Lead us (not) into temptation

Oh the irony... A decade ago, I remember being so desperate for chocolate that I left my baby (asleep) in his cot while I rushed out to the corner shop for a bar of Fruit and Nut, feeling almost sick with guilt. Now I am home alone for 10 days but can't be bothered to leave the house. So this time the solution is to make chocolate covered flapjacks. They're very quick and easy to get in the oven, but there is a tantalising 2-stage cooling process.

Practically a health food

Chocolate covered flapjacks

125g butter

125g brown sugar

75g golden syrup

250g oats
100g chocolate

Pre-heat oven to 180/gas 4. Melt the butter, sugar and syrup together, then stir in the oats and mix well. Transfer to a 20 x 20cm greased and lined* tin or dish and cook for 25-30 minutes until golden brown (if in doubt, err on the side of under-cooking). Allow to cool in the dish, then turn out and spread with melted chocolate. Cut into squares or bars when the chocolate has set.

*If you can't be bothered with this, just spread the chocolate over them while they're still in the tin, then chisel them out as needed. And if you can't be bothered to spread the melted chocolate, put it in a freezer bag, snip off the corner and drizzle it over the flapjacks.

Chocolate chip shortbread

It's going to be a lovely day tomorrow. Really. So do your time in the kitchen today and be ready to get outdoors when the sun starts shining.

Whatever the weather, these chocolate chip shortbread rounds will not disappoint. Crisp, crunchy, buttery shortbread with chunks of dark and white chocolate (such as left-over Easter eggs). You could even go wild and add a handful of nuts.

Just add tea

Chocolate chip shortbread

225g butter

100g caster sugar

¼ teaspoon salt (if you're using unsalted butter; a generous pinch if not)

225g plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

125g chocolate (any type), chopped

Pre-heat oven to 150/gas 2. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the flour, baking powder and chocolate and stir to form a stiff dough. Roll into walnut-sized rounds, flatten each one slightly and place on a baking tray at least 3cm apart. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until light golden brown. Remove from baking tray and cool on a rack.