Three Chimneys: Cranachan

Left it until quite late to decide what I was going to make this week. In the end, I went for one of the simplest things possible: cranachan. How simple? Toast some oatmeal and leave to cool. Take double cream. Add whisky and honey. Whisk until as firm as you want it. Fold in most of the oatmeal. Pile into glasses with raspberries. Sprinkle remaining oatmeal on top.
The one major ingredient purchase this required for me? Whisky. The local supermarket has a limited selection. I think I took quite a while to make my decision. Yes, it has the one that really should be used for this (and the other whisky-using recipes in the book) - Talisker. But it's expensive (well, relatively). Can I justify buying it? There's half bottles there of other whiskies that are probably just as good. Yes, but they're not Skye whiskies. And back and forth I went. Yes, I did buy the Talisker. How could I not?

Banana Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

After last week's muffins, I felt like cookies this week. Well, actually my first thought was chocolate, but I figured since it was Easter last week, maybe I should leave the chocolate alone, and go with something else. Something that I could convince myself was vaguely healthy, or at least not totally devoid of any nutritional benefit. So flicking through One Smart Cookie, I found a recipe that fitted the bill: banana oatmeal raisin cookies.
Now, I'm not sure these turned out for me as they're supposed to. Oh, they're definitely delicious, but, as you can see from the picture, not exactly a cookie. To me, a cookie is fairly flat. Maybe with some bumps, but definitely a disc of a fairly even thickness across its area. These did not turn out like that; they pretty much stayed in whatever shape they were when they went into the oven. From the directions in the original recipe, I think they are supposed to spread. So maybe I missed something, maybe my modifications changed things a bit. Whatever happened, I certainly enjoyed the results.

Recipe:
175 grams porage oats
100 grams plain flour
25 grams plain wholemeal flour
125 grams raisins
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
50 grams unsalted butter
75 grams caster sugar
75 grams dark muscovado sugar
150 grams mashed banana (about 2 medium bananas)
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Line some baking trays with non-stick baking parchment.
In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flours, raisins, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until combined.
Add the bananas, egg white and vanilla to the butter and sugar. Beat until well blended.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet a couple of tablespoonfuls at a time, mixing each until only just combined.
Drop generous spoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared trays. Flatten the cookies slightly.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges are golden and the cookies are just set.