Mix, bake and cool slightly, these chocolate chip and orange flavour porridge oat cookies can be ready to eat from start to finish in about 30 minutes.

I don't know if a Terry's Chocolate Orange is a specifically British thing or if they are available worldwide but I do know in my family Christmas is not Christmas without a Chocolate Orange. "Don't tap it, Whack it" "One of my 5 a day"  and "It's not Terry's it's mine" are all common catch phrases linked to this most Christmassy of treats.

So for me chocolate and orange just go together, especially at this time of year and I've been experimenting with a family favourite cookie recipe to give them a chocolate orange twist.

You might notice I am calling these cookies too, not biscuits as I should do, being an English girl and all. They are quite cookie like though I think as they are slightly chewy inside.

Chocolate Chip & Orange Porridge Oat Cookies

Makes between 25 and 30

230g Baking Margarine or butter

230g caster sugar

2 eggs

2 tsps orange essence

300g SR flour

150g porridge oats

Zest of 1 orange (optional but makes it more orangy)

100g plain chocolate chips

100g milk chocolate chips

100g chocolate for decoration

* you can get an easy print version of this recipe with a conversion to cups too here.

Heat the oven to 180 c   350 f   gas 4

Beat the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. If you have a lovely food mixer use that (you lucky thing you!) or use an electric hand whisk or a wooden spoon.

Beat in the eggs and orange essence.

Stir in the flour, porridge oats, chocolate chips and zest if using.

Mix until it forms a stiff dough and you can't see the flour anymore.

Use a dessert spoon to spoon out blobs of mixture and roll them lightly in your hands. Place them on the baking tray and press lightly with a fork to flatten them slightly.

These cookies don't really spread very much as they cook so whatever size/shape you make them now is pretty much how they will end up.

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown, then cool on a cooling rack.

Melt the remaining chocolate and drizzle over the cookies to finish.

Enjoy!

I'll be sharing this recipe at some of these linkups.