I have been having a bit of an obsession with cherries and almonds recently. First up I have been loving making a cherry cake and amping it up by adding almond extract, flaked almonds and little bits of marzipan on the top.
I used this recipe and added some flaked almonds to make it even better!
The other day I bought a packet of cherries from Sainsbury’s, and after using some of them in some cherry and almond scones, I decided the rest of them would go in some cookies. I thought an oatmeal raisin base would be the best one to go for, so I looked up in the trusty Hummingbird book for ideas.
This recipe made about 16 huge cookies.
Ingredients:
135g butter/ pure spread
80g caster sugar
80g soft brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
150g plain flour
85g oats
1/2 tsp bicarb
85g dried cherries
30g flaked almonds
Method:
Preheat the oven to 170C and line two large trays with baking paper.
Cream together the butter and sugars. Beat the egg and add this in, along with the almond extract.
Stir in the flour, oats and bicarb, and finally add in the cherries and almonds.
Drop heaped tablespoons of the mixture onto the baking trays- they will spread when you bake them to leave big gaps.
(That is two cookies on a saucer, just to show the size of them- huge!)
Bake for around 12 minutes- you want them to be browned at the edges but pale in the centre as they will continue to firm up on the tray once they are out of the oven. Leave to harden on the baking tray for 10 mins before removing them and putting them on a wire rack to cool.
Took the cookies along with the little nutella cookies around to Andy’s parents.
I am thinking I should try a bakewell tart at some point- I never liked them when I was younger, I think I found the almond flavour too overpowering (even though I have always loved marzipan), plus I don’t really like pastry, but the cherry and almond combination is a winner for me at the moment!
Do you find you like certain flavours at different times of the year? When I was out for tea with a friend there was a cinnamon flavour tea and she said that cinnamon belonged in the autumn and winter time, which I suppose is true.
I love cherries, haven’t had any for a few weeks though. I love pumpkin in the fall. I put cinnamon on everything year round ha- just love the stuff.
I definitely associate different flavours with different times of the year, I did have some cinnamon the other day and although it was nice it felt weird having it in the summer!
I love oat and rasisin cookies. They’re my favourite. I quite like the idea of putting almonds in them. I definitely associate almonds and marzipan with Christmas. It’s all about the Christmas cake for me!
I love marzipan and would probably buy a block of it every shopping trip if I knew that a) Dan liked it and b) I wouldn’t sit and nibble at the block until it was all gone!
I’ve never been a fan of Bakewell tart either. I can remember at primary school not being allowed out to play because I wouldn’t finish my dessert and that probably put me off trying it again once I left school, although realistically I’d probably like it now.