White choc macadamia cookie Comparison

Where do you get your recipe inspiration from?

My go-to places (in order of popularity) are:

1. blogs and websites (mainly taste.com.au)

2. the latest issue of cooking magazines

3. my cookbook library

4. pages torn from old magazines and newspapers

5. television shows (Jamie, Nigella, Luke Ngyuen, etc)

6. calendars with recipes on them

7. the back of cookie packets

Yes, you read number 7 correctly. The other night, I was at the supermarket, trawling the aisles for dinner supplies, when I saw a new range of ’homestyle chunkie cookies’ on the shelf (yeah, I was dinner shopping in the biscuit aisle). As I was absolutely famished, I threw a bag into my basket for a pre-dinner snack.

The cookies are by White Wings, better known for their flour and baking products, and the packet says that the cookies contain ‘no artificial colours or flavours. No preservatives’. Good-oh!

They tasted pretty good, too. Or as good as anything else, considering I was starving when I hoed into them, as dinner was still at least 45 minutes from being ready. Then I noticed that they claim to ‘taste just like home-style ones’ and they even include a recipe to make your own. I like a challenge, so I used their recipe and this was the result.

White chocolate and macadamia cookies

makes 30

Ingredients

125g (4.4oz) butter

¾ cup caster sugar

1 tblsp golden syrup

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups plain flour

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tblsp water

¼ cup white chocolate chips

½ cup chopped macadamias

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C/360F. Line trays with baking paper.

2. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter, sugar, golden syrup, salt and vanilla until light in colour and fluffy in texture.

3. Stir in the flour until combined.

4. Mix the bicarb soda with water, then add to the dough together with the white chocolate chips and macadamias.

5. Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls and place on prepared trays. Leave room for the cookies to spread, about 3cm/1.5in. Press down slightly on the cookies to flatten.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

recipe from White Wings Chunkies packet

How to make a good cookie:

Make sure you beat the butter and sugar together until it's really fluffy and light.

Gently stir in the the flour and chocolate.

Roll into sturdy balls and flatten slightly before baking.

How does the packet recipe compare to the packet cookies?

My home-made cookies look smoother in texture probably because they were rolled by hand rather than by machine.

The packet 'homestyle' cookies were a bit crisper, maybe because I was careful to remove my cookies from the oven before they got too brown (I have a temperamental oven that burns within milliseconds).

My cookies were slightly 'chewy' as a result, and I prefer this.

Overall, the White Wings Homestyle Chunkies are quite good for a quick biscuit hit, but proper home-made is usually better. In terms of value, the Chunkies are very worth it, at $2.99 a packet, as the macadamias I used cost nearly double that.

In general, this is a fantastic cookie recipe and I will definitely make them again.

Thanks to White Wings for generously providing the recipe on their cookie packets!

(Not sure of the thinking behind this marketing strategy, but I appreciate it).

By the way, if you're a keen baker, don't forget to enter the Kitchenware Direct giveaway.

Click here to enter.

Great prize to be won, and entries close this Sunday. Don't miss out!!

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Tabitha vs Henry Update

Catfight!

It had to happen, eventually.

Tabitha trots out to her cat grass, not realising that Henry is crouched behind the door.

He leaps up to her, and she hisses and goes 'rawwrrrrr!'

I get yelled at, too, to stop taking photos and rescue the cat, so I clear a path for Tabs to run back into the house, leaving evil Henry to sulk by the pot plants.

Fur comparison:
Henry looks sleek, but his fur is quite coarse, scratchy.

Tabitha is the softest cat in the world, her coat feels like mink lined with chinchilla.