Category Archives: Cookies

Cherry & Ginger Amaranth Oat Cookies

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Yields 30

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, cubed and softened
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 Tablespoon dark molasses
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups whole rolled oats
  • 1 cup puffed amaranth grains
  • 1 cup dried sour cherries
  • ½ cup crystallised ginger, roughly chopped

Method

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth. Add both the sugars and beat on medium-high speed until creamed
  2. Add the eggs, molasses, and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine
  3. While the butter and sugars are creaming, Whisk the flour, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, baking soda, and salt together in a separate medium bowl. Set aside until needed
  4. Once the butter and sugars have been creamed, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined.
  5. Once fully combined, fold in the oats, dried cherries and crystalised ginger. Your dough should be quite thick and sticky. Cover and chill the dough for at least 45 minutes in the refrigerator
  6. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats
  7. Use a large cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough, about 3 Tablespoons of dough per cookie, and place well apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 13-14 minutes or golden brown. The edges will appear slightly darker than the centre of the cookie
  8. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely

Caramel stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Yields 12

Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter, room temperature
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup cookie butter spread
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla paste, or extract
  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1Tablesppn milk powder
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or chocolate chips
  • 12 caramel candies

Method

  1. Line a cookie sheet with baking parchment and set aside until needed
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until creamy
  3. Mix in the egg, followed by the cookie butter spread and continue mixing until fully combined. Add in the vanilla paste (or extract) and again mix to combine fully
  4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, milk powder, salt and whisk to combine
  5. Gradually add the combined dry ingredients into the sugar/butter mixture. Mix on medium/low speed until fully incorporated
  6. Fold in the chocolate chunks, or chips. Mix until well mixed through the dough (I find here it easier to fold by hand rather than using a spatula or spoon. It just depends on what you’re more comfortable with)
  7. Cover the dough with cling wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour
  8. Near the end of the cookie chilling time, preheat your oven to 325°F
  9. Using a medium cookie scoop (2 tbspn apx) shape the dough into 1 inch balls- you should have at least 24 in total
  10. Place a caramel candy between two cookie dough balls and squash the dough together to reshape into a larger cookie dough ball. Place the balls of dough about 3 inches apart on the pre-lined cookie sheet
  11. Bake at 325°F for 18-20minutes. The cookies will spread slightly spread and be domed where the caramel candy is. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool on their baking sheets for 5 minutes. Stud with additional chocolate chips if wanted. After that, transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely*
  12. Serve and enjoy! Cookies will keep in an air-tight container for up to one week

*The caramel centres will become firmer as they cool. If you want a softer, gooier centre, microwave the cookie for about 15 seconds,

Lemon & Lavender Sugar Cookies

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Makes 48-52, dependent on cookie cutter size

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 teaspoons dried lavender flowers
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon zest
  • 1 small Tonka bean finely grated
  • 1-2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 sticks butter
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 egg white, beaten

Method

  1. Combine the sugar, lavender, lemon zest, and grated tonka bear in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined
  2. Cream together the butter and 1/2 cup lavender sugar mixture, until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the flour and salt. Beat until combined, and dough starts to become crumbly. Add 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice until the dough comes together
  3. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out the cookies using your preferred cookie cutter. I used 1 1/2 inch fluted and plain circular cutters for bite-size cookies. Carefully transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet using a spatula.
  4. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes. Roll out the leftover scraps, and repeat with the dough
  5. While the cookies are chilly, reheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Brush each cookie with beaten egg white, then sprinkle with the remaining lavender sugar
  6. Bake the cookies on the middle rack of the oven for 12-13minutes or until just lightly golden on the edges. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely
  7. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Sugar Cookie Cheese(cake) Ball

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Ingredients

  • 16 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups sugar cookie mix (dry and heat treated*)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 cup sugar cookies, crushed
  • Festive sprinkles for decorating

Method

  1. Beat together the softened cream cheese and the softened butter until fully incorporated
  2. Add the cookie mix, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined
  3. Fold in the sugar cookie pieces, and mix until combined
  4. Lay out a piece of cling wrap and scoop the cream cheese mixture onto it
  5. Form a ball, then wrap up the ball in the cling wrap. Use an extra layer of cling wrap to help it keep its shape. (I find a small soup ball helps to act as a mould here)
  6. Freeze for about 2 hours minimum, but preferably overnight
  7. Place the sprinkles in a low shallow baking dish
  8. Take the ball out of the freezer and unwrap. At this point you can use the heat from your hands to smooth out and geta more regular “ball” shape if needed
  9. Roll the ball in the sprinkles making sure you cover as much of it as you can
  10. Place the cheesecake ball on your serving plate and place in the fridge for between 30 minutes to an hour
  11. Serve with additional cookies or graham crackers for scooping
  12. If not serving that day, wrap in new cling wrap and place back in the freezer and then take out an hour before serving to come up to room temperature

*Heat treating the cookie mix

To heat treat the cookie mix, place it in a microwavable bowl and heat in 20 second bursts, stirring well between, until an internal temperature of 165F. Make sure that you stir between bursts to distribute the heat and avoid the mix catching to burn. Allow to cool before using

Andes Mint Cookies

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Makes 24

Ingredients

  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder
  • 2 Tablespoon milk powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoon milk
  • 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 24 Andes mint chocolate candies

Method

  1. In stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, or with an electric whisk, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium high speed for about 3 minutes, until light and combined. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and then beat until combined
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder, milk powder and salt together until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add to the creamed butter mixture. Beat on low until combined
  3. Add in the milk, beating to combine on high speed
  4. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the chocolate chips. Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour
  5. Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 3 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. This will make it easier to scoop
  6. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
  7. Scoop the dough into balls, I use a 1 to 1 ½ tablespoon cookie dough scoop. Arrange on a the preared cookie sheets allowing 2-3 inches between
  8. Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes or until the edges appear set and the centers still look soft. Remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2-3 times
  9. Cool cookies for a minute or two minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully press an Andes mint into the top pf each cookie, securing in the still setting dough. Allow to cool for a further 5 minutes, in which time the chocolate mint will soften, allowing you to spread/ swirl them with a small spatula or spoon creating your mint topping
  10. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely
  11. Cover leftover cookies tightly and store at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to 1 week