Porridge is a staple in most kitchens, and oats are so good to eat and very versatile. Who doesn’t love the American-style big soft chewy cookies? This oatmeal and cookies recipe should give you perfect results every time. The trick is to pull them out of the oven before they are super firm. If they come out just slightly under-baked, allow them to cool and then they’ll have that chewy texture that you want. Some people like them without the raisins. It is up to you. You might like to try different dried fruits. Dried cranberries or diced apricots work well.

Melting moments with oats is a recipe that I used to love making when I was in school. It is a great recipe for children who are showing an interest in cooking. It takes very little time and the results will encourage them. Try to mix the dough as little as possible, which helps keep the biscuits nice and light.

Happy cooking.

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Oatmeal and raisin cookies

Makes 10

100g (4oz) butter, softened

100g (4oz) soft light brown sugar

1 medium egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

75g (3oz) raisins

50g (2oz) self-raising flour

125g (4 1/2oz) porridge oats

Pinch of sea salt

1 Preheat the oven to 180oC, (350oF/gas mark four) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Put the butter and the sugar into a bowl and cream it together. You can so this with a wooden spoon but if you have a hand-held electric whisk then that will make things much easier and quicker.

2 Add the egg and vanilla and beat well and then stir in the raisins, flour and oats along with the salt.

3 When you have added the flour, bring the mixture together using as few ‘stirs’ as possible so that the dough does not get too tough. Then divide the mixture into 10 equal-sized blobs, each about 50g (2oz) and place them on the prepared baking sheets as you go, leaving plenty of space for them to spread out.

4 Put them in the oven and cook for eight to 10 minutes. Once they are baked, remove them from the oven and leave to cool a little. These are also delicious, almost irresistible, when warm.

Melting moments with oats

Makes 18

225g (8oz) butter, softened

125g (4 1/2oz) caster sugar

1 medium egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

175g (6oz) porridge oats, plus a little extra for rolling out the balls

275g (10oz) self-raising flour

1 Preheat the oven to 180oC, (350oF/gas mark four) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and cream them together until the mixture goes light and fluffy.

2 Using an electric hand-held mixer makes this job much easier, but a wooden spoon works too. Add the egg and beat well and then add the vanilla, porridge oats and flour and mix to just combine using as few stirs as possible so that the biscuits do not come out tough.

3 Put a large handful of oats on the work surface. Then take a heaped tablespoon of the dough (50g (2oz) is about right) and using your hands, roll it into a ball. Then roll the ball in the porridge oats and place on one of the prepared baking sheets, pressing it down lightly. Repeat with the rest of the mixture but space the biscuits apart as they will spread a little in the oven.

4 When you have rolled out all of the balls, place the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes or until the biscuits are cooked through and golden brown. Once baked, remove the melting moments from the oven and leave to cool completely before serving.