This weekend was touch and go weather-wise in Sydney, but fun was still had. My top 5 favorite eater moments:
1. The bouillabaisse special at Brown Sugar.
2. A much anticipated trip to Moo Burger. Wagyu burger did not let me down.
3. An impromptu Bondi bar crawl was a great way to get to know the neighborhood. Bonus points to The Wreck for proximity to our apartment, frosty glasses of Peroni and a tasty fish taco.
4. Christening the new oven with savory pumpkin muffins and chewy oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies.
5. A delicious 2 course breakfast made by Mr F featuring fresh Sonoma soy linseed bread, mango and half an avocado each. Well done, sir!
Chocolate Chunk Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
I was really craving a good, excessively chewy oatmeal cookie. While looking for recommendations on how best to achieve that sometimes elusive but very important chewy factor, I found this gem on Smitten Kitchen: make the dough and cookie sheet as cold as possible. Place both in the refrigerator for 15 minutes prior to baking. This helps the cookie maintain a certain amount of thickness, which is an important component of the chewy cookie.
1/2 cup (115 grams) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt (I often use a half teaspoon, but I like more salt in my baked goods)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup dark chocolate bar (I used Cadbury Old Gold) chopped into 1/4 inch chunks, or however small or large you deem acceptable
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celcius. (Trying to adapt to metric here, folks)
Mix first 4 ingredients until smooth. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt then stir into wet mixture. Add in oats, chocolate and seeds. (Chocolate can be substituted for dried fruit, seeds can be left out or replace with another type of seed or nut.)
Cool dough in the fridge before putting in the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on the size and temperature of your cookies. Aim for slightly undercooked and leave them on the baking sheets to cool for a few minutes (this will continue to cook them slightly).
Note to self: Add chocolate AND raisins to the next batch.
