CRUNCHY OAT BLUEBERRY DUNKERS

Ingredients

172g Demerara sugar

172g unsalted butter

172g golden syrup

200g wholegrain spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 rounded teaspoon ground cinnamon

200g porridge oats

100g dried and finely chopped blueberries or cranberries

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

150g white chocolate chips

4 tablespoons caramel drizzle

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 160C fan assisted,170C, 325F, gas mark 3-4 and grease or line the baking sheets.

2 Place the sugar, butter and syrup in a pan and and allow the mixture to melt so that all the ingredients combine. If you wish you can do this in a microwaveable bowl in the microwave on medium heat for 2-3 bursts of 1 minute. Allow to cool a little.

3 Beat the egg, vanilla and water together.

4 Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon into a large bowl, add the oats, stir well then stir in the blueberries/cranberries.

5 Make a hollow in the middle of the flour, pour in the cooled melted sugar mixture and add the egg mixture. With a wooden spoon stir well until it comes together. It will be quite soft and needs to cool for 10 minutes then it will be the correct consistency for piping.

6 Place the mixture in a piping bag and cut the end off to give a 1-inch (3cm) wide end. Pipe 24 cookies and tidy up the ends with the lolly pop sticks so they will look neat once baked. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned and soft to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

7 Whilst the cookies are cooling make the chocolate drizzle – place the chocolate in a microwavable bowl and melt on half power for 3 bursts of 1 minute removing and stirring at the end of each minute. When almost all melted add the caramel drizzle and stir well.

8 Either drizzle the chocolate over the cookies using a fork dipped in the chocolate or place the chocolate in a small icing bag and snip the end off to create a small hole to pipe across the dunkers.

9 When the chocolate has set, pack the dunkers in an airtight container – they will keep for 4 weeks but I doubt they will last that long.

Variations

This recipe is so versatile you may like to use:

100g chopped dried apricots – the soft, semi-dried variety • 100g chopped glacé cherries plus 2 teaspoons almond extract •100g chocolate chips • 50g chocolate chips and 50g chopped nuts of your choice • 100g mini M&Ms plus a few to sprinkle on the top of each cookie

• 100g raisins soaked in the zest and juice of an organic unwaxed orange plus 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon bakerval.com

Be creative, if you want to try more combinations just have a go!