Armagnac prunes, vanilla ice-cream and oat cookies
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 2 cups water
- 2 cinnamon quills
- 3 cloves
- 6 black peppercorns
- Rind of 1/2 lemon
- Rind of 1/2 orange
- 250g large prunes, pitted
- 3 tbsp armagnac or brandy
- For the oat cookies
- 1/2 cup plain flour
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/2 cup flaked almonds
- 1/4 cup demerara or raw sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup honey
- 60g butter
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
- Vanilla ice-cream
If citrus zest is required for a marinade or a poaching recipe, use a potato peeler and peel the length of zest required. This is better than grating the rind, using a fine zester or slicing skin with a knife. It also makes the peel easier to remove from the marinade if required later.
Method
Bring sugar, water, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, lemon and orange rind to the boil in a saucepan. Simmer for five minutes. Remove from the heat and add prunes. Add armagnac and allow to cool and prunes to soak up syrup, preferably overnight in the fridge.
For the oat cookies Preheat oven to 160C. Place flour, oats, almonds, sugar and salt in a bowl and stir, making a well in the centre. Melt honey and butter in a saucepan. Add 1 tbsp boiling water to the bicarb and add to butter. Stir butter mixture through oat mix. Spoon heaped teaspoon-sized drops onto a baking tray, leaving a 3cm space between each. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden and puffed. Allow to cool before serving with vanilla ice-cream, prunes and a little armagnac syrup.
Serves 4 with some cookies left over.
