Chocolate Chip & Coconut Cookies

The chocolate chip cookies I favour the most are those made with nuts.  (I'm sure it's just me but they seem a little healthier if there's a macadamia or a walnut in the biscuit somewhere!) I can't bake nutty biscuits for my son's school lunchbox though because his school, along with many others these days, is a nut-free zone.  As we are preparing to go back to school next week, school baking for the freezer is underway. So, these simple chocolate chip & coconut cookies are a delicious alternative for an occasional lunchbox treat. 

Delicious!

The recipe that I tinkered with is one I came across on the Kidspot website.  The biscuit dough is made in the typical way with the creaming of the butter and sugar, beating in of eggs and the addition of the dry ingredients. I changed the recipe by using a blend of white and wholemeal spelt flours, reducing the sugar and substituting coconut sugar for brown sugar. As always, I used dark chocolate chips because they are our favourites but any chocolate-y chips will do!  Here's how they came together in my kitchen:

Chocolate Chip & Coconut Cookies

125g softened unsalted butter

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 cup white spelt flour

1/2 cup wholemeal spelt flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup dessicated coconut

1/2cup dark chocolate chips

1.  Preheat oven to moderate 180C.  Line biscuit trays.

2.  Cream butter, sugar and vanilla with a mixer until pale and fluffy.

3.   Add eggs, one at a time. Mix each egg in well.

4.   Add flours, baking powder, coconut and chocolate chips. 

5.  Mix well until thoroughly combined in a soft dough.

6.  Place tablespoons of mixture onto lined biscuit trays.

7.  Bake until just golden.  Cool on a wire rack then store in an airtight container.

Ssh!  Scrumptious!

As soon as they are cool enough, pour yourself an icy cold glass of milk or make yourself a cup of tea and sample one of your freshly-baked cookies before anyone else discovers them!

Meg

January's Crafting: Embroidery in a Hoop

On a scrap of worn linen, that I cut from a vintage tea towel, I have been stitching something special ...

Wise words stitched on linen.

This beautifully simple design, stitched within its own embroidery hoop frame, comes from Cheri Lehnow. Scrolling through her blog, tinkerwiththis, is a feast of handmade goodness! I found the pattern and easy-to-follow instructions, as a digital download in her Etsy shop, for less than AUD$5. 

I had most of the other materials here at home and just needed to buy the pearl cotton as I have not used this before to stitch with. I adored the calm colours Cheri stitched her "Be Still" embroidery in but I chose colours that I feel my friend would love and that would work well on the creamy old linen background.

Backstitches and tiny french knots.

This little project, a January birthday gift for a close friend, is worked in just two stitches. Backstitch, which I'm confident with, and little french knots, which I am learning to perfect. (I watched this short YouTube tutorial to remind myself ... again ... of the way to form a french knot.) I chose to stitch a felt circle backing, to finish off my hooped embroidery and to hide the back of my stitching. I followed this great tutorial,  over at the Spruce, as I learned how to do this. This felt backing neatened up my little handmade gift beautifully. 

Stitching on a felt circle for the backing.

Now that the front and the back are finished, all that's needed is a ribbon to make a loop for hanging on the wall, some gentle wrapping and a little tag with a heartfelt message for the happiest birthday. 💗 🎂 

A little tag saved from a magazine completes my gift.

I hope my dear friend will breathe in deeply whenever she sees these quieting words that I stitched with love for her.  Xxx

Meg

On the Road to Rosewood

Rosewood is a little rural town to the west of the city where I live.  The drive out there took us along city streets, busy highways and past urban sprawl. Beyond that, and much closer to town, the country "opened up" and the wide open land, with its grassy paddocks and tall gums, stretched to the horizon under the Summer's clear blue sky.

Open country outside Rosewood.

This historic township derives its name from the beautiful trees, that grew and were harvested for timber, in an extensive forest known as the Rosewood Scrub. That scrub was progressively cleared to make way for farming land from the 1860s. A railway line then opened up the area more. Today, Rosewood station is the "end of the line" for the electric trains that run from Brisbane west towards Toowoomba. Coal mining began in the late 1870s and the township grew. This mining became one of the town's main industries. The impact of mining, in the huge cuts to the landscape, is evident along the road to Rosewood. 

The impact of mining on the landscape outside of town.

A train from the city rolls into town.

Just over the railway line and running right through town is the main street. (John Street) Many characteristic old timber buildings with timber posts and awnings remain from yesteryear. Like many Australian country towns, Rosewood has more than one pub! This photo is of the Rosewood Hotel:

The original Rosewood Hotel burnt down in 1914. 
It is said a ghost/s took up residence when it was rebuilt 😉.

We took a stroll along the main street and discovered the Cobb & Co. Heritage Park:

 Penny Farthing seats.

A replica Cobb & Co coach.

(It was impossible to photograph without reflections! 

This link takes you to a clearer image that you can click on to enlarge.)

A Queensland Bottle Tree and the old police lock-up!

Over on Matthew Street, is Rosewood's magnificent St. Brigid's Catholic Church. This beautiful old timber church, listed on Queensland's Heritage Register, was opened in 1910. It is Queensland's largest timber church. We did not venture in but I so wish we had to see the craftsmanship, the pressed metal ceiling and the frescoes inside this special church.  

St. Brigid's Catholic Church.

A beautiful stained glass window.

One side of this historic church.

There are other heritage buildings and old timber homes in Rosewood that we didn't have time to see on this trip.  A great reason to return one day! 

An old fencepost in a paddock outside Rosewood.

Many little towns like Rosewood are dotted between the west-of-Brisbane cities of Ipswich  and Toowoomba. I think I'd like to spend a day exploring a few more of them for it's nice to leave the city behind for a while!

Meg