Walnut Chunk Cookies...

Everyone loves cookies! These cookies are everything you could ask for... they're chewy in the centre, crunchy on the outside & have chunks of rich dark chocolate & walnuts. You would never guess there was no bad stuff in them.... 

I love sharing recipes like this, I hope it goes some way towards showing you that you really don't need to buy processed foods if you're having a snack.. Trust me, once you get into the kitchen you'll wonder why you never took more of an interest in cooking...

I always try to use commonly used ingredients to spare the expense of buying something new for just 1 tsp in a recipe... however I do recommend buying the walnut oil for these cookies as it adds an amazing rich nutty flavour to the cookies. Walnut oil is great for salad dressings AND I'll be using it in a carrot cake recipe which will be posted soon! 

For the cookies:

• 50g unsalted butter, melted
• 4 tbsp walnut oil 
• 3 tbsp Irish honey
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 200g ground almonds
• 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 50g chopped walnuts
• 50g chopped chocolate (I used 81% cocoa solids) 

Mix the melted butter, oil, orange zest and honey together until combined. 

Whisk in egg and vanilla. 

Finally mix the dry ingredients in gently. Don't over-mix as this will give you a dry cookie. 

Allow to chill for 30 minutes in the fridge. 

To bake:

Preheat oven to 160d (fan oven).

Roll tbsp size balls of dough with your hands, and flatten gently. 

Place on a non stick baking tray. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes until pale golden. Keep an eye on the cookies to make sure they don't over-bake as they'll burn & become very hard quite quickly. 

Cool for a couple of minutes on the baking tray to allow the cookies to firm up a bit. Remove and allow to cool fully on a wire rack.