The End All for Chocolate cookies

Okay I am not good at icing. I just for some reason can't hold a piping bag. My hubby keeps telling me that it takes a lot of practice and I am sure he is right but I am a perfectionist and I want to get it right NOW. So my solution is to use icing bottle. Lots of fun for me and the kids. They loved decorating the cookies that we made. Don't know whether they like the taste of them but they like making them at least. So here is my first 'good' decorating 'attempt' at cookies.

I tried the Royal icing with meringue powder - here in Australia it is Pavlova magic as proper meringue powder is not available here. I tried it. No good. The powder didn't dissolve properly so the icing was 'grainy' and didn't taste right. So we made the icing with eggs whites instead. Much better and certainly tasted better when set properly.

My apples. I am experimenting with these for a surprise

retirement party that the Kinder is throwing for the assistant

teacher. Unfortunately I didn't wait until icing was fully dry

and we have a pattern from back of the cookie on them. Oops.

All ready to ice. I made about 50 cookies of various sizes.

Next time I will roll the dough out thinner.

The kids decorating. They had lots of fun.

My creations. Just experimenting.

A couple of Almond Sugar cookies in there as I had some in

a container from last lot that didn't work.

These were fabulous with the icing fully set. Yummo. Yummo. Yummo.

You can find the cookie recipe here at LilaLoa.

Peanut Butter cookies

Okay I made these cookies a week back. I made them with Natvia and used the same amount that the sugar called for. Big mistake. You should always half the sugar amount if substituting with artificial sugar. So it was a nasty cookie. They were super sweet and left a horrible taste in my mouth for the rest of the day. Next time I substitute the sugar with the Natvia I will do it right.  So i made the proper recipe. I did half the recipe as I am the only one in the house that seems to like Peanut Butter but I am not complaining.

I had a friend over this arvo and between us both (mostly me) we almost polished them off.

Peanut Butter Cookies (this is the half recipe) from allrecipes.com.au

Ingredients:

65g Unsalted butter, room temp

1/4 cup castor sugar (half that if you use Natvia/Splenda)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 egg (I weighed the full egg and then halved it)

3/4 cups self raising flower

whole peanuts

Method:

Beat the butter, peanut butter and sugars together.

Add the egg and mix. Gradually add the flour until it forms a soft dough

Roll in to teaspoon full balls and place on lined tray. Place a peanut in the middle.

Bake at 160-180 degrees for 10-12mins until brown.

This made nearly 30 cookies at the half recipe. So yummy and yes I nearly ate all of them. There are a couple left for hubby to try LOL. I am naughty.

MandM Cookies

Whilst at the supermarket the other day my little girl saw a packet of M&M Cookie mix and wanted to buy it so we could make some at home. Being the person I am, I decided that nearly $6 for a cookie mix was too much so I decided to buy a pack of M&M's minis and made these from scratch. I have a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that the kids love so thought I would just substitute the chips for the M&M's.

Whilst adding the ingredients I realized one thing - I haven't been making the cookies according to the recipe. Don't get me wrong they actually tasted good and we so melt in your mouth - but alas I realised why. I had been putting in a whole can of Sweetened Condensed Milk instead of half. So I fixed that and just added 1/3 cup of sugar instead of the required 2/3 cup. So next time I will make the recipe properly and see how they taste. Anyway - they were still good so I am saved LOL.

These were so yummy. The boys loved them but alas my little miss doesn't. She is not a chocolate fan. She is more in to lollies.

M&M Cookies

Ingredients:

250g butter, room temp if possible

2/3 cup castor sugar

200g (1/2 can) sweetened condensed milk

2 1/2 cups SR flour, sifted

1 packet of mini M&M's

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and condensed milk until light and fluffy. Add the sifted flour and M&M's and mix until well combined.

Use a tablespoon (I make them small so use a heaped teaspoon) and roll mixture into balls and place on baking paper, leaving room for them to spread and flatten slightly. Bake for 10-12mins or until lightly golden and remove from oven. Leave on tray for 5mins to cool (they will fall apart if you don't).

Cookie Dough Balls

I love cake balls and cake pops - frankly there is nothing more delicious but I decided I wanted to take the easy way out and make cookie dough balls or you can also do cake dough balls (didn't want to try that just yet). So I made up a Basic Cookie recipe dough and made these balls -with the help of my little missy. Can you see which ones she did.

They were chilled in the fridge for about an hour (as the candy melts didn't work for me AGAIN).

As I didn't want to use all the dough for the balls I used my new cookie cutter that I got in a Candy shape to make some biscuits - I must say they won't last long when my boys come home.

My little miss waiting for the Candy Melts to be melted. Unfortunately they were just a lumpy mess - I have resigned myself to sticking with compound chocolate or what we call Nestle Melts (here in Australia). Apparently Cadbury now have their version of the Melts. Yet to find in a supermarket.

Here is the finished products. I must say they are divine. Can you think of all the other possibilities - mint, choc chip, caramel, chocolate - wow so many variations. I love them. Ashley (miss) likes the dough by itself LOL typical. She would lick a bowl clean when I make a cake. She loves the mix.

Basic Cookie Dough

1Cup flour

1 Cup of self raising flour

1/2 cup of sugar ( I used castor sugar)

125gms butter (I used unsalted)

1 egg

pinch of salt

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Add all other ingredients and mix together. If too dry add a touch of milk.

Flour a bench or board and knead your dough.

Make in to balls and refridgerate for 30mins.

Melt some chocolate and coat the balls. Leave to dry. I have pop mine in fridge so they are nice and firm.

For cookies just roll dough with rolling pin and cut out shapes. Cook in oven at 180 degrees for 15mins or golden brown.