cookie recipes

1. CHOC CHIP AND MIXED NUT COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup of cooking choc chips, rolled and crushed into small pieces

Mixed unsalted cooked nuts – halved macadamias, slivered almonds, pine nuts

250 g butter, softened

¾ cup of caster sugar

½ teaspoon of vanilla essence

2 ¼ cups of self raising flour

Milk for glazing

METHOD

Using hands, knead the butter, flour, sugar, choc chips and vanilla essence in a bowl until combined and smooth.

Roll into smooth walnut-sized balls and place on some sprayed baking paper on a tray, leaving plenty of room for the biscuit mixture to expand as it cooks.

Flatten the top of each ball with a fork, criss-crossing it until about half a centimetre thick.

Decorate as desired with slivered almonds, macadamias and pine nuts, pushing those slightly into the surface of the biscuit mix.

Brush the surface of the cookies with milk and then place the try in a pre-heated oven at 180C (Gas mark 4 – 355F) for 15-20 minutes. When the top of the nuts begin to brown the cookies are cooked. Remove tray and set aside to cool. Repeat process until all the biscuit mix is used up.

When tray has cooled, remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool some more and then store in an airtight container.





2. PFEFFERNUSSE (PEPPERNUT COOKIES)

(Image Source 2011 Kitchen Riffs -

 http://www.kitchenriffs.com/2011/11/pfeffernusse-cookies.html)

INGREDIENTS

220 g firmly packed brown sugar
115 g butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Extract
1/2 teaspoon ground Anise (Five Spice powder makes a good substitute)
2 g ground Cinnamon
3 g baking powder
3 g salt
1g Ground Black Pepper
a good pinch of ground Nutmeg
a good pinch of ground Cloves
220 g sifted plain flour
icing sugar

METHOD

Place brown sugar and butter in bowl. Cream until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and extracts. 

Add remaining dry ingredients, except icing sugar, to sifted flour and sift again. 

Gradually add to butter mixture, mixing well. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 180C  (Gas mark 4 – 355F) 

Shape teaspoonfuls of dough into ovals and place 2.5 cm apart on ungreased biscuit trays. Bake 10 minutes. 

Remove from trays and place on wire racks. Sprinkle with icing sugar while biscuits are still warm. When cool, store in airtight containers.