Apricot Oat Cookies

Instead, the sweetness comes from orange juice, which makes an incredible change from the pre-packaged cookies you can get at the shops.

They are perfect for lunch boxes, and to keep around the house for lazy afternoons.

On top of that, they are easy and quick to prepare and you can transform them into a raw cookie if you are opposed to cooking your food – or if you simply can’t make it past preparation stages.

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Ingredients

Recipe makes 8-12 cookies, depending on their size

115 g (4 oz) Butter, melted
2 tbsp Brown sugar
2 tbsp Orange juice
115 g (4 oz) Self raising flour, sifted
115 g (4 oz) Rolled oats
100 g (3½ oz) Dried apricots, chopped

To prepare

Preheat your oven to 170ºC (325ºF, Gas mark 3). Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix by hand until you have a thick, sticky dough. Roll dough into balls about the size of golf balls. The large you make them, the fewer you will have, but the chewier they will be. Place these cookie balls on the baking tray, and press down on them slightly.

Bake for about 15 minutes until golden. Allow to cool for a few moments before serving.

Really good bit

You can add in any nuts, seeds or dried fruits that you want to this mixture for a great taste (and an extra dash of nutrients). Limit seed and nut addition to about 25 g (1 oz) for an even texture.

And, because there is no egg involved, you can feel free to eat this raw if you want, though you may want to rice flour you’re going that route.

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From the notebook of Katie Schenk

Once you’ve fallen in love with baking again, try some of these favourites. These are selected from our current and forthcoming cake books:

Easy cake, no mess : Shortbread fingers
Easy cake, no mess : Carrot and ginger cake
Cake! Lemon and Lavender Drizzle Cake

And do please share your own favourite recipes below… we’d love to hear from you.