Snowball effect /-/Quinoa flake chocolate caramel chunkies

We are now entering a time of unrest. The seasons are in between. We are not too sure whether to pack away over winter warmers and bring out the spring time skirts; or remain in under the blankets justifying eating a block of chocolate as “insulation” against the cold.



Either way you can say this the correct metaphor for my life right now. Nothing is stable and the health woes of my family are varying from the extreme to minor. Yep everyone around me right now has a body ache. Whether it be my sister’s Pain for carrying a new life or my face which has turned a sickly shade of yellow thanks to tooth extraction; life health problems are snowballing even though Australia’s winter is over.





It pains me when I see my family being so ill. The worst part of it is that I do not feel 100%, so I can not help them as much as I would like to. Damn low resistance to pain killers. I really do not like when my parents have to work hard when they are feeling ill.




Three reasons


One: They are my parents, I am 21 but yet I am still taken care of like a baby. I should be looking after them. not the other way around

Two: When my parents are ill, they do not recover as quickly as I can. A combination of age and poor childhood nutrition they experience a lot more health problems than most.

Lastly; even when they are better I see that do not go as fast as they used to. The complex and haunting reminder that one day they might not be here with me.



Also when these problems prevent them from doing something they really enjoy. This father’s day past (Australia calendar here); my family planned to go to a bar and grill as a celebration thing for the upcoming birthday’s and father’s day. Also wanted him and my mum to go to dinner (or in my dad’s case his forever love of Yum-cha) on me as my father’s day gift.



In reality; we spent the night at home eating potato croquettes and waffles. Yep, even a salad was too much work (and work for my mouth, no chewing for two weeks). He said he did not mind but I think he was in too much pain from his tooth problems to care.



Well with a new season drawing on use, I can only hope that the unfortunate events of the end of winter do not carry themselves into spring and summer.

Today I am sharing with you my new love for oat meal cookies and biscuits. As you can see from the pancake post, I need them in everything! The difference? Discovering flaked Quinoa and the revolutionary idea of processing the flakes before making them into cookies.




I love fox’s chunkie chocolate biscuits and I have been trying to find recipe similar to those insanely chocolaty chunk biscuits. They are not are cookie for milk, which needs to be thin and chewy. They are biscuit for tea and coffee, this means big air pockets, crisp texture to soak up your tea or coffee before you take that first bite. These are heavy on the chocolate caramel chips, so you will never be disappointed about flavour. Also the quinoa texture and use of raw sugar in creaming does make a difference to overall body of the biscuit.

So recap Cookies equal milk; Biscuit equal tea or coffee. Simple

Now for all you guys who think Crunchy thick cookies are a no go. Please try one in a hot drink. You thank me for it later.




Quinoa flake chocolate caramel chunkies

Adapted from Bakers Royal, recipe for neiman-marcus-chocolate-chip-cookie



400g quinoa flakes

480g flour

10g baking soda

5g baking powder

250g butter

200g raw sugar

220g packed brown sugar

300g caramel chips

300g chocolate coated hard caramels

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

1 teaspoon salt



Directions:

PREPARATION

Heat oven to 180C. Line bake sheet with parchment paper.

Place Flakes in a food process and process until coarsely cut. Add in flour and pulse until blended. Add baking soda and baking powder and pulse until well blended. Set aside. Do this for 5 minutes at least .

Cream butter, raw sugar and brown sugar in stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. This will take about 7 minutes.

Add in eggs one at time beating until just combined after each addition. Add in vanilla and salt and beat until combined.

Turn mixer speed down to low and add in dry flour and oatmeal mixture. Mix until combined. Add in caramel pieces and chips and mix until combined.

Using a cookies scoop drop inch balls onto parchment lined bake sheets. Alternately roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on parchment lined bake sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from bake sheet let cool on a wire rack.