Caramilk Dried Cherry and Pistachio Cookies

These cookies came about as I have had in my mind for the past year that a dried cherry and pistachio nougat would be an excellent Christmas recipe, but as it always does by this time of the year, time did not allow for a thorough testing of the recipe. 

As it started to become clear that my nougat Christmas dreams weren’t going to come true, I decided my Plan B for a new Christmas recipe would be a cookie with the same flavours. 

Of course, a cookie and nougat are hardly comparable, but what cookies lack in finesse and wide eyed compliments on how much effort you went to, they gain on the fact that they don’t take much effort but are extremely delicious. 

Like the Caramilk Cookies I posted this year on which this recipe is based, these cookies require very little prep, and need no time to chill in the fridge. You could make these in about half an hour. Which at this time of year, sounds pretty good to me. 

You can swap the dried cherries (also labelled as sour cherries sometimes) for dried cranberries and you can use any type of chocolate you wish if you don’t have Caramilk - though I do highly recommend Caramilk for baking as it tastes so good and is considerably cheaper to buy than better quality caramelised white chocolates which I personally find can be a bit lost in baking (save those ones for snacking!). 

So if you have unexpected guests this festive season, or want to drop off homemade goodies if you are socially isolating still, these cookies will have your back and won’t eat up all your time!

Caramilk Dried Cherry and Pistachio Cookies

Ingredients:

120ml canola oil

225g caster sugar 

2 tbsp golden syrup

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 egg, beaten

290g self raising flour

120g Cadbury Caramilk, roughly chopped

120g dried cherries, roughly chopped

1-2 tbsp slivered or roughly chopped pistachios

Method:

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius and line three large baking trays with baking paper.

In a large bowl whisk together the oil, sugar, golden syrup, vanilla and egg.

Then add the flour and the chopped Caramilk and cherries, and mix to combine with a wooden spoon.

Roll heaped teaspoonfuls of the dough into balls and place on the trays. The cookies will spread as they bake so leave enough room in between. 

Sprinkle the tops of each cookie with some of the pistachio, pressing it in gently so they don’t fall off. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Rotate the trays in the oven about halfway through to ensure the cookies cook evenly.  

Allow to cool on their trays, then store in an airtight container (they will last 5-7 days). 

Makes about 30 cookies.

Caramilk Cookies

My blog feels very cookie heavy right now, but honestly that’s a pretty fair indication of what I have been baking in the last few months. Apart from revisiting old favourites from my recipe eBooks and testing recipes for my new eBook (and a little bit of recipe development for clients too), versions of this particular recipe have been what I am making when I just want something nice to eat - that doesn’t take much time to make. 

Like the Chai Cookies in the post before this one, these cookies are based on the recipe for Gingernut Cookies from my Grandma. It is a simple cookie recipe, that lends itself to multitudes of adaptations. You can change up some of the ingredients (just keep the quantities the same). A different oil or melted butter can be used instead of canola oil, treacle instead of golden syrup, white sugar instead of caster for a crunchier cookie (just don’t use brown sugar, when I made them like this the oiliness of the oil in the cookie was very noticeable and not as satisfying to eat). And of course a mixture of plain flour and baking powder can be used to make your own self raising flour (see here for a good explanation on how to make it).

Caramilk (a caramelised white chocolate) is my chocolate of choice for these, but you can use whatever you prefer (up to 200g).  And if you would like the recipe to be dairy free, make them using an oil (not butter) and pair with a dairy free or super dark chocolate. Or use something else completely instead of chocolate like some chopped dried fruit or nuts. 

I know a lot of people are using the time we have this year to embark on more involved baking projects, but I am finding that recipes like this one, that are endlessly adaptable and very quick and effortless to make, provide just the kind of instant gratification I am looking for - a little bit of time in the kitchen, and something very tasty to eat not long after. 

Caramilk Cookies

Ingredients:

120ml canola oil

225g caster sugar 

2 tbsp golden syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten

290g self raising flour

180g block Cadbury Caramilk, roughly chopped

Method:

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius and line three large baking trays with baking paper.

In a large bowl whisk together the oil, sugar, golden syrup, vanilla and egg.

Then add the flour and the chopped Caramilk and mix to combine with a wooden spoon.

Roll heaped teaspoonfuls of the dough into balls and place on the trays. The cookies will spread as they bake so leave enough room in between. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Rotate the trays in the oven about halfway through to ensure the cookies cook evenly.  

Allow to cool on their trays, then store in an airtight container (they will last 5-7 days). 

Makes about 30 cookies.

Cranberry and Caramilk Cookies

I had the idea for these cookies (or biscuits, I am still feeling conflicted as to which they should be called!), at work one day. A colleague of mine is American and her and another in our team where talking about Thanksgiving foods, as Thanksgiving was the following week. I heard them mention something about cranberry, and for some reason the idea for these biscuits just popped into my head. It probably wasn’t long after I had made my Raspberry and White Chocolate biscuits, on which this recipe is based. Maybe I just had biscuits on the brain. 

While I didn’t get a chance to make my new cookie idea before Thanksgiving, I did ensure I tried them out on Boxing Day. I had kept a bar of Cadbury Caramilk for my next biscuit batch, as while this white chocolate is already caramelised, I thought it would be great used in biscuits where the white chocolate has extra time to further caramelise in the oven. I’m so glad I used it as the Caramilk tastes great in these cookies, and if I can find anymore I will buy some and keep it for my next batch. 

These cookies are also great for this time of year, when we all hopefully have some time to bake, and maybe have some leftover dried fruit from making other Christmas-y things. I love using cranberries, but I’m sure other chopped dried fruit would be great too. 

I hope you are having a lovely festive season, and have a great start to 2020. If you want to keep up with my news and more baking talk, my weekly newsletter will be restarting a couple of weeks into January - to sign up click here. 

Cranberry and Caramilk Cookies

Ingredients: 

250g unsalted butter, softened or margarine (I use Proactiv Buttery)

200g brown sugar

100g white sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 egg yolks

325g plain flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

200g dried cranberries, roughly chopped

180g bar Caramilk (or other white chocolate), chopped

Method: 

Beat the butter or margarine and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until combined. Add the vanilla extract, then the egg yolks mixing until combined. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and the baking soda, then add to the butter mixture and mix on a low speed until almost combined. Then add the cranberries and chopped Caramilk and mix until combined.

Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, cover and refrigerate for at least 30-40 minutes (the dough can also be shaped into two logs, covered with plastic wrap or baking paper and frozen at this point too). 

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees Celsius and line 3-4 trays with baking paper. Once the dough has been in the fridge for 30-40 minutes, scoop out heaped tablespoons of the mixture and place on the prepared baking trays (leaving room for the biscuits to spread as they cook).

Bake for about 18 minutes (rotating trays halfway). The biscuits will be golden once done.

Allow to cool on their trays.

Store in an airtight container, they will keep for about 1 week.

Makes about 55 biscuits.

Reference: ‘The Violet Bakery Cookbook’ by Claire Ptak (Ten Speed Press, 2015), pp.140-1.