Lemon Currant Drops

 

 

Sweet lemony treats with dried currants. These cookies tasted good and lemony but i would like to reduce the amount of sugar next time around as i thought they were a bit too sweet for me. The original cookie recipes calls for orange and dried cranberries but i decided to change to lemon as i prefer it over orange and i didn't have enough cranberries so i went with currants and i liked how that combination turned out.

Lemon Currant Drops

Source: All recipes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dried currants

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F(190 degrees C). Lightly grease cookie sheets, or line with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the white sugar, brown sugar, and butter. Stir in the egg, lemon juice, lemon extract, and lemon zest. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix into the lemon mixture. Stir in the dried currants. Drop cookie dough by heaping teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, on the prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until edges are starting to brown. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Malted Whopper Cookies

 

Since i spotted this cookie recipe on 'Brown Eyed Baker' i knew i had to try it as i love malted milk powder and the chocolate coated malt balls. I loved the way these cookies tasted, they're very chewy and soft and have a great malted-choclatey flavor.

Chocolate Malted Whopper Cookies

Yield: 18 large cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Bake Time: 10 to 12 minutes

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup malted milk powder
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup whole milk
2 cups (6 ounces) chocolate-covered malted milk balls (Maltesers), coarsely chopped, or in my case crushed using a rolling pin
1 cup chocolate chips (or 6 ounces chopped chocolate)

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

2. Whisk together the flour, malted milk powder, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. Cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until very smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing just until it disappears into the batter. Mix in the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. With the mixer still on low, or by hand with a rubber spatula, mix in the malted milk balls and chocolate chips.

4. Drop about 2 heaping tablespoonfuls worth of dough  onto the sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until puffed and set but still slightly soft to the touch. Let the cookies rest for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Pretty in pink, sugar cookie cupcakes

I love iced cookies, they look so pretty, almost too pretty to eat. When i had some time on my hands i decided to whip up a batch of cookies and royal icing and get going... I decided i was gonna use my new cup cake cookie cutters and decided on white and pink for the icing colors.

For the cookie recipe i decided on 'Spice brown sugar cut-out cookies, you are free to use any cut out cookie recipe like. This recipe was good choice as the cookies didn't turn out too sweet since i was going to ice them generously with royal icing.

Spiced Brown Sugar Cut-Out Cookies

Source: annie's eats blog

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg

1/8 tsp. allspice

½ cup sugar

½ cup light brown sugar, packed

16 tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a medium bowl; whisk to blend.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, brown sugar and butter.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the egg and vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Form the dough into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.  Chill until firm, at least 30-60 minutes.  

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about ¼-inch thickness.  Use cookie cutters to form desired shapes and transfer to the prepared baking sheets.  

Bake 10-12 minutes.  Let cool on the baking sheet a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Decorate as desired.

Royal Icing
Ingredients:4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. meringue powder
5 tbsp. water
Food coloring, to tint icing if desired

Tools:
Piping bag(s)
Squeeze bottles
Toothpicks

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on low speed until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance (about 7-10 minutes).  Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to an air-tight container.  This will be the stiffest consistency of the icing, and at this point it is still too stiff to use for decorating.  Add water a very small amount at a time and stir by hand until fully incorporated.  Continue until the icing has reached a consistency appropriate for piping. 
At this point if you need to color your icing  Liquid food coloring can be used but you need to be careful as it could thin out your icing – add powdered sugar as needed to compensate for any thinning that occurs. Gel food coloring is a better choice if available as it doesn't thin out your icing.
 (Remember, if you are having any difficulty piping, it is still too thick.  Add a little more liquid and try again.)  Using a pastry bag, pipe around the edges of each cookie.  Let stand so the icing will set.  Make sure to keep the leftover icing covered at all times when not in use so that it does not begin to harden.
Once all the cookies have been edged, transfer some of the remaining icing to a separate air-tight container.  Thin out by incorporating a small amount of water at a time, until the icing drips off the spoon easily when lifted and then smooths in with that still in the bowl.  If you go too far and the icing is too thin, add more sifted powdered sugar to thicken it again. 
If you need to color your icing  Liquid food coloring can be used but you need to be careful as it could thin out your icing – add powdered sugar as needed to compensate for any thinning that occurs. Gel food coloring is a better choice if available as it doesn't thin out your icing.(I used liquid food coloring with no problems at all as i only needed a drop of it to color my icing).Once the icing has reached the desired consistency, transfer it to a squeeze bottle (or a plastic bag with a hole in one corner), and flood the area surrounded by the piping on each cookie.  If it does not completely spread to the edges, use a toothpick to help it along.  Allow to set.

Monster Cookies

I felt like baking something sweet yesterday so i decided on mosnster cookies because they're Yousef's(my son) favorite cookies. And mmmmmmmm... were they delicious, so that's why i'm sharing the recipe with you.

Here it goes:
I measured out all my ingredients and i'm ready to start...

First mix the first seven ingredients.

Next add the rest of your ingridients, excluding the chocolate chips and M&M's and mix well.

Then add the M&M's and chocolate chips and mix real good.
Then scoop out 1/4 cup fulls of batter on to your baking sheets and bake till golden brown.
These cookies are really yummy, i hope u try the recipe and enjoy them as much as i and my family did.

Here's the recipe and detailed directions:


Monster Cookies
Yield: 26 large cookies
Baking time: 10-12 minutes
Source: Brown eyed baker

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon corn syrup
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup (4 ounces, or 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1½ cups chunky peanut butter
4½ cups rolled oats
½ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup chocolate chips
¾ cup M&M’s

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or spray with non stick spray which is what i did.  If you need to re-use your baking sheet run them under cold water to cool them down.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the eggs, both sugars, vanilla extract, corn syrup, baking soda and salt. Then stir in the melted butter and peanut butter, followed by the oats and flour. Lastly, stir in the chocolate chips and M&M’s. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
3. Drop the dough by ¼ cupfuls onto baking sheets. Use your fingers to flatten the dough slightly. Baking for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are a light golden brown (mine took 15 minutes). Cool on a rack and then store in an airtight container at room temperature enjoy.