C is for Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sure, they have lots of great treats here -- scones & cream, pain au chocolate, Cadbury's everything -- but nothing beats a good old-fashioned chocolate chip cookie.  Not a "biscuit" or a chocolate chunk cookie, but one with oatmeal, walnuts, and real semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Thanks to my sister smuggling in 2 bags of my favorite Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate chips, and my handy butter measuring guide from the AWC, I am now fully equipped to make them myself.

Taa-daa!

Oatmeal walnut dark chocolate chip cookies!

My first attempt at baking from scratch in the UK was a success!  That may not seem like a huge milestone, but there are some unexpected challenges.  Finding ingredients, for one.  There are a million different kinds of flour and sugar here, but no chocolate chips.  Oatmeal?  No, "porridge oats."  Baking soda?  No, "bicarbonate of soda," which is not as strong as the stuff we use at home, so you have to add a little more.  If you use a British recipe, everything is measured by weight, which requires a scale.  If you use an American recipe, the measurements don't always translate to the way British products are packaged -- especially butter -- and you have to convert the oven temperature from F to C.  Our oven is a convection oven -- there's no way to turn off the fan -- so that adds another level of uncertainty.    It's kind of a mixture of baking and scientific experimentation.  You just have to give it your best shot and hope it turns out OK.  So far, so good...