A couple of weeks ago I inadvertently deleted more than 2,000 (yes, 2,000) photos from my phone. They were lost to cyberspace as I had not taken the time to back them up or save them to another device. While probably not lost, simply unretrievable to me. It was one of those potentially meltdown moments except I was too stunned to weep. I stayed grounded by repeating to myself over and over 'they were only pictures, this is not the end of the world, get a grip on yourself others have lost more'. Photos for me not only capture a scene, they are also visual, tangible reminders of the emotions felt at a moment in time. The elation or tug at your heart feeling over seeing a familiar view from a new perspective; or seeing how light transforms from something seemingly benign into something spectacular; or seeing something wondrous for the first, second, even third time. Sharing photos taken can be a way of sharing a part of one's self with others or making a connection. They can be simple tokens of affection, particularly when they serve as reminders of shared experiences, interests, or passions. Pictures really are worth thousands of words.
As it turned out there were some silver linings in all of this. With the loss of thousands of photos came the return of available memory on my phone. Finally I could download the apps everyone else in the world seemed to have and rely on. And if I wanted, I could now create my own personal avatar. But could my bitmoji really reflect me? The me I think I look like versus the me everyone else sees. Maybe I should just stay with attaching nature, landscape and food photos to my texts and emails. At least for the moment.
Baking and cooking is yet another one of the ways I share a part of myself with others. The holidays create a perfect opportunity for me to share some love and gratitude with others. Even more exhausting than shopping for ingredients, spending hours in the kitchen, or creating beautifully presented boxes of goodies is laboring over the 'what to make and what will arrive in the mail as delicious as the day it was baked' decisions.
Although there are some of the same usual suspects in these goodie boxes, I like to add new, different confections. So this year, in addition to the sea salted chocolate covered caramels, fluffy vanilla marshmallows, orangettes (candied orange peels), and white chocolate dipped shortbread cookies, the soft gingerbread cookies with rum glaze and these Cranberry, Oat and White Chocolate Biscuits will be making first time appearances.
There are so many things I love about these Cranberry, Oat and White Chocolate Biscuits I don't even know where to start. They are simultaneous luxurious and simple. The roasted almonds, dried cranberries, orange zest, and white chocolate are all readily available, simple ingredients, yet when combined in this biscuit (cookie) they seem exotic and extraordinary. The blend of flavors and textures creates hearty and satisfying bites of deliciousness. The crunch of the biscuit, the just the right amount of sweetness, and the creaminess of the white chocolate lathered on top are the components of a cookie destined to be a timeless, year-round classic.
The inspiration for these cookies comes from my newest, most favorite cookbook "Sweet" by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh. Increasing the amount of white chocolate and using orange flavored dried cranberries (versus unflavored dried cranberries) were the two most (in)significant changes I made to them. Finishing them with some sparkling sugar and topping them with a piece of dried fruit was nothing more than adding some whimsy and festiveness to them. Note: I followed the European version of the recipe which meant I weighed all of my ingredients and used caster instead of granulated sugar).
The texture of the dough is more shortbread like than cookie-dough like. Once the dough begins to come together it is scraped out onto a floured surface and kneaded into a ball before being rolled out.
Using a 2 3/4" inch round, sharp cookie cutter, the dough was rolled out to almost a 1/4" thickness. In a 375 degree (F) preheated oven, the cookies bake for approximately 18 minutes or until lightly golden. Once cooled to room temperature they are ready to be dipped or lathered in melted white chocolate.
If there was ever the perfect cookie to eat with your morning cup of coffee (or tea), to enjoy as a mid-snack or to satisfy a before night-time sweet tooth, they would be these Cranberry, Oat and White Chocolate Biscuits.
Whether you adorn them with sparkling sugar and a piece of dried fruit or not is definitely an option. Finished simply with melted white chocolate will give them a more classic than whimsical finish.
I simple adore these Cranberry, Oat and White Chocolate Biscuits. I can hardly wait to include them in this year's cookie gift boxes. I only wish I could be there when my friends take their first bite of this 'new to them' confection. Maybe they will send me a photo.
Cranberry, Oat and White Chocolate Biscuits (an ever so slight adaption to the Cranberry, Oat and White Chocolate Biscuit recipe shared by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh in their cookbook 'Sweet')
Yield: 27-30 cookies using a 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 inch round cookie cutter
Ingredients
1 cup (150 g) whole unsalted raw, skin on almonds
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons (150g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup (75g) whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups (150g) old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (225g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (100g) caster sugar
1 Tablespoon finely grated orange zest (from one large orange)
3/4 cup (125g) dried cranberries, chopped in half
1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons (25ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
10-11 ounces (300g) white chocolate
Optional: Sparkling sugar
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) or 180 degrees (C).
2. Spread almonds out on a baking tray and roast for 10 minutes. Allow to cool and then coarsely chop in a food processor.
3. In a medium sized bowl, combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oats, salt, and chopped almonds. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl combine the chopped cranberries with the orange juice. Mix together. Set aside.
5. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, orange zest and caster sugar on medium speed until combined and light (approximately 2 minutes).
6. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture and mix on low speed until dough just comes together.
7. Add cranberries and orange juice, mixing just until incorporated.
8. On a lightly floured surface, scrape dough out of the bowl and knead into a ball. If dough is too sticky add a little more flour.
9. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees (F) or 190 degrees (C).
10. Cut dough ball in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough. Using a 2 3/4 inch (7cm) cookie cutter, cut dough into rounds and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Note: Dough should be rolled out to a slightly less than a 1/4 inch (.5cm) thickness.
11. Bake for 18 minutes (rotating tray midway through) or until lightly browned all over. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool completely.
12. Roll out second half of dough, cut into rounds, and bake. Allow to cool to room temperature.
13. Place white chocolate in a bowl over simmering water ensuring the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.
14. Dip the tops of the cookies into the melted white chocolate or alternately spread a tablespoon of the melted chocolate over the tops of the cookies using the back of a small spoon or offset spatula. Place coated cookies on a sheet of parchment or on a cooking rack. Allow to cool completely before serving or storing.
15: Optional: Lightly sprinkle sparkling sugar over the tops of cookies before the chocolate has set. And/or top each cookie with a dried cranberry.
Notes: (1) To further increase the orange flavor in the cookies use orange flavored dried cranberries (Trader Joe's was my source). (2) Cookies will keep for up to a week if stored in an airtight container. (3) Could substitute granulated sugar for the caster sugar if caster sugar is not available to you. (4) Don't skip the roasting the almonds in the oven step. The flavor the roasting imparts to them adds to the depth of flavor of the biscuit. (5) Your baking time may need to be adjusted if you choose to make these biscuits smaller or larger. However, the 2 3/4 " size made them just about perfect.
Images from the Plimouth Plantation (November 2017)
