More often than not I make little gifts for people who come to my day classes. It’s oddly one of my favourite parts of preparing for a class. I love it. I like baking the biscuits or mixing the fridge cake. I like cutting up cellophane to wrap around the little bundles. I especially like tying the ribbon. Scrap that. I especially like shopping for the ribbon. I’m a ribbon hunter. I check out what’s on offer everywhere I go. My current new favourite place to buy ribbon is The Range. Oh so pretty.
Imagine my horror yesterday when I found one of these little cranberry oaty biscuits left behind! All lonely, a gift unwanted. I’m hoping they were simply forgotten as cranberries are quite sensitive fruit. To make them feel better I am sharing the recipe. It makes loads, about 30 little morsels.
Ingredients:
- 250g salted butter, room temperature
- 150g caster sugar
- 150g self raising flour
- 230g porridge oats
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 200g dried cranberries
So easy peasy. Just preheat the oven to Gas 4/160C. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the flour, porridge oats, vanilla extract and cranberries and mix together until combined, using either your hands or the mixer. Form into balls about the size of a walnut and bake in the centre of the oven, on a tray, for about 10 – 15 minutes depending on how crunchy you like your biscuits. Leave on the tray to cool as they’re still fragile when they’re warm.
Get the monthly newsletter...
and subscribe to get all recipes straight to your inbox!
Holly Bell 
Thank you for posting the recipe – after attending your class my husband wolfed all mine down!
No worries at all! Xx
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange
Oh my god, these are delicious! I substituted 100g cranberries for white choc chips and they are delicious! Thanks for the recipe! :-) x
Pleased you like them! xx
Really yummy biscuits from your class on 24th March. I had so much chilled fun all day!….they were a perfect companion for the 2 hour drive home! …yummyly being transferred from the lovely ribbon to my tummy!…I did leave one for my husband!
Thank you for a great day!
Madeleine
I am so pleased you enjoyed the day! I had great fun too and pleased you enjoyed the biscuits.
xxx
When my husbands flight was delayed and he didn’t make it home until 1 in the morning…at 11.30pm I thought I will make him something nice ..so I wipped these lovely bics…and they really only took 15mins! He loved them! And they kept me going through work today!..yummy! I’ve also been getting more inspiration from your blog..its great. In short we move to Kenya in November for a year. It’s for my husbands phd so I’m taking a career break whilst away and going to enjoy looking after our now 10month old, there are 100 sections that need to be completed for the phd by a team of 17…so for fun and motivation I’ve made it my challenge to bake something everytime a section completed! …we are aiming to make the baking a blog along with the adventures and phd project! It will be loads of fun…and I cant wait to try out some new ideas and ingredients! …any blog tips or safari baking ideas?! Madeleine x
You are one lovely wife! And what an adventure you are about to embark on! I am not sure what your conditions are like in Kenya. My friend lives in Malawi and tells me that 1) very few ingredients are available regularly so adaptation is key and 2) the power goes regularly and with no warning, so anything she cooks tends to be finishable on a BBQ or is very quick in the oven. I am thinking scones, griddle crepes and waffles, quick biscuits and perhaps tortilla wraps? Ooh – what about those coking pot insulators that are being used in SA – I read about them in the guardian? As for blogs – blogger is easiest but least impressive looking generally, wordpress harder to use but prettier. I am not very tech and had a lot of help setting this up. What a wonderful thing to be doing. PLEASE send details of the blog so I can follow it. And a career break sounds like a great change – I am pleased I have seen more of number 2. Though work does sometimes sound like a break!! xx
Hi, thank you for your tips!..I’m going to have to have a go at waffles! Yeah I’m hoping the ingredients will be ok as Kenya is one of the few African countries with fresh dairy produce and we will be living in the rift valley (by the pink flamingos) so we will be fairly close to a lot of the farms. However when we visited in January I managed to buy fermented milk for my tea..yuck!..the fruits are soo tasty so I going to have to do some fruit bits! ..I was surprised to find that cake I ate whilst there all seemed really stale…then I found out that many people would deliberately leave them to go stale and they are preferred that way…hmm I’m not sure on that one!…any way it will be a real adventure of culture, tastes and having fun!
Yes Im not so technical..however I’m glad my hubbie is good on that one..so between us we should get a good blog going! We have thought of calling it the, “Great Kenyan Bake-off”… 100 villages …100 recepies …
Hi Holly
I hope is all going well for you?
Well after much inspiration from your blog a year a go and throughout this year Eye-Bake Kenya http://toddleradventure.wordpress.com/ is up and running….its lots of fun this blogging stuff! This time is two weeks we will be in Kenya! …yep as you can imagine it feels like everything is everywhere but we are slowly getting all organised! We brought a trunki suitcase thing for my 16 month son yesterday…I tested it out around sainsburys, its genius..I think I might take it to the supermarket again!
It would great if you would like to suggest one of your recipes for the 100 bakes in Kenya and I will do my best to bake it with the ingredients I can find! …Exciting!
Take care
Madeleine
What a lovely and easy recipe . How on earth would these gorgeous biscuits get left behind? Bet they were kicking themselves when they realised! X
Ha ha – I think it was a mistake! xx
A tragedy these bickies being left behind! Making bundles of biscuits for the people in your classes is such a lovely thing to do!
I’m sure these were left by mistake. I’d never have left them. They look quick and easy to make and very tasty. GG
I am sure they were. Anyway, they found a second home. xx
Thank you for the recipe Holly; and sorry these were sadly left behind :( Hope you cheered them up by sharing them with a nice cup of tea x
I shamelessly re-gifted them to a friend in need. xx
And I bet you made their day – nothing to be ashamed of… rehoming is good thing :) x
Another ribbon addict here! I have far too much but seem unable to stop buying more. These look delicious, definitely one to add to my must bake list!
Excellent. xx
Just made these Holly! OMG they are very very moorish, lovely and easy to make though. Thank you. X
Sharon Twyman. X
Really pleased you like them. They are easy aren’t they?! Xx
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange
yum yum yum – slightly to contradict the title, could you use other fruit if you don’t have cranberries?
Totally. And in fact, you could add chocolate too. X
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange