Too Delicious

I first arrived and lived in Dodoma almost 14 years ago! We had no landline phone, mobiles hadn't made it to Tanzania and internet was so limited that all the staff at the school had one email address between them! To receive messages the sender had to write your name in the subject title and then we would book time slots to read and reply to any messages we had!

How times have changed! Everyone has internet access relatively easily, either through a wireless connection at home or via mobile phones ... which by the way, are EVERYWHERE and are much better than even those we were using when we lived in the States last year!

As you will know if you've been reading this blog recently, all our belongings continue to be stuck in Dar Es Salaam and I have already commented on the fact my recipe book is among those things! The longer the time lasts, the more I'm searching the internet and Pinterest especially, for new recipes or for alternative versions of ones I haven't got to hand. There have been occasions when we've had no internet or electricity that have scuppered my cooking plans but for the most part and if I forward-plan, the internet has been a Godsend in the kitchen, as well as to keep in touch family and friends.

This weekend I was looking for an Anzac biscuit recipe when I stumbled across a blog that I know I will be returning to again and again and again, Butter Baking. I have to admit I got a bit side-tracked because there were so many delicious looking recipes included but eventually remembered what I was looking originally for! The Anzac Biscuits were perfect. My only criticism, if you could call it that, is that they were too delicious and left me wanting more and more!

I got in touch with Natasha, the author of the Butter Baking blog, who like me loves baking but is not a huge fan of cake (finally someone who understands where I'm coming from, strange but true!) and asked her permission to share the yumminess with you and she agreed! Thank you Natasha! While the container is delayed I will continue to turn to the internet for cooking inspiration and for anything sweet, my first stop will definitely be at Butter Baking! Here's the recipe ...

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup dessicated coconut
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 125g unsalted butter, melted (4.5 oz)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp boiling water

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) and line 2 trays with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, coconut, sugar and salt.
3. Add the melted butter and maple syrup and stir well to combine.
4. In a little bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water. Mix it through the dough.
5. Roll large tablespoons of the dough into balls and place them on the baking trays, allowing room for spreading. Flatten a little for a chewy cookie and flatten right down for a crisp cookie like mine.
6. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, until golden. Makes 16 large, palm-size cookies, but you could always make 32 smaller Anzacs.

Soon after my container does arrive I plan to try out the Butter Baking New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe. Why wait for the container? You can't buy chocolate chips here in Dodoma, so I included some in the shipping  ... although I think the heat in the container may well mean they arrive as one big chunk of chocolate anyway!