Greek Sesame Ring Biscuits, or Koulouria for purists

If you didn't know it already, I'm Greek.

Not fully, wholly. I can't speak Greek AT ALL (sound mildly disabled when I try), my parents let me out after dark, are divorced, and maybe once a year my Dad will go to Church. So don't go thinking all classic on me.

In fact, I think one of the only 'Greek' things I inherited (other than my fiesty-ness and appetite) is the 'food thing' if I can put it to you so broadly. I mean the love of fresh markets, of preparing the food, of setting the table, and fussing over who sits where ect. WELL, that and Greek desserts.

I reckon they have it pretty much down to a T in that department. Quite frankly, amongst Halva, Baklava, Loukoumades, Bougatsa and the endless almond bikkie combo's, I'm happily lost and never want to be found.

This little recipe is a simple (in all senses, to make and to eat) biscuit that goes great with a strong black coffee in the arvo, like they'd have it in Greece.

PS. Keep checking back in the next month for more Greek recipes, as I'm jetting off to Patmos, a small (and almost impossibly beautiful) Greek island for a month, where I'm certain to attack my grandma's old recipe books and discover some local dishes to share with you.

Greek Sesame Ring Biscuits (Koulouria)

Ingredients-

180 grams of butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup (plus a bit more for dusting) of castor sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp of vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of bi-carb soda

2 1/2 cups of regular flour

1/4 cup of orange juice

1 tablespoon of grated orange rind

1 hand full of sesame seeds (plus extra for the tops)

1/4 cup of milk

Method-

Preheat your oven to 190°C and line 2 trays with baking paper.

In a medium sized bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add one egg and vanilla extract and continue to beat until combined.

Add the bi-carb soda, baking powder and a handful of sesame seeds, then half of the flour and stir with a metal spoon. Add the orange juice and rind, then the other half of the flour. At this point its easier if you ditch the spoon and work the mixture with your hands to combine properly and form a pliable dough.

Grab walnut sized pieces of the dough and roll on a lightly floured surface until they are 15 cm long. Bring the ends together and pinch to seal, then place onto the trays.

In a small bowl, combine the second egg and milk to create an egg wash. Brush over the biscuits with a pastry brush then sprinkle the tops with extra sugar and sesame seeds and bake for 15-20 minutes. Leave to cool before transferring because they can be a bit fragile and break when still warm.

Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Isn't it funny how we wait and dream and obsess about the upcoming holidays, then when they arrive we realise we really don't have much to do? I mean, I always said school was a waste of time, BUT now I can see the wisdom in my words, it kills off a good part of your day when you'd otherwise be twiddling your thumbs.

Take yesterday for example, I got so bored that when I was doing laps of the house, and passed the oven, I decided I'd give that bad boy a good clean. Nobody told me how disgusting ovens can get! I thought it was just a hot box where you put things, and then took them out again, no harm done. WRONG.

So anyway, after I'd finished, I thought I may as well take advantage of the newly vanilla-fresh oven and bake something. And considering I'd already finished most of the cookies in the pantry on one of my boredom laps, I thought a fresh batch would be just the thing.

I chose this recipe because I am on a quest of sorts to convince my French host family that peanut butter IS the most delicious thing in the world, and that the salty-sweet combination is possibly God's greatest gift to my taste-buds. They just say that its 'so Anglo' but hey, can't blame me for that.

Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients-

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

¼ teaspoon of salt

½ cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup of creamy peanut butter

½ cup of castor sugar

1/3 cup of dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 egg

½ cup of rolled oats

1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips

Method-

Preheat your oven to 180°C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

In a medium sized bowl, place the butter, peanut butter, both the sugars and vanilla extract, then cream on medium speed with a beater for around about 3 minutes or until well combined and creamy.

Add the egg and continue to beat.

Take out the beaters, and sift half of the flour into the wet mixture, stirring with a spoon or getting your hands dirty if that's more your style (its definitely mine). Once the flour is fully incorporated, add the other half with the baking soda and salt and stir/squish to combine.

Add the oats and chocolate chips and again mix until everything looks evenly distributed.

Using a tablespoon, scoop the dough and then roll them into ball-ish shapes and place on trays.

Bake for 10 or so minutes.