TEA and BISCUITS or MILK & COOKIES

I am very lucky that my son likes milk and lots of it. Preferring milk over juice, a preference only acquired over the last year or so has meant less stressful visits to the dentist, for me.  The seemingly innocuous question ‘Does he drink a lot of juice?’ always ripples with undercurrents of bad motherhood. With the juice bottle now consigned to the back of the cupboard, this week we were able to return to the white coated lady with heads held high, ready to look her in the eye and answer any questions regarding juice unit consumption absolutely truthfully.  No holes was good news so we needed something to celebrate with, we don’t need much of an excuse in this house. Homemade biscuits it was. Or were they cookies?

These biscuits are easy peasy, using only three ingredients, perfect for making at short notice, especially on those days when the there are no eggs in the house.  How annoying is that? They are great for kids to adorn with icing and sprinkles but on this occasion just plain and simple were all that was required as today they were not going to be the stars of the show. Today it is was the milk’s turn to be in the footlights.

Yesterday, Michael bought home with him two litres of raw milk produced by the stunningly beautiful Jersey cows from The Calf at Foot Dairy, Somerleyton, Suffolk (Nr. Lowestoft). The small herd of pasture fed cows, given names like Pixie and Tess, are allowed to keep their calves and are reared with not a chemical in sight, just a lot of love. The most stress-free cows in the world. And all that healthy living makes for a glass full of pure goodness.

Plonking the cartons in front of my nose, Michael pronounced excitedly ‘You can make something with that’, obviously expecting something hot and creamy for dessert when he came in for tea.

The pale yellow creaminess of the milk, clearly visible through the plastic container, hinted at what luxury lay within. Pouring out a glass to give to my eagerly waiting son, a few sample sips passed my lips, then a few more and not quite believing what I was tasting, a few more. Suddenly the glass was empty.

It tastes so delicious, some may find it a takes a bit of adjusting to after drinking standard pasteurized semi-skimmed or skimmed milk. We found it so amazing that it was far too good to cook with, after drinking two glasses in a row I had to stop my son drinking a third.

Now back to the biscuits. The word ‘cookie’ does not sit easily with me, maybe it’s a generational thing. The only time I remember hearing the word as a child was when the ‘Milk & Cookie” man appeared on the Andy Williams Show. Am I the only person in the world who remembers him? For me, a cookie needs to be a big, fat, chewy affair, heaped with chocolate or other calorific goodies. A gingersnap or demure lemon thin could never be called a cookie and these light as air, melt in your mouth wonders are definitely biscuits.  

If possible whip up the dough in a food processor as the icing sugar will make big puffy clouds in your kitchen if you haven’t got a lid on your mixer, as I found out when I first made a batch of these for a school fundraising event. I’m not sure where the recipe originated from, it does the school Friends Committee rounds as they are so quick and easy to make and invaluable for events like Mother’s Day.

My little boy chose to have his share with a glass of ice cold milk, I opted for the more English style tea and biscuits, both equally good and satisfying.

These are not ‘lookers’ but taste superb if a plain biscuit is your cup of tea.