Tag: cookie

Bec’s Hazelnut Cookie

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Makes: 10

I didn’t manage to get a photo of these cookies. Photos of crumbs sure, just not the whole deal.

Which tells you pretty much everything you need to know.

The fourth and final cookie as part of course #6 of our long lunch, our sister-in-law was the first to put her hand up to bake. (My brother James volunteered course #7, the amazing ham roll course, designed to provide people balance as it got dark… Thanks mate!)

These Italian cookies appear simple at first glance, though read through the method and there is plenty of technique required. Suffice to say, everyone could taste the effort on the big day and they added a real sophistication to our last course.

Beautiful.

The perfect ending to our long lunch.

Thanks Sister. Babysitter for Max and Lachyroo and a Peter Pans dinner is on us!

P.S. I am advised that it is best you grease the baking paper before cooking the cookies!

Ingredients

1 egg white
A pinch of sea salt
1/3 cup + 1/2 tbsp caster sugar
2/3 cup hazelnuts

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180c. Spread the hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking tray and toast until the skins are mostly split and then nuts are golden brown and fragrant: around 15 minutes.
  2. Remove from the oven and rub the hazelnuts until the loose skins come off. Let them cool completely and pulse in a food processor until coarsely chopped.
  3. Lower the oven to 150c. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Lightly grease the baking paper.
  4. Beat the egg white and salt in a bowl with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the sugar and nuts.
  5. Spoon the batter on the baking tray with a tablespoon, about 4cm apart.
  6. Bake until golden brown: around 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

Woodle’s Butter Cookies

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Makes: 40

Course #6 at our Long Lunch/Wedding was called ‘Cookies and Cream’.

Plates of assorted cookies served with a shot of Baileys. A really nice, comfortable way to end a long lunch.

This particular cookie – expertly baked by Nat’s best friend Woodles – was the perfect pair to the cream; think shortbread with even more butter.

And Baileys.

Boom!

Woodles (and Billy) mean a lot to us and we’ve had some pretty crazy times together. Baiting Woodles is one of my favourite pastimes, especially when it comes to food.

What I wont disagree with was how wonderful these cookies were, nor how important it was that we had Woodles and Billy at our long lunch.

Here’s to our next meal guys!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk for brushing
1 tsp vanilla extract (or almond extract)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c and line two baking trays with baking paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whist together the flour and salt.
  3. In another medium bowl using a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy: 4 – 5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Divide. The dough in half.
  4. In a small bowl, beat egg yolk with two teaspoons of water. On a floured surface, roll each dough out evenly to a bit over half a centimetre thick.
  5. Punch out round with a 5cm cookie cutter, placing them about 3cm apart of the prepared baking trays.
  6. Use the tines of a fork to create a “+” pattern on the cookies, then brush tops of cookies with egg wash.
  7. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until edges are beginning to turn golden. Cool completely before serving.
  8. Eat with Baileys.

Court’s Peanut Butter-Stuffed Cookies

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Makes: 12

My sister-in-law Court is a foodie like we are.

She and her husband Greg both are:

They cook great food. We share recipes. We promise to try restaurants.

They have Margarita Saturday’s. So do we.

I love my sister and brother in law on many levels, though let’s start with food. (Because this is a food blog.)

Which means these cookies Court made for our wedding – course #6/#6 – are predictably amazing. The sort of cookies you know not to eat except for special occasions like a wedding.

Firstly, there is something quite sophisticated about them. They look the part.

Secondly, technique is clearly involved in their manufacture. In the same way none of us know how chocolate-covered ice creams are made, how does one get the peanut butter mixture inside the cookie? (I believe it has something to do with freezing the peanut butter mixture prior to baking so that the peanut butter doesn’t melt…)

Thirdly, is the taste. Substantial to hold – sort of like a dessert itself – this cookie is awesome. Think Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups meet cookie!

I ate three and I would have eaten more if I could have found them.

Ingredients

For the filling

1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup icing sugar

For the cookies

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup caster sugar plus more for rolling
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c and line two baking trays with baking paper.
  1. Make the filling: in a medium bowl, combine peanut butter and icing sugar and mix until smooth. Scoop into small balls (about 3.5cm) and freeze until ready to use.
  1. Make the cookies: in a large bowl, combine the peanut butter, butter and sugars and beat with a hand mixer on medium until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined, then add flour, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined.
  1. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of the cookie dough and flatten into a pancake-like circle. Place the frozen peanut butter ball on top. Bring the edges of the dough around the peanut butter ball and pinch the edge together to seal, adding more dough if necessary to cover the frozen peanut butter completely.
  2. Roll stuffed cookie dough ball in sugar and place on baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used, spacing the cookies about 5cm apart.
  3. Bake until the cookies are golden on the bottom; 12 – 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Lobba’s Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Makes: 24 cookies

My sister-in-law Lauren (“Lob”, “Lobba”, “LOK”, “LD”, “La La”) is the most generous, thoughtful sister-in-law you could ever ask for. Here she is with Max, a few days old in one of my favourite photos of all time:

Our youngest monkey – Max – was born at the same time that Lauren’s own monkey – Chloe – was born and the bond between us all could not be stronger. These are the spoilt monkeys 20 months on:

Lauren would be the first person I would call if I needed help and she would be the first person to volunteer that help.

So when it came to course #6 of #6 at our wedding – ‘Cookies and Cream’ – Lauren was the first person we thought of.

In Lobba’s trademark style, she trialed a bunch of cookies prior to the big day:

And in true Lobba style, her greatest triumph was on the final day: the ultimate chocolate chip cookie.

About 3 minutes into the course, there were no more chocolate chips or chocolate chip cookies.

As I said, a triumph.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 1/2 cups sifted, all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet 50/50 white/chocolate chips
Sea salt

Method

  1. Whisk the flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside.
  1. Whisk both sugars in a large bowl and make sure to break up any chunks. Add the melted butter and whisk vigorously for about 1 minute until the mixture forms one mass and starts to pull away from the sides of the bow. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
  2. Whisk in one egg to the sugar-butter mixture, stirring until it’s fully mixed in. Scrape the sides of the bowl with your spatula. Whisk in the second egg and the vanilla and scrape the sides of the bowl again.
  3. Heat the oven to 180c and line and line a baking tray with sprayed baking paper.
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and combine fully with the spatula. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  5. Refrigerate the dough for 10 minutes and the scoop a heaped tablespoon of the mixture for each cookie onto the lined baking tray, ensuring that there is at least 6cm between each scoop. Sprinkle with sea salt.
  6. Bake for 10-15 minutes until cooked and starting to turn golden/brown. Cool on a rack.