Tag Archives: Life

The Best Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Only Takes 8 Minutes To Cook

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With the Great British Bake Off set to return today, most of us (ie. me) have grand ideas of baking alongside the show.

Inevitably, though, life gets in the way ― after all, the show does air on a school night.

Luckily, though, Philips’ in-house air fryer chef Martin Senders has a delicious cookie recipe that takes a measly eight minutes to cook in everyone’s favourite time-saving appliance.

“We can’t all be born ‘Star Baker’, so any technology that makes baking more of a breeze is always welcome ― and that’s exactly what the Airfryer does,” Senders told HuffPost UK over email.

“An Airfryer works by circulating hot air, making it perfect for golden, perfectly risen bakes with no soggy bottom’ in sight,” he added.

Cookies in particular do well in the devices, as it’s really easy to achieve that drool-worthy soft inside and crips exterior.

What’s the recipe?

Senders’ recipe serves eight, he says.

The ingredients are:

  • 60g milk chocolate

  • 60g dark chocolate

  • 160g plain flour

  • 2 pinches of salt

  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder

  • 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

  • 100g softened unsalted butter

  • 70g white sugar

  • 2 tablespoons of milk

  • 40g almond flakes.

To make the cookies, he says, you should follow these steps:

  1. Coarsely chop both types of chocolate, and combine then combine the flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa powder in a bowl and mix until incorporated.

  2. Add the softened butter and sugar to a bowl and beat until fluffy. Add the milk and continue mixing. Gradually add the flour mixture while continuing to mix until evenly combined. Add the chopped chocolate and mix until just incorporated.

  3. Shape the dough into about eight balls and let them rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Flatten them into a cookie shape.

  4. Dip the bottom of your cookies in flaked almonds, before placing four of them into the Airfryer basket and cooking for 8 minutes at 160 degrees. Repeat this step for the remaining cookies.

  5. Let cookies sit for around five minutes to cool before serving.

Cookie dough balls can be wrapped in baking paper and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.

If you still haven’t used up all the biccies by then, you can store them in the freezer for up to three months by placing the individually-wrapped cookies in a freezer bag ― just pop them in the air fryer for a little longer than you would when fresh when you fancy one.

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This Is The Worst Thing To Do If You Wake Up At 3AM And Can’t Get Back To Sleep

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Here’s what happened to me last night: I went to bed at 10pm, for a 6:30am wake-up and finally got to sleep at midnight.

Then, I woke up again at 1am and panicked until 3am about the next morning.

If you’re interested, I didn’t end up making that early work-out. But if I’d considered leaving my bed rather than simply stressing about the next day, some experts think I might have stood a chance.

Speaking to healthcare provider John’s Hopkins, sleep expert Dr Luis F. Buenaver said that staying in bed when you can’t sleep isn’t just likely to keep you up longer ― it can ruin your kips in the future too.

How does staying in bed affect your sleep?

It “will lead your brain and body to associate your bed with wakefulness instead of with sleep”, Dr Buenaver said.

That can have a longer-term effect on your ability to nod off once your head hits the pillow, so he says you should get up after around 20 minutes of sleeplessness.

“Sit in a comfortable chair in another room,” he advised. “Read a book, with just enough lights on so that you can see the print comfortably.”

Don’t do any work or pay any bills in that time, and if you start stressing about those or other issues, try distracting yourself with music or audiobooks.

You should only go back to bed when you’re feeling drowsy.

“It can be difficult leaving a warm, comfortable bed after waking up in the middle of the night,” the sleep expert said.

“But think of this step as an investment in better sleep — if not tonight then tomorrow night and in the future.”

Any other advice?

I’m definitely guilty of scrolling mindlessly through TikTok after my 3am jolts awake, but sleep expert Dr Jeff Rogers told Bustle that’s the worst thing I can possibly do.

“The blue light from your phone mimics daylight and suppresses the production of melatonin, the hormone which regulates your sleep-wake cycle,” he shared with the publication.

And while you might want to try switching rooms after 20 minutes, Wendy Troxel, a senior behavioural scientist at Rand Corps, told CNN that clock-watching is generally a bad idea.

“Clock watching becomes habitual, and that habitual response of frustration and anxiety also causes a stress response in the body,” she said.

“You look at the clock… and immediately might grit your teeth. You think of all the demands… how awful it is going to be when you’re sleep-deprived,” she added.

If that sounds like you, Dr Buenaver says it’s fine to guess when your 20 minutes have passed.

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I Just Learned The Worst Place To Store Garlic, And I’ve Always Kept Mine There

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We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how the spot beside your hob is the worst area to store your olive oil (tough news to hear, considering it’s one of the most common places to put it).

And now it seems food science is coming for my garlic storage too.

The bulbs fare best in mesh bags at temperatures around 15.5-18°C, Cornell University says.

I know I should keep the allium out, but my kitchen is so tiny that I just end up bunging it in the fridge.

That’s a mistake, Cornell University says: “Storing fresh garlic in the fridge is generally not a good idea.”

What’s wrong with putting garlic in the fridge?

Gardeners may already know that cool temps can cause garlic to sprout.

Sur La Table chef Richard Temples shared on Martha Stewart’s site: “The cold temperature in the fridge mimics autumn to garlic, and causes it to sprout within a couple [of] weeks.”

“Sprouts are edible but can have a bitter flavour”, the chef added.

And if you’ve made garlic oil or garlic confit, storing it in the fridge can be outright dangerous, Cornell University warns.

“This is because garlic bulbs are low-acidity, making them prone to Clostridium botulinum, better known as the culprit behind botulism”, they write.

Store-bought garlic oil usually has a preservative like citric acid in it, and/or is kept at lower temperatures than your fridge could ever manage, Cornell University says.

So where should I store garlic?

It doesn’t need to be anything too fancy, Temples said.

A wire basket, a paper bag, a mesh container, and anything that lets your garlic “breathe” is good.

“You always want to keep your garlic cool and dry—cool, but not cold, and with some airflow” he shared.

Countertops and cupboards can be good options, though countertops may be better as they offer more airflow.

Just make sure you keep it away from sunlight, Stephen Chavez, chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education, said on Martha Stewart’s site.

“Like any other plant/bulb, it will sprout much quicker with the sunlight.”

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I Just Learned What Flavour Haribo Fried Eggs Actually Are, And It’s Way Fancier Than I Thought

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Haribo’s brand name has a secret meaning ― it stands for HAns RIegel BOnn, the founder of the company’s name.

The sweets brand is known for its jelly inventions, including its adorable axolotls and more classic Goldbear gummies.

But perhaps one of its most iconic (and divisive) creations is the Haribo Starmix Fried Egg.

While some had previously thought the white and yellow treat was supposed to be a UFO, Haribo’s site confirms our sunny-side-up instincts.

Reading its ingredients, though, I realised that the surprisingly sophisticated flavour profile of the gummy reads a lot more like a fancy cordial than it does the orange extract and vanilla mix I’d expected.

What flavours are in Haribo’s Fried Eggs?

The ingredients listed in an online entry for a Fried Egg-only Haribo bag includes items most of us would expect, including sugar, gelatine and citric acid.

Even some of the fruit and plant concentrates are as we’d imagine – lemon and orange make an appearance.

But I was surprised by the presence of elderberry, safflower, mango, and passion fruit in the flavourful fray.

Elderberries, which are deep purple berries that ripen between July and October, are often used for wines, syrups, and in baking (if you can get your hands on some this autumn, do).

Meanwhile safflower, which I’d never heard of before, is sometimes used in place of saffron.

Huh! Anything else?

Yes ― it turns out that new Haribo designs have to be hand-drawn.

It’s not quite Willy Wonka, but that means it’s someone’s job to pen the sketches that’ll become real sweets.

“This template is then used to create a 3D sample drawing for a high-tech milling machine, which produces a plaster prototype,” Haribo adds.

Once they’re happy with the shape, they use that prototype as the basis for “several hundred stamps” which help to form the sweets in production.

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Feeling Unmotivated Right Now? Blame The Month

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My first thought on waking this morning was “ugh, I can’t wait to get back to sleep again tonight”.

Contrast this to sunnier, happier, more productive August me, who took up 6am workouts and made her own sourdough, and the September version of myself is looking pretty drab and unmotivated.

But at least I can comfort myself: everything, it seems, slumps this month.

“The month of September has been, on average, the worst month for the stock market going back more than a century,” NPR writes.

Over half of workers feel demotivated after summer ends too, Forbes reports.

We’re even less likely to work out in autumn. But why does it feel like our motivation takes a tumble as soon as the first leaf does?

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sorry boss, can’t come in today. the air has that early fall feeling

— trash jones (@jzux) September 9, 2024

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sorry boss, can’t come in today. the air has that early fall feeling

— trash jones (@jzux) September 9, 2024

Part of it may be down to seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

“Significant” SAD affects about 3% of the UK population, the Royal College Of Psychiatrists (RCOP) says.

The depression-like symptoms may come about thanks to the lack of light in colder months.

“If you have SAD, you may find it hard to wake up on a winter’s morning and can often feel sleepy during the day,” the RCOP says, adding that ”you may crave chocolate and high carbohydrate foods, such as white bread or sugary foods”.

Though the NHS says symptoms tend to be worse in December, January and February, SAD can start as early as September.

Then, there’s the post-summer (and potentially post-holiday) blues.

Dr Sherylin Thompson, a counselling psychologist, told the BBC: “After a period of relaxation there’s the stress of a new academic year, or work getting busy, but also healthy routines and habits.”

“It can be worse if you’re feeling stuck in the routine, and haven’t got a choice, but it can be a chance to change things,” the doctor added.

As if all that wasn’t enough, there are also additional work demands.

For many industries, the rapidly approaching Q4 is the most financially important, and knowing the added demands are coming can summon that “back-to-school” feeling.

Add kids’ school routines into the mix and it’s no wonder autumn “to-do lists… are never-ending,” psychologist Dr Lalitaa Suglani told Stylist.

“This can emotionally and psychologically impact our internal systems which in turn has an impact on our mood.”

What can I do about it?

Even though it’s the last thing you’re likely in the mood for, staying active and social in the cooler months is key to staying mentally healthy.

“When the days are shorter, it is important to make a clear routine about when we’re going to fit in exercise, get to the gym, see our friends,” clinical psychologist Dr Camilla Rosan told the BBC.

If you can, enjoy the season’s beautiful leaves while they’re still around, Dr Suglani told Stylist.

“Research suggests the importance of being in nature on our mental health, so try to get out in daylight as this is when your brain will produce melatonin and serotonin which will result in a better night’s sleep and reduce the autumn mood slump,” she shared.

Lastly, the NHS says you should see a GP as soon as possible if you’re experiencing symptoms of SAD and are struggling to cope.

Help and support:

  • Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
  • Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
  • CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
  • The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
  • Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.
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