Chocolate Chip Biscuits (or Cookies, if you must)

- Alex Prichard Leave a comment

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For some reason, we are not big chocolate chip biscuit makers in this household. This does not mean that we are not enthusiastic consumers of said comestible. I LOVE them and when the mid-morning or mid-afternoon hunger pangs hit at work I’ll often nip next door to the café and buy one.

I suspect the lack of home production stems more from the fact that we rarely have biscuits in the household full stop. However, last Friday afternoon Master 4 and I were off to a play date and I asked him what he wanted to take. Cue a search for a quick, simple chocolate chip biscuit recipe that wouldn’t require multiple trips to the shops.

Luckily (as always) UK’s Delicious came to the rescue with this recipe. For anyone cooking with a child, it’s easy (OK – we do have a stand mixer!) and they will love eating the mixture, shaping the biscuits and pressing in the chocolate chips. As you can see from the photo, four chocolate chips per biscuit is woefully inadequate!

These biscuits strike, for me at least, the right balance between crispy and chewy. I think that that’s down to the combination of caster and light brown sugars. Make sure you use a good quality vanilla essence as the flavour does really shine through (especially if you are mean on the choc chip count and also if the biscuits last a couple of days). If you’re going to beef up the chocolate content, then you could probably omit the vanilla altogether.

We’ve really enjoyed eating these and as they were super quick to do I’m sure they’ll be making more regular appearances in our kitchen.

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Chocolate Chip Biscuits

Ingredients

  • 100g unsalted butter, softened
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 100g light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or good quality extract, or omit altogether)
  • 165g plain flour
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp bicarb
  • chocolate chips - as many as you want!

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 150°C fan (170°C conv) and line two baking trays with baking paper.
  2. Cream the butter and sugars until pale. Add in the egg then the vanilla, flour, salt and bicarb. Mix until well combined and smooth.
  3. Take a tablespoon and form large walnut sized balls of biscuit mixture. Place them on the baking trays - well spaced as they spread a lot (they are easy to separate so don't be too worried about them joining up during baking) and press in choc chips. Four per biscuit looks like a lot when they're a ball but looks like nothing once they're cooked - so be generous rather than mean.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes - the biscuits will spread and start to pick up a hint of brown at the edges. Depending on your oven you may want to keep an eye on them from the 10-12 minute mark. In my oven - 15 minutes was perfect.
  5. The recipe will make between 16 and 20 biscuits. The biscuits do end up quite large but they are also quite flat so they are not like the biscuits you get in cafes that are often as big as your head.
  6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool ever so slightly before carefully moving on to racks to cool completely.
  7. Eat!
https://eatingadelaide.com/chocolate-chip-biscuits-cookies/

Night Noodle Markets, Adelaide

- Alex Prichard Leave a comment

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Disclaimer: I was a guest at the launch party for the Night Noodle Markets

Apparently the Night Noodle Markets have been a Sydney institution for years now … and finally it’s Adelaide’s turn. The first ever Adelaide Night Noodle Markets launched last night and I headed along to Sean’s Kitchen for the launch party and followed that up with a quick wander around the markets themselves. The markets have taken over Station Road and all through the Festival Centre precinct and there’s a huge range of restaurants (and other food suppliers) taking part, along with the all important beverages, thanks to both Coopers and Yalumba. Entertainment is also covered, with over 40 performers taking part. 20150924_193551_LLS

James Laing, Head of Food for Fairfax Events, said that the aim with the Night Noodle Markets is to encourage people to make a night out of more than just one event during the OzAsia Festival. You can head to the Night Noodle Markets for an after work drink or snack, before heading to show and then perhaps meet up with friends, take in a late show … The markets are open every week day from 5pm and for those with smaller people in tow, on the weekends things kick off at midday. The Markets run until 4 October so you only have 10 days to take them in.

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At the launch, we were treated to a really impressive range of finger food. My personal favourite was the curry udon noodles. Japanese curry is a much underrated thing and these noodles really hit the spot. The Cambodian buns (I guess the Cambodian equivalent of banh mi) were also delicious and the crackling that came with the roast pork (served with sriracha on the side) was so good I would have been happy to eat a LOT more of it!

I even managed to periscope some kitchen action:

Coopers Vintage Ale Launch and Father’s Day Ideas

- Alex Prichard Leave a comment

COOPERS - THOMAS COOPERS SELECTION SICK PACK (LOW)

Disclaimer: I was a guest at the launch lunch

One of my favourite events, and one I’ve been lucky enough to be invited to several years running, is the launch of Coopers Extra Strong Vintage Ale. The Coopers team (including the people at Corporate Conversation) might have been doing this for a few years, but every year they mix things up a bit and the lucky guests get some great insight into one of Australia’s most unique beers.

This year, lunch was held at Pirie and Co Social Club. As we were lunching downstairs there was no natural light and so my photos are worse than usual – but hopefully you can bear with me (and understand why I put a media image at the top of this post!).

 

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Coopers Clear poached chicken, with confit tomatoes, beetroot jelly, grilled asparagus, goats curd & bitter leaves

We started with drinks at the bar (of course) and followed that with a beer themed lunch. A chicken tenderloin poached in Coopers Clear was followed by an excellent blood orange sorbet served with a drizzle of Coopers Light. For me to say that is really something because I am not a big fan of orange at all. Our main was (an enormous) Wagyu scotch fillet with carrots and potatoes and a jus based on Coopers Sparkling and we wrapped up with a chocolate tart with honey mascarpone and served with a Coopers Stout wafer. This last is an excellent idea – Stout has such rich chocolate and caramel overtones that it works perfectly with desserts and incorporating it into a wafer is a great way of maximising that richness without concentrating any of its bitterness.

Our lunch was served with the 2015 and 2010 Vintage Ales side by side. David Medlyn, Technical Brewer at Coopers, took us through the tasting. Even the untrained eye could spot that the 2010 had darkened with age and the bitterness of the hops drops away over time, leaving a beer which is a lot more mellow and showing off Christmas cake and caramel.

Each year, the team at Coopers messes with the Vintage Ale mix so every year is slightly different, although the beer is always 7.5% abv. It needs that extra alcohol to help it age! The easiest way for the team to change the recipe is to change the hops that are used. This year, it’s Ella, Vic Secret and Melba. The Melba is a new hop which was developed for the Vintage Ale. The younger beer certainly showed of its hops – very crisp and refreshing and even though you will notice the high alcohol, it’s not overwhelming.

Of course, the Vintage Ale is not cheap. It’s a beer produced in limited quantities and in many quarters it has something of a cult following. But … if you’re still seeking a Father’s Day present (that’s this Sunday for anyone in Australia!) then keep your eye out for the cleverly put together Father’s Day Six Pack. Your father will get two bottles each of the 2015 Vintage Ale, the Celebration Ale and the Artisan Reserve and this will set you back around $25 and you’ll find them at independent retailers.

Pretty much everyone I know has their standard go-to Coopers beers (Andy’s is the Lager, my dad’s is the Stout and my uncle’s is Coopers Clear, I’m the flighty exception) so this is a great way to experience a beer you might not have tried before without committing to a six pack or case.