Stoptober Madness - Twisting Vanilla Biscuits

So I have too many bad habits to list but the worst one in the view of society and for my health is being a smoker!  

When I first heard about Stoptober it seemed like the perfect opportunity to join in a mass attempt to quit once and for all. Now I am not normally one to be a sheep and do what everyone else is doing but the time had come to part company from this evil habit and felt like it would give me the support mechanism needed.  Also, I needed to do this once and for all - the smart part of me knows there is nothing positive about smoking and yet I continue to foolishly allow it to have a part in my life – it takes my money and will slowly strip me of my health, it was time for me to take control and firmly kick it into touch once and for all.

So, 1st October arrived and armed with a bucket load of willpower, a stress ball on my desk, a punch bag in the garden & friends and family pre-warned, I put my social life on hold and the house on lockdown and the challenge began.  

One thing that became clear very quickly was the need to keep myself busy, so weekend mornings started with long countryside runs, I've ticked off a huge list of jobs I've be meaning to get done pre-winter - painting radiators, picking out tiles for the bathroom, sorting out clothes for the charity shop and of course losing myself in the kitchen.  

This month I have baked pies, biscuits, cheesecake, cupcakes &puddings - family and friends happy to receive plates and boxes full of the successful results as I currently seem to think I am cooking for a football team in my pursuit of a successful Stoptober.  However, they are probably secretly cursing me as I inadvertently add to their calorie count pre-Christmas!

This week though the plan was to bake just for us though and fill the cookie jar with biscuits for the week, taking a tried and tested vanilla biscuit recipe and adding some flavours and textures to liven them up a little.  Using whatever was to hand in the cupboard and needed using up - pecans, pistachios along with my faithful friend Greene & Black's dark chocolate.

Both these nuts work so well with the chocolate and give a wonderful added bite to the biscuits and a great aftertaste - quick and easy to make and another afternoon successfully filled, a jar of homemade biscuits in the kitchen & ME 1 - CIGARETTES 0!!!

Recipe

200g unsalted butter (room temperature)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

220g light brown sugar

1 egg

260g plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarb of soda

100g dark chocolate (roughly chopped)

30g pecans (roughly chopped)

30g pecans (roughly chopped)

Start by chopping your nuts and chocolate and put to one side and pre-heat the oven to fan assisted 150C.

Put the butter, egg, brown sugar & vanilla extract into the mixer and beat until light and fluffy.  Fold in the flour and bicarb a couple of tbsp at a time.  Split the dough into two batches and add half the chocolate and one type of nuts to each - stirring in thoroughly.

Roll a table spoon of the dough into balls and place on a baking sheet leaving approximately 3cm between each and bake in the oven to 14 minutes.    When ready removed from oven and leave for a few minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely. Each batch of dough makes about 15 biscuits.

Disclaimer: No-one was hurt in the making of these biscuits - that would have been week 1 of Stoptober and this is the end of week 4....