Spelt, chocolate, hazelnut cookies (GF)
And my ‘Shepherdessing’ adventure
In late August I decided to bag my bag, yes one bag (I only have hand luggage) and go on an adventure.
The bakery still does a pop up once a week with my awesome dad and a few lovely locals who we ‘trained’ up. Don’t worry, Watlington is not going to be left breadless! And I’ll be back soon.
I first landed in Boston then made my way out to a little homestead in Massachusetts. There I spent little over a month living in a tiny house, ‘flipping’ sheep, hatching chicks and cycling through the fiery red forests to wash in the lakes.
I always thought I ate quite seasonally but living on the little farmstead made me realise what real seasonal food is. We had a communal kitchen and each night would cook for each other, every meal pretty much had the same core ingredients, potatoes, cabbage, cheese, sausage, bread, butter and apples for dessert. It was a beige heaven.
There was a lovely local bakery near by which made incredible pastries and breads with dark crusts and whole grains. I did go and bake there but I also started baking in our communal kitchen, using whatever I could find on the shelves.
Made from a few kitchen staples, these cookies were our go to treat with tea after a morning of running around after the sheep. They are dense, nutty and nutritious…and delicious (sorry couldn’t help the rhyme)
Recipe
125g unsalted soft butter
150g spelt flour
25g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
140g brown or coconut sugar
1 egg at room temp
1tsp spice of choice cardamom, cinnamon, ginger (optional)
150g dark chocolate roughly chopped
100g chopped hazelnuts (toasted if you have time)
Salt flakes to finish
Method
Preheat your oven to 180c and line a baking tray with parchment paper (line 2 if you want to bake all the cookies at once- I like to bake half and keep the rest for baking fresh later).
In a saucepan over a medium heat, melt your butter. Set aside to cool. In a bowl, tie together your spelt, cocoa powder, baking powder, spice and salt.
Pour your butter into a separate mixing bowl, whisk in your sugar then add the egg, whisk into a silky paste then stir/beat in the dry mix. Finally, fold in the chocolate and hazelnuts.
With two spoons or a cookie scoop. Dollop golf size balls of cookie dough onto your baking sheet. I baked 6 immediately then rolled the others into balls, put them in a bag and froze them for later snacks (they last for up to a month in the freezer).
Sprinkle with flaked sea salt. Bake for 12 minutes until crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. Cool then enjoy!
