Oat and Chocolate Chip Cookies

So last week was half term and I had two sick little Monkey-Moos, saying that, it's was just a cold and fever, croaky voices and snotty noses. But top that off, I was trying to work too. Slightly less successful on the working front than I'd have liked to be, so late nights at the computer it was! (when do I get a half term?)

We started off the week with two Monkeys that didn't really want to Do anything, a little Lego building and then begged for a movie which they curled up under blankets to watch.

Then a day that they both felt much much better (although to hear littlest Monkey-Moo croak you'd think otherwise). Not wanting to head outside as it's still a little cold (and I'd rather they get a bit better first) I thought a batch of yummy homemade cookies would keep them busy and help make them feel a little bit better too (comfort food! )

It was meant to be a team effort but Monkey One disappeared shortly after popping the butter in the bowl, and built Lego instead. So little Croak (as I've decided he should be known for this post) and I set about measuring out the rest of the ingredients, and making up some yummy oat cookies.

I don't often bake Oat cookies with Chocolate chips, as I simply prefer raisins, but for once the batch of cookies was not about me! Croak was being such a good little helper, and once we had one batch of plain Oat cookies in the oven, (yes, plain ones for me, I wasn't about to miss out entirely)
we set about adding in some chocolate chips to the mixture. 

Success! The Monkeys loved them!

Here's the recipe for those of you that want to have a go!

170g unsalted butter (or baking marg)
130g light brown sugar
2 large eggs
130g self raising flour
120g oats
60g chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 170'
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs one by one, beating well.
Sift in the flour and fold in with the oats. Now's the time to add your chocolate chips.
Spoon nice rounded teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto a greased baking sheet. They tend to spread so don't put them to close together.
Bake for 10-15 minutes in the centre of the oven.
Makes about 35 cookies depending on how much you heap that teaspoon!

Enjoy!

Superhero hullabaloo.

Monkey-Moo number one is Seven! It's happened so ridiculously fast! He wanted a Superhero extravaganza, and at the last minute, while I was in full superhero swing, decided this needed to incorporate a pizza making party too!

A week ahead of the party I was happily sewing up superhero masks and packing up superhero party bags.
Our lovely niece (aged one) was recipient of the cutesy pink mask, since she was the only girl in attendance!

I hadn't used my sewing machine in years, and yet still found the instructions and templates very simple to work with. 

Next was time to set about getting all the cupcakes ready. Back to my Pinterest board. There wasn't really one pin in particular that inspired the Avengers cupcakes, but more a mashup of several pins I'd seen.

I was very pleased with the results, and at the last minute ditched Thor and doubled up all the others- mainly as I was running out of time and the cake had cooled and I really needed to move onto icing that.

Monkey-Moo was over the moon with Ironman! It was by far his favourite! Little Monkey-Moo was all about my Captain America version, since I'd substituted the A for a star! He is a funny one that Monkey-Moo.

Right back to the cake! I was blown away by one I'd seen (and yes, it too is on my Pinterest board!) but realising that my skills were not up to that challenge I set about creating a similar, simpler, smaller cake! (here's the inspiration)

Paper, pencil and freehand drawing, I came up with a template for the Avengers faces, trying not to make them too scary, and to keep them in a similar "cartoonish" fashion.

 

I simply rolled out the fondant (store bought, coloured fondant) cut around my templates and set the pieces of fondant together until I was happy with the facial construction. The eyes were trickiest, but in the end both Monkey-Moos and I were happy they looked as they should!

 

Ironman and Thor were last to be constructed (juggled is more appropriate, as I was cooking dinner at the same time by this stage!)
Once the cake was iced in a lovely light blue, I set about "pasting" the faces at regular intervals around the cake, all the while trying to cover the "faults" and "folds" in my unskilled icing techniques! Eek!

Final touches with a few orange stars, and I think the cake was good enough to impress a room full of six and seven year olds!
 

 

It wasn't until the middle of the night, that I sat bolt upright in bed, realising that I'd completely forgotten to do Thor's hair!

 

After a lot of fun, stretching pizza dough and making some really wonderfully strange pizzas, the party was in full swing! All the boys were having so much fun, dressed up as Superhero's (mainly Ironman, although Thor and Captain America did make an appearance)  And then as quick as a flash, it was time to do cake!

 

We had one very pleased Superhero!

And one really exhausted Mom of Two Monkey-Moos!