There is just something so special about family pulling together that allows the joy of togetherness and shared memories triumph over loss.

Cinnamon is what makes these oatmeal - chocolate chip cookies different from the average and is what I really love about them. I ran out of oats and had to substitute Ready Break in their place, this means that the ones I have pictured aren't quite as plump and squishy as the norm.

Happy baking!


Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (f) or gas mark 5.

3/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp. water
2 tsp. vanilla essence

3/4 cup plain flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon

3 cups porridge oats
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

• Cream together butter, sugars, egg, water and vanilla.
• Sift flour, baking soda and cinnamon.
• Add dry ingredients to wet stirring thoroughly.
• Stir in oats and chocolate chips.
• Drop heaping tablespoons onto greased (or papered) baking sheets.
• Bake for 12 - 15 min.

Pumpkin Puree

Being a Canadian, October is the time of year for family, friends, turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Living abroad for so many years I have had to do my very best to carry on the tradition of Thanksgiving with my immediate family and friends.

The first Thanksgiving I spent here in England, my husband and I lived in such a small house we had to borrow another friend's house to host a Thanksgiving meal for all our friends. It was such a success and so much fun that I don't think I have missed a Thanksgiving since.

There are difficulties, however, in providing the traditional Thanksgiving fodder when supermarkets don't supply some key ingredients. There have been a couple years when a large chicken or two have had to substitute the traditional turkey, and trying to find the elusive can of pureed pumpkin or pumpkin pie filling can be a futile endeavour. As a result, I have become quite adept at creating a pumpkin pie much more authentically than many Canadians in Canada as I have to use a real pumpkin. The only problem with this is that you end up with far more pumpkin puree than you could possibly ever use for one pumpkin pie!

My mother's favourite cake recipe takes advantage of this and is a fantastic way to use up some of that extra pumpkin puree. It calls for a can of pumpkin pie filling but I have adapted it so that I can make it using fresh pumpkin puree.

Being the mother of a 2 year old, I experimented quite a bit with purees when my daughter was making her first forays into solid food. Many cookbooks advocate roasting the pumpkin to make the puree, but I have found that boiling it creates a much smoother consistency while keeping all its colour and flavour.

All that being said, the recipe for pumpkin spice cake is as follows:

3/4 cup butter or margerine
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup evapourated milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp each: cinnamon, nutmeg
1 tsp each: ground ginger, allspice

3/4 cup milk

• Mix flour, rising agents, salt and spices in one bowl and set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs then add pumpkin puree, evapourated milk and vanilla.
• Add 1/4 of dry ingredients to wet, beat with electric beaters, add 1/4 cup milk, then alternate until all ingredients are mixed together. Continue to beat for one minute.
• Pour into a prepared bundt cake tin and bake at 360 degrees (f) for 50 min or until testing stick comes out clean.

Happy baking and happy Thanksgiving!