Snickerdoodle Cookie recipe.

These delightful cookies are a real favourite with friends and family, they are crunchy, chewy, cinnamony, sugary biscuits from heaven. Easy to make and will not stay in the biscuit barrel for long! When cooked they look quite a bit like a babies rusk, but are so much more naughty!
The vanilla sugar gives an extra hit of flavour that works so well, but caster sugar also works fine. I usually half the dough, keep one half in the fridge or freezer and use as needed. This recipe will make around 20-24 cookies. This recipe is based upon one I found in the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook, a book well worth getting.

Ingredients
60g unsalted butter, softened
160g Vanilla sugar, or caster sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1 large egg
275g plain flour
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Coating
1 1/2 tablespoons of caster sugar
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon.


1. Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg, mix well and scrape down bowl, mix again to ensure all ingredients are combined well.
3. Sift the remaining ingredients into the mix, you are looking for a soft dough, that doesn't stick to your hands. Add a little more flour if needed, it will not harm the cooking process . 
4. Place the dough in the fridge to rest and firm up, for around 40 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 170°c or 325°f.
5. Mix the coating ingredients into a small bowl.
6. When the dough is firm, break off walnut size pieces, and make into a ball, roll these balls into the coating, make sure they are completely coated. Place the balls of dough onto a tray lined with baking paper, 2 inches apart, as they will spread during cooking.
7. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 12 minutes, or until they are a light golden brown. They will crack, this is fine. You can add more of the coating after cooking if you wish. Allow to cool on the tray for a couple of minutes, then remove to a wire rack. 

Choc n nana shake

1 minute to make, time it.
This makes around 1 1/2 pints.

Ingredients

• 1 large ripe banana.
• 4 heaped teaspoons of choc milk shake powder (Nesquik etc).
• pinch of cinnamon powder.
• 1 pint of milk (565ml) (full fat is best)

1. Mash up the banana with a little of the milk, until it has no lumps, I use  a food processor, a hand held blender works fine too, as would a fork!
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, and blitz for 20 seconds.
3. Pour into frozen glasses if possible. Guzzle!

Tip: For a thicker shake before blitzing add a scoop of ice-cream, chocolate or vanilla, you could also freeze your banana before hand.