SUGAR COOKIES
By Zenn Eng, owner of Cake Spade
Makes 20
INGREDIENTS
240g cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
180g unsalted butter
120g caster sugar
60g icing sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the frosting:
240g icing sugar
60ml lemon juice or water
30ml corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Food colouring
DIRECTIONS
1 Sift the flour and baking powder, and set aside.
2 Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Blend in the salt, egg and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat until combined.
3 Wrap the dough in cling wrap and chill for 1-2 hours, until firm.
4 Working with half the dough (keep the other half chilled), roll to 3mm thick on a lightly floured surface. Using a 3cm cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and transfer to greased baking trays. Take the remaining dough out of the fridge and repeat the steps.
5 Bake in a preheated 160 deg C oven for 10-12 min until pale golden. Remove the tray and leave to rest for 1min, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool.
6 In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the ingredients for the frosting, except the food colouring. Blend on low speed until the sugar dissolves and the frosting is smooth. Blend in a drop of food colouring at a time until you get your desired intensity.
7 Transfer the frosting into piping bags and pipe it onto the cooled cookies.
CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW COOKIES
By Natalie Tan, pastry chef from Cake Over Heels
Makes 30
INGREDIENTS
450g icing sugar
60g cocoa powder
1/3 tsp salt
130g egg whites
1 tsp vanilla essence
300g chocolate chips
125g mini marshmallows
DIRECTIONS
1 Sift the icing sugar, cocoa powder and salt together. Whisk to blend well.
2 Add the egg whites and vanilla essence, and whisk until combined.
3 Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows.
4 Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto a lined baking tray, about 6cm apart.
5 Bake in a preheated 160 deg C oven for 12-15min until the tops are glossy and slightly cracked.
CHEESECAKE COOKIES
By Natalie Tan
Makes 30
INGREDIENTS
400g digestive biscuits, crushed
140g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
225g unsalted butter
80g brown sugar
2 eggs, separated
170g cream cheese
75g caster sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
DIRECTIONS
1 Mix the biscuits, flour and baking powder together. Set aside.
2 Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg whites and mix well. Incorporate into the biscuit mixture.
3 Beat together the egg yolks, cream cheese, caster sugar, lemon zest and vanilla essence until well combined.
4 Scoop tablespoonfuls of the biscuit-mixture dough onto a lined baking tray. Flatten each lightly, make a well in the centre with your thumb and spoon the cream cheese mixture into it.
5 Bake in a preheated 175 deg C oven for 12min, until the filling has set. Remove the tray and leave to rest for 5min, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool.
CORNFLAKE RAISIN COOKIES
By Natalie Tan
Makes 60
INGREDIENTS
180g plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
170g unsalted butter
120g caster sugar
135g brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
80g crushed cornflakes, plus more to coat
145g raisins
DIRECTIONS
1 Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
2 Cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy.
3 Add the eggs and vanilla essence. Combine well, then incorporate the flour mixture.
4 Fold in the crushed cornflakes and raisins. Scoop out 1 teaspoonfuls of dough and coat with more crushed cornflakes before placing on a lined baking tray.
5 Bake in a preheated 180 deg C oven for 15min until golden-brown.
This article was originally published in Simply Her January 2014.