Tag: cookie

Caramel Shortbread Cookies and my total lack of organisation

I like to make ‘to do’ lists. I love the sense of achievement that you get when you can cross off an item. However, while I might be organised enough to make these lists, more often than not I will lose them. Counter productive you might think, but… well, yes it is mostly counter productive. Particularly when these lists resurface months later and I realise that I STILL have not completed most of the tasks written there. This blog would be exhibit A.

However, I was very good with my list making before Christmas. Don’t believe me? Well, these cookies are proof, doubters! Christmas was more hectic than usual last year so I had to be super organised to get everything done. In particular my cooking list seemed to breed overnight as I over committed myself for dinners, parties, Kris Kringle gifts, co worker gifts etc. This particular recipe from the December issue of the Donna Hay Magazine was a godsend as it was simple to make, easy to assemble and tasted fabulous. In fact, I was so taken with it that I decided to make a KK gift of cookies and hot chocolate with all the cookies coming from that issue. I will post the other two recipes shortly, but thought I would start with arguably the most tasty (or at least most calorific!)

Cookies and hot chocolate!

All you need to do is whack your butter and sugars all together in your mixer

mix in the flour and roll it all flat

cut your dough into circles and bake

until lightly golden – the recipe says 8-10 mins, I barely needed 7 mins in my oven

pipe the caramel onto your cooled biscuit

and sandwich together

Easy peasy! And you can add a little sprinkle of salt to the caramel before sandwiching for more of a salted caramel shortbread feel. I’ve made these cookies several times since Christmas and they have always gone down well. Easy to make, easy to store, the only thing you need to worry about is rolling your dough too thin, or eating them all in one sitting!

So, lovely reader, are you a procrastinator? Or have you figured out how to get stuff done? And if you’re the latter, can you please let me in on the secret? (Writing this post has been on my weekly ‘to do’ list since January. Go figure.

Caramel Shortbread Cookies – From Donna Hay Magazine

Ingredients

150g butter

1/3 cup (55g) icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup (225g) plain flour

2 tbsp cornflour

2/3 cup (200g) dulce de leche (you can also use the Nestle Top N Fill sold in supermarkets in Australia or your own caramel made from condensed milk)

Method

1. Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in a mixer and beat for 8-10 mins or until pale and creamy

2. add the flour and cornflour and mix until a smooth dough forms

3. Roll the dough out (5mm thick) between two sheets of baking paper and place in the fridge for around 30 mins

4. using a 4.5 cm round cookie cutter, cut our your cookies and transfer the dough to a a baking tray

5. bake at 180 degrees celsius for 6-7 mins and check to see if they are done. If not, continue cooking for another few minutes keeping a close eye on these babies!

6. cool cookies on a wire rack

7. Pipe caramel onto half the cookies and sandwich with the remaining ones

The Strawberry Affair Continues With: Shortbread Cookies with Strawberry Jam

What do you love more than a cup of hot tea and a jammy biscuit?

Nothing?

Thats as it should be.

Well… not strictly true but we do all love a hot beverage and a tasty cookie don’t we? So what better to make your Valentine than these cute jammy shortbread cookies? They’re red and heart shaped and oh so tasty!

See?

Another recipe from Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros, these cookies are deceptively easy to make and are great for using up any extra jam you may have lying around say if you recently made a batch of Strawberry and Vanilla Conserve… It’s basically two layers of delicious shortbread sandwiched with strawberry jam and baked until golden and crumbly.

All you need to do is whip up the dough, spread some jam, cover it with another piece of dough and slip that sucker in the oven

Bam! Warm, delicious shortbread.

I thought I would be tricky and cut some shapes into the top piece of dough before putting it on top of the jam. Then I cut rounds out with my circular cookie cutter. You can cut any shapes you like and you could probably cook it pre-cut if you wanted as well. It’s quite a versatile recipe so have a play around with it if you like. I love the fact that they are very similar to Arnotts Raspberry Shortcake cookies and Jammy Dodgers. Make them at home from your left overs and you may just have a double win on your hands.

Yummo!

So if you’re not quite sure what to get your valentine, or if you *gulp* forgot… have a crack at these. Definitely a heart melter. I definitely love myself more after giving them to myself for valentines day…

So, lovelies and lovers, what are you up to this valentines day?

Jam Shortbread – From Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros

Ingredients

100g butter

100g caster sugar

200g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 egg, lightly beaten

a few drops vanilla extract

approx 200g strawberry jam

Method

1. Work the butter and sugar together with your hands until combined

2. Add flour and baking powder and work them in

3. Knead egg and vanilla into the mix and keep working until smooth and well combined

4. Cover with plastic wrap and place the dough into the fridge for 30 mins

5. Divide the dough in half and roll out to a thickness of 2-3 mm

6. Spread the jam over the dough

7. Roll out the second piece of dough and place over the jam (you may want to cut some shapes into this dough before placing on top of the jam, or you may not!)

8. Place into an oven preheated to 170 degrees celsius and bake for 15 mins or until lightly golden

9. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes. Cut into desired shapes and leave to cool completely (or eat warm with some tea!)

Maple Pecan Cookies – and the saddest sight in the world

Sometimes I wish I lived in Canada. Mostly when I think about how much I love Maple Syrup. In fact, in my Canadian house I would have a big Maple tree in my backyard with a tap in it so that I could get Maple Syrup whenever I want. (Because we all know that in dreams, anything can happen.) Then I would have Maple Syrup with my pancakes for breakfast, Maple Syrup in muffins for lunch and maple glazed ham for dinner. Maple Syrup with Beaver Tails… mmmmmmm….

But, while I am not living in Canada, I have had to resort to bottled Maple Syrup and find interesting ways to incorporate it into my cooking. And while bottled Maple Syrup is so incredibly expensive, I am trying to find thrifty ways of including it! Enter: Maple Pecan Cookies.

I got the recipe from the wonderfully titled Eat Me! The Stupendous, Self-Raising World of Cupcakes and Bakes According to Cookies Girl when I was searching for some cookies that were not full of chocolate (like everything else I make!) The recipe was simple and straightforward, and they seemed like the perfect picnic food.

They were fuss free and turned out beautifully crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Aren’t they pretty all in a row?

And they tasted great with a glass of milk! Very More-ish!

So the recipe was easy, the product was tasty, everything went well… what is this ‘saddest sight in the world’ I hear you ask? Look on, my lovelies…

An empty bottle of Maple Syrup. All that sweet, mapley goodness… gone…

I might go away and cry now.

Then I will go to the store and buy another bottle so I can make these delicious cookies again!!!

So what ingredient, my lovelies, do you find upsetting when you run out of it? Or am I the only one with such extreme reactions… maybe don’t answer that!

Maple Pecan Cookies – From Eat Me! by Cookie Girl

Ingredients

100g unsalted butter

255g caster sugar (I used golden caster sugar and it was pretty damn good!)

85g dark brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

285g plain flour

1 tsp bi-carb soda

3 tbsp Maple Syrup

55g chopped pecans

Method

1.  Beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy

2. Add the egg and vanilla

3. Sift over the flour and bi-carb and mix

4. Add the maple syrup and nuts, mix well

5. roll heaped tablespoons of mixture onto baking trays and cook at 150 degrees celsius for 8-10 mins or until lightly golden. Don’t bake for too long unless you like your cookies crispy

6. Enjoy on a beautiful picnic, or late at night with a glass of cold milk!

And a Good Friday was had by all…

Good grief. Ive been itching to post for a few weeks now but the mix of work, being ill and moving to this new blog has got me all in a whirl! So, im going to split my doings into two posts. This, being Easter.

A few years ago I was given the cutest set of easter cookie cutters and its taken me up until now to actually get off my butt and use them. So use them I did! To make easter egg sugar cookies.

Easter Egg Sugar Cookies (from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook)

Ingredients

200g unsalted butter

280g caster sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

400g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Royal Icing

Method

1. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy

2. Add the egg and mix well

3. Mix in flour and cream of tartar

4. Roll out the dough and cut into desired shape

5. Bake at 170 degrees celsius for around 10 mins. Be very careful though, my oven cooks them quite quickly so I take mine out after about 7 mins, as soon as they start to go golden around the edges. They burn VERY quickly.

6. Decorate!

Unfortunately for my tummy, my easter cooking didn’t end with biscuits. Delicious Magazine had a particularly tasty looking Easter Trifle. So off to the shops I went (hoppity hop) to get myself some super sweet ingredients. Now, I eat some seriously sweet things, but its been a VERY long time since I last made something this sweet.

One chocolate cake, tin of caramel, carton of custard, bottle of cream and pot of mascarpone later (not to mention several packets of easter eggs and chocolate shavings) and I had my ultimate easter confection. Of course, the addition of a tin of pears means that some of the unhealthyness of the dish is cancelled out… doesn’t it?

Easter Trifle

(I thought I would just note that I wasnt that impressed with the cake/brownie that this recipe had so rather than reproduce it here I would instead strongly advise you to make your favourite cake/brownie instead!)

Ingredients

410g tin of pears in natural juice

380g can of Caramel

250g Mascarpone

400g Custard

300mL Thickened Cream

1 Packet of Chocolate Eggs

Method

1. Cut up cake or brownie into small squares and place in a serving bowl

2. Place sliced pears over cake squares and add half the easter eggs

3. Combine caramel, mascarpone and custard and pour over cake and pears

4. Add the other half of the easter eggs

5. Top with whipped cream and grated chocolate

6. Chill for 2 hours minimum (This trifle is magnificent the next day, so if you can hold out for 24 hours, its worth it!)