If you haven't read my previous blog, this past year I found myself spending an unexpected Christmas at sea, drifting for days on end. We were crossing the pacific from Vanuatu to New Zealand and the trip was twice as long as expected. Running out of most interesting food the week before, we were down to eating lentils and rice nearly every meal. I asked the cook if I could put aside some olive oil the week before, just for the slight possibility that we might actually still be out here for Christmas.. lets just say I am so thankful I did. I woke up Christmas morning and timidly started pouring pretty much the remains of all baking supplies we had into a big bowl, hoping to create something at least remotely sweet and special for the crew. My girl Sahara and I laughed hysterically as we threw things in. The leftover milk from her cup of cereal that morning, made from powdered milk... every drip of olive oil the can would give us... the last of the cinnamon and vanilla... broke up a chocolate bar I had been saving for Christmas.. fingers crossed we kept mixing and adding until we were surprisingly happy with the consistency. I harvested some sea salt from the deck to sprinkle on top when they came out. We only baked one first, to see how it would turn out... I honestly don't even know how to convince you that this was the BEST cookie we've ever tasted!!!! We were ecstatic. The shock on the crew's faces when Sahara and I walked up on deck with plates of COOKIES for breakfast... it was a big morale booster for sure. "Enjoyment is always greatest when you have enough contrast to measure it by." (From one of my favourite books, the Curve of Time)
I have recently made these cookies again to get more exact measurements, and to ensure that they really were good - and not just because our palette consisted of lentils and not much else. Trust me, they are!! I will definitely be making these again on our next passage at sea! If you either find yourself in a predicament like ours, or are allergic to dairy or eggs, or (most likely) would just like to humour me with my new found recipe, give it a shot and let me know how they turn out!!!
Everything but the galley sink cookies
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
remains of vanilla (1 teaspoon should be good)
remains of cinnamon (1-2 teaspoons)
6 tablespoons sweet milk from leftover cereal (could of course just be plain milk instead ha, I would recommend sweetened almond or rice milk)
5 tablespoons olive oil
leftover chocolate bar smashed into chunks
sprinkle of fresh sea salt on top, directly after baking!
No steps! Just mix it all together in a big ol' bowl and add the liquids slowly as needed.
Bake at 190° C for about 8-10 minutes.
Hope ya like em! Or if not, hope ya have a hungry crew of sailors to feed them to.. !!
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