Hygge and Cwtch (and Cookies)

Hygge. Decoristas tell us this Danish word is having its fifteen minutes of fame, give or take. It means cozy gathering and includes the state of mind that goes along with the action. Something like, "Yeah, the weather is BLEAK, so let's light some candles, bake cookies, and pull our comfy chairs a little closer to the hearth." That's what CottageLife is all about, right?

Another word we like is "cwtch" which is Welsh and means cuddle or hug. It rhymes with "butch". "Give us a cwtch, Cariad." (Cariad means sweetheart, and apparently was an endearment often used by Rhiann's great grandmother).
Wales is a magical place. If you ever get the chance to go, take it! In the meantime, enjoy an armchair tour by feasting on our Wales Pinterest board Cymru Hiraeth .

But, speaking of feasting, back to the cookies...

As you may know by now, Quince Cottage loves super EASY, customizable recipes. An easier, more forgiving cookie recipe would be hard to find. You'll need to tear yourself away from snuggling by the fire for only a few minutes to make them!
Various recipes for these goodies have been floating around social media, so citing an original source would be close to impossible. We looked at a few and modified.
This recipe makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

CAKE BATTER COOKIES RECIPE:

Ingredients
1 box of cake mix (flavor of your choice)
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cornstarch (because we now know this helps make a thicker cookie)
1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C white chocolate chips

Customization: Use the cake mix flavor of your choice, and the chips or other add-ins of your choice (nuts, dried fruit etc.)

Directions
1. Mix the first five ingredients together.
2. Stir in whatever extras you want.
3. You can and probably should chill the dough at this point (it will help prevent cookie "spread" when you cook them, and make the dough easier to work with, as in less sticky).
4. Scoop by TBS onto parchment lined cookie sheet. With your fingers shape the individual lumps into elongated spheres (see photo below). This also helps curtail cookie spread.
5. Bake 8-9 min. at 350 degrees
6. Let sit on sheet 5 min. then remove to wire rack for cooling.

Now, if you want to sprinkle them with confectioner's sugar, or drizzle them with glaze, or dunk them in melted chocolate, don't let us stop you!

Elongated cookie balls © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Cake Batter Cookies © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Quince Cottage style is where rustic and sparkly rub shoulders. 

Think gilded mirror against a plank wall, and you'll know what we mean. 

We prefer our opulence a little beat up and our recipes 

GOOF-PROOF!