Makes about 15 cookies

When my eldest daughter Megan was a toddler, our pastry chef had a bit of a soft spot for her and used to bake some very moreish crunchy cookies whenever she popped in to see me. This is an easy recipe for children to make, although they may need help with the vanilla pod slitting. And there’s no need to roll out the dough. Just squash it into a long sausage, wrap and roll in clingfilm, then chill in the fridge ready to slice and bake.

125g porridge oats
25g flaked almonds, crushed
40g chopped roasted hazelnuts
2 good pinches sea salt
60g soft brown sugar
60g dark chocolate drops
1 vanilla pod or ½ tsp vanilla extract
60g butter, softened but not runny
1 large free-range egg

1 Mix the dry ingredients, from the oats to the chocolate drops, in a big bowl.
2 If using a vanilla pod, slit the pod down the middle and scrape out the sticky seeds. The butter can be softened in a microwave on defrost for a couple of minutes - but don’t let it melt.
3 Beat the vanilla seeds or extract with
the egg, then mix into the dry ingredients, followed by the butter, working it in with
a wooden spoon until you form a chunky dough that just holds together.
4 Scoop out on to a large sheet of clingfilm and, using well-washed hands, shape into a long sausage shape about 5cm thick. Wrap, roll to a neat round shape and chill until solid, overnight if possible.
5 Heat the oven to 190C/Gas 5. Cut off as many slices, about 7mm thick, as you want to bake and place them, nicely spaced, on
a sheet of non-stick baking paper on top of a heavy metal baking sheet. Leftover dough can be re-chilled or frozen for later.
6 Bake for about 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Cool for a couple of minutes, then scoop off with a palette knife on to a wire rack to cool and crisp.

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