Variation on a theme
Do you think if I bake cookies for the House-Building-Crew, they might be favorably disposed to finish the house more quickly? Okay, it’s worth a try…
Truth be told, I think the workers are diligent without me sweetening the situation, but autumn winds are beginning to blow with a definite chill, and that puts me in the mood to warm things up with a baking session.
The thing about being an American-In-Europe is that it seems a fairly obvious choice to make chocolate chip cookies for the lads…such an American icon.
Warning: Cookie-Biscuit Enquiry Ahead
As we are all well aware, in America it’s ‘cookie’ and in ROI/UK it’s ‘biscuit,’ so no beating-of-the-dead-horse here. But I am intrigued, I must say, to find that the chocolate chip version of the biscuit is always referred to as a ‘cookie.’ Why is that?
Right then, I dig out my mixer and line up the ingredients.
Oops, have packed away and cannot find lovely Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. Rats.
Will need to buy lovely milk and dark chocolate bars for self-made-chips.
Begin baking ceremony.
Oops, didn’t buy enough chocolate bars. Rats.
Will need to improvise.
Divide the dough and do an equally tasty variation on the theme of cranberry-white chocolate.
Do I have dried cranberries? Yep.
Do I have white chocolate? Of course.
And for a bit of stealthy-healthy-eating, organic oats and organic milled flax seed are added. What the Kiddies (and Workers) don’t know will be good for ‘em for a change!
It’s simple really, substituting dried cranberries for the chocolate chips and adding oats and milled flax seeds as part of the flour mixture. And, I’ll eat just one more…cuz they’re healthy! Oh, wait…ought to get some off to those workers first…
nice punting. they look very enticing.
29 Sep 2007 at 8:22 am
Oh I will be trying these, they look georgeous!!! Quick thinking there, you need to keep the workers sweet!!
29 Sep 2007 at 11:22 am
Oh yum! The cookies look so good. So, you just replace some of the flour with the ground flax seed? What a good idea!
29 Sep 2007 at 3:14 pm
These sound really good. To me anyway. Unfortunately we have a saying at our house, “No chocolate, no good.” *sigh*
29 Sep 2007 at 8:26 pm
Lucky builders - they ought to be doing a great job with fare like that to sustain them!
29 Sep 2007 at 8:53 pm
Re the chocolate chip cookie vs. biscuit - I think that when the cookies firsts came to the notice of bakers and manufacturers in the UK they were called cookies because everything American at that time was considered glamorous and somewhat exotic. Calling them chocolate chip biscuits did not have quite the same “ring’ to it somehow. I remember myself as a young child wanting them because they were an American invention and were, or so we thought anyway going to be all the better for it.
29 Sep 2007 at 9:45 pm
just hope that none of the workers read your blog - or they might be upset that you cheated by putting healthy stuff in the cookies to tempt them:)) but it’s true - as soon as the weather goes down, I get all “christmassy” and cannot stop myself from baking (or maybe it has something to do with the fact that it gets colder and I like to be in a warm kitchen?)….
30 Sep 2007 at 5:01 pm
You know, I include ground flax seeds in things as an egg replacement. Even better, nutrition-wise.
I wish you luck, as I’ve just read the first reports of snow coming in for the Scottish Highlands … and it’s not like you’re all that far away from there, when it comes down to it.
30 Sep 2007 at 9:11 pm
Mmmm. They look good, even without the chocolate. We used to send my friend in Denmark Tollhouse chocolate chips every once in a while because she said that that was one thing she couldn’t get there. We usually use Trader Joe’s chocolate chips now, but there is something about that yellow bag that says chocolate chips cookie extraordinaire!
01 Oct 2007 at 6:18 am