We have had 10 weeks of summer holidays and I think everyone involved agrees it’s been long enough. Kids need to see their friends again and go to school to learn a few things and parents need to also see their friends again and to get back into the routine of normal life! Most schools here in Dubai start the new schooling year at some stage this week.
Everyone is back from their summer escapes. The traffic is heavy again, the barber had a queue of boys as I stood in line with my shaggy haired son, they churned them in and out. We picked up uniforms this morning and his crew cut is nicely hassle free.
But of course, there is the dreaded ‘what to pack’ in the lunch box…. I think variety is fine and colourful delicious ideas are great, but with the younger years, I think simplicity is key as is familiarity. School is a big enough deal. My son’s school makes its fairly strict but simple, no packet junk food, no juice, no nuts, no sesame. Morning snack can only be fruit or vegetable. So lunch time comes around and all my boy wants is a ham or vegemite sandwich and usually a box of raisins and a cheese stick will do the trick until he is picked up shortly after 12.30pm. The odd salami stick or muffin is sometimes thrown in for varieties sake (I know it sounds boring to us but it’s all he wants and they have very diverse and nutritious dinners so I don’t mind). Thursday is the end of our working / school week and this is regarded as ‘treat’ day so maybe a chocolate brownie or a mini Kit Kat fits the bill.
I have decided to go back to work which is exciting and making life even busier. The kids will stay at school / nursery until early afternoon and so more food needs to be planned for and packed each day. A little home made morsel of yumminess is the perfect addition, such as mini fruit muffins (I promise to post some of my tried and tested and speedy recipe) or a slice of something nice.
These Oat and Raisin Cookies are just delicious and also perfect for little lunch boxes. They are pretty forgiving and are perfect for making with the kids as they also only take about 10 minutes to bake. The recipe has been adapted from the lid of an Old Fashioned Oats barrel. We have muesli, porridge or bircher (insert trendy new term ‘overnight oats’ ) every morning so go through a lot of this stuff. You can make the cookies big or bite size. I think bite size is preferred as kids seem to appreciate miniature food (they only need a couple) and adults can try to exercise restraint by just having one or 2 with a cuppa. And although the ingredients seem like a lot, keep in mind they make a lot.
The kids and I managed to fill 4 trays of 20-25 cookies per tray, I must confess 4 days later, including the weekend there are not many left…oops!
- 150g softened butter
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 medium free range eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups self raising flour
- 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon, to taste, I prefere more than less
- pinch of salt, optional
- 3 cups of rolled oats / old fashioned / jumbo oats - not quick cooking / instant oats
- 1 cup of raisins / sultanas
- Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees celcius
- With an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and honey until light and creamy.
- Add the eggs one at a time along with the vanilla and beat until well combined.
- In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients.
- Pour the butter, sugar, egg mix into the large bowl and give the mixture a good stir until has been combined.
- Using a teaspoon (or tablespoon for big cookies) drop balls of dough onto ungreased non stick baking sheets leaving a couple of centimetres between each cookie.
- Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from over, wait 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack completely to cool, as cookies will still be very soft.
We might try making these on Wednesday thanks!! xx