That's right: schmaltz oatmeal cookies. We had to have something sweet! The schmaltz does have a great effect here - it doesn't make the cookie taste like chicken, but it does give it a savoury depth to balance the sweetness.

Using schmaltz in a cookie turns out to be a fascinating and useful example of balancing sweet and savoury ingredients. I love the tart, dense dried cherries in these cookies, but this recipe is a great all-purpose vehicle for whatever spin you want to give them - raisins, dried cranberries, walnuts, pecans, or a mixture of any of the above.

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Cut the schmaltz into chunks and put it, along with both sugars, into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
• Mix on high until the fat is fluffy, 2 minutes or so.
• Add the egg, vanilla and cinnamon and mix on low to incorporate.
• Combine the salt, flour and baking powder, and add this to the mixing bowl.
• Paddle on medium to combine, 30 seconds or so.
• Add the oats and paddle to combine.
• Add the cherries and paddle to combine.
• Shape the dough into golf ball-sized orbs and place on a cookie sheet.
• Flatten them to your desired thickness (they won't spread much, but they will puff).
• Bake the cookies until done, about 15 minutes.

Recipe extracted from The Book of Schmaltz: Love Song to a Forgotten Fat

First published in the JC November 24 2016