Tag: cookies

Pistachio macaroons

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Palest green, deep pink and dusty white. These feel special enough to serve with fancy ice cream as a dessert, but still easy enough to scoff alongside an 11am cup of tea.

  • 200g shelled (unsalted) pistachios
  • 110g caster sugar
  • 70g rolled oats
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 20 glace cherries
  • Icing sugar
  1. Heat the oven to 180C fan (200C) and line a baking tray
  2. Put the pistachios and oats in a food processor and pulse to a fine mealy texture
  3. Put in a bowl with the sugar, baking powder and salt, then add 35ml water and mix until it comes together into a soft dough
  4. Rest the sticky ball in the bowl for 10 mins to firm up and put some icing sugar in a lipped tray or a wide bowl
  5. Divide into 20 pieces and roll into balls. Flatten slightly in your hands and re-form the ball around a cherry. Work the dough so no cherry shows. This is easier if you hands are slightly wet
  6. Pop the balls into the icing sugar as you make them, then roll them through the sugar until completely coated
  7. Place on the lined baking tray and bake for 8-10 mins, until they start to crack and turn golden around the edges
  8. Cool on a wire rack and serve or store

Oat biscuits

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Like a hobnob and a ginger nut had a delicious, crunchy, butterscotchy baby. Makes 16 or so, depending on the size

  • 175g oats
  • 100g unsalted butter, softened
  • 100g soft light brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp golden syrup
  • 1 heaped tsp ground ginger
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan and line a baking tray
  2. Use a food processor to grind the oats to a coarse flour
  3. Put the butter, sugar and syrup into a bowl and beat until well combined
  4. In another bowl, mix together the ground oats, baking powder, ginger and salt
  5. Stir the oat flour mixture into the butter mixture until completely combined
  6. Pinch off pieces to form balls around the diameter of a 50p
  7. Place on the lined baking try, well spaced out, and lightly press down on the top to flatten
  8. Bake for about 15 mins until golden brown then remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool

Chocolate buckwheat cookies

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Sweet and deeply chocolatey with a hint of nutty savoury-ness. Gluten free, but without a hint of the usual GF crumble or grit.

  • 125 g dark chocolate
  • 125 g buckwheat flour
  • 25 g cocoa, sieved
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 60 g soft unsalted butter
  • 125 g soft dark brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs, cold from the fridge
  1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan (180C) and line a couple of baking sheets
  2. Melt the chocolate and then set aside to cool a bit
  3. In a small bowl, mix together the buckwheat flour, sieved cocoa powder, bicarb and salt, and mix to make sure everything’s well combined.
  4. In a bigger bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until fluffy, using a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl
  5. Beat in the chocolate, then the cold eggs one by one
  6. Once well combined, stir in the dry ingredients
  7. Dollop rounded tablespoons of the dough onto a lined baking sheet, spacing them out well to allow for spreading
  8. Bake for 10 mins until the cookies are just set at the edges, then remove the baking tray from the oven and let the cookies sit on the warm tray for another 10 mins before transferring them to a wire rack to cool
  9. If you only have 1 baking tray, wait for it to cool before removing the cookies and re-using to bake a 2nd batch

Apple and spice cookies

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Like gingerbread and apple crumble had a baby. Exactly that delicious – but in cookie form.

  • 150g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 120g soft light brown sugar
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1½ tsp ginger
  • ½ tsp allspice
  • Grate of nutmeg
  • Pinch of ground cloves
  • 1 egg, fridge cold
  • 1 egg yolk, fridge cold
  • 250g plain flour
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 100g ground almonds
  • 200g dried apple, snipped into pieces
  1. Preheat oven to 170C fan/190F and line baking trays with paper
  2. Pour the melted butter and both sugars into a large bowl and beat together
  3. Beat in the whole egg, then the egg yolk and vanilla until the mixture is light and creamy
  4. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, bicarb, salt, ground almonds, spices and apple pieces until combined
  5. Then tip the dry ingredients into the egg/butter/sugar and stir in with a spoon until just combined
  6. Scoop up the mixture and, with damp hands, gently form into roughly walnut-sized balls 
  7. Place on the baking tray (spaced out to allow for spreading) and bake for 15-17 mins until golden
  8. Cool on a wire rack 

Bakewell cookies

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Cherry and almond, springtime flavours. Squidgy inside with a crisp, cracked shell outside. Makes 20

  • 150g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 150g soft light brown sugar
  • 100g golden caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ½ tsp almond extract
  • 250g plain flour
  • ¼ tsp bicarb
  • Pinch of salt
  • 100g ground almonds
  • 100g glacé cherries, chopped – plus some just cut in half
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 170C fan (190C)
  2. Whisk together the melted butter with both sugars until fluffy
  3. Add the whole egg and beat in, then the egg yolk and the almond extract
  4. Whisk the mixture until thick and creamy
  5. Fold in the flour, bicarb, pinch of salt, ground almonds and glacee cherries into a stiff cookie dough
  6. Pinch pieces off, rolling gently into walnut-sized balls and flattening slightly
  7. Place spaced out onto a lined baking tray and pop a half-cherry on the top of each cookie
  8. Bake for 15-17 mins until golden and puffed up
  9. Cool on a rack

Very berry cookies

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Sweet and fruity, crunchy on the outside and beautifully soft on the inside.

  • 150g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 120g soft light brown sugar
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs, cold from the fridge
  • 300g plain flour
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 24-30g freeze-dried berries, roughly scrunched into pieces. I LOVE these brilliant mixed berries from The Rotten Fruit Box but you could choose any other freeze-dried fruit. It’s all great! (Although I’m not 100% sold on the olives)
  1. Pre-heat oven to 150C fan (170C)
  2. Tip melted butter and both sugars into a bowl. Whisk vigorously until creamy
  3. Beat in the vanilla extract and then the eggs, one at a time
  4. The whole mixture should be light and voluminous
  5. Tip in the flour, bicarb, salt and mixed berries. Stir in gently (but don’t over-mix) until combined into a soft dough
  6. Pick up large pinches of dough and roll between your fingers until they are walnut-sized balls, again being careful not to overwork it
  7. Pop them onto a lined baking tray a couple of inches apart to allow for spreading
  8. Bake for 16 mins or so until golden round the edges. Leave to cool on the tray for a minute before lifting onto a wire rack to cool fully (or just enough to pop one straight in your mouth and another for each hand)

Gingerbread cookies

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The beautiful lovechild of a soft, chewy cookie and a spiced gingerbread biscuit. For ultimate sweet-spicy dessert, use 2 cookies to sandwich a scoop of salted caramel ice cream.

120g unsalted butter, softened
1½ tbsp black treacle
150g soft light brown sugar
¼ tsp fine sea salt
1 egg
250g plain flour
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
50g golden granulated sugar

  1. Beat together the butter, treacle, brown sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl
  2. Add the egg, then mix in all of the remaining ingredients apart from the granulated sugar, forming a soft dough
  3. Put the ball of dough into a bowl, or wrap in clingfilm, and chill in the fridge 20-30 mins
  4. Pre-heat the oven to 180C fan (200C)
  5. Line two baking trays with baking parchment
  6. Roll the mixture in your hands into around 20 walnut-sized balls
  7. Tip the granulated sugar onto a small plate, then firmly dab one side of each ball into the sugar. Place the balls, sugar-side up, spaced out on the baking tray
  8. Bake for 13-15 mins until golden brown
  9. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack

Tahini and lemon cookies

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This is a slightly tweaked recipe from my date-night favourite restaurant Honey & Co. Seriously, the chefs are complete magicians, the food is always mind-blowingly delicous and their cheesecake is EXTRAORDINARY.

These cookies are fragrantly lemony, delectably chewy and the warm, slightly bitter sesame comes in at the end.

  • 200g sugar
  • 140g unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 110g tahini (I love this one)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp bicarb
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 250g flour
  • 2 tbsp marmalade
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Skin of 4 preserved lemons, chopped
  • Sesame seeds
  1. Cream the butter with the sugar and the egg
  2. Then beat in the tahini, followed by all the rest of the ingredients
  3. Mix well to form a smooth dough. Pop it in the fridge for 20 mins to set
  4. Heat the oven to 180C fan (200C)
  5. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll into walnut-sized balls gently between the palms of your hands
  6. Tip about 3 tbsp sesame seeds onto a plate and dap each cookie blob into the sesame before placing on a lined baking tray, sesame-side up
  7. Space the cookies out so they have room to spread, maybe use 2 baking trays or do 2 batches
  8. Bake for 8 mins, rotate the tray and bake for a further 5 mins until the cookies are golden
  9. Remove from the oven and cool on the tray before eating.

Lemon sour cream cookies

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

I don’t know about you, but I never finish off a tub of sour cream. This is the perfect buttery, lemony way to use up the leftovers.

  • 250g plain flour
  • ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • Pinch salt
  • 60g unsalted butter, cold from the fridge
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 170g caster sugar
  • 120g sour cream
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  1. Mix flour, bicarb and salt in large bowl
  2. Grate in the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy (takes about 5 mins)
  4. Beat in the sour cream, lemon juice and zest
  5. Then stir in the flour mixture until just combined
  6. Bring together to a soft dough, then wrap the ball in clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 mins
  7. Pre-heat oven to 180C fan (200C)
  8. Pinch and gently roll walnut-sized pieces, spacing them out on a lined lined baking tray
  9. Bake for 12-15 mins until lightly browned round the edges
  10. Cool on a rack and try not to eat all of them at once, but save some for your mum

Chocolate coconut cookies

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A gift of a recipe from baking whizz Amy, these cookies are squidgy, chocolate-y and just sweet enough without being sickly. This is a great recipe for making with children, as long as you’re prepared for the constant demands to lick the bowl/spoon/beaters/chopping board. These cookies are my go-to for bringing as a gift when we visit people.

  • 115g softened butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200g brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 270g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 100g unsweetened desiccated coconut
  • 180g dark chocolate, cut into small chunks
  1. Pre-heat oven to 170C fan (190C)
  2. In a big bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until lighter and fluffy
  3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time
  4. Stir through the flour, baking powder, coconut and chocolate to make a sticky, soft dough
  5. Roll into golfball-sized balls, flatten slightly with your fingertips and place on, spaced out, on a lined baking tray
  6. Bake for 15 mins until lightly browned and smelling amazing