Queens Diamond Jubilee Hat Cookies

When I was living in Canada I was always a little envious of our patriotic American neighbours.    To many outsiders their patriotic enthusiasm seemed overly excessive and brash, but as a Canadian kid I looked on in amazement.  They took any opportunity they could get to plaster their flag on anything and everything, and I often wondered why Canadians didn't do the same. 

The patriotic differences really became apparent when July rolled around.  Canada celebrates their birthday with a national holiday on July 1st, while the US celebrates theirs on July 4th.  The Americans always seemed to have loads of festive activities going on like parades, barbecues, block parties and amazing firework shows, while Canadians seemed relatively unfazed by their national day.  Don't get me wrong - Canadians definitely do celebrate Canada Day with a few fireworks and the odd picnic, and as Vancouver showed during the Olympics, Canadians are extremely proud of their country, but we don't always shout about it from the rooftops like our southern neighbours do.  

Some of the patriotic things that always caught my eye were all the fun American themed desserts and products that seemed to pop up during the weeks approaching July 4th.  A large part of it I'm sure, was a result of savvy marketing, but the other part was down to sheer patriotism.  

I remember flipping through magazines (most of the magazines were American) and watching programmes like Live! and Martha Stewart and thinking how pretty the desserts and crafts that they were featuring looked in red, white and blue.  For some reason red and white (Canada's colours) never seemed as much fun.  

With the upcoming Queen's Diamond Jubilee (marking the 60 year reign of Queen Elizabeth) in a few weeks, it appears that the whole of the UK has gone jubilee crazy.  And I couldn't be more excited about it!  It's such a nice feeling to see Union Jacks everywhere - on grocery packaging, home decor, magazines and loads and loads of CAKES! 

It's so nice to see the whole country getting excited about their heritage and celebrating it with a little red, white and blue.  And I especially love it because it's the perfect excuse for me to do some fun and festive baking - just like I always wished I could have done when I was younger!

I've come up with a few Jubilee themed desserts - one of them was this Jubilee Dome Cake with red and blue flowers and a golden crown that I posted last week.  

I've also made these little Jubilee hat cookies inspired by the Queen herself!  It's no secret that the Queen is a fan of her hats - they even took bets here in England on what colour hat she would wear to Will and Kate's wedding last year!  

I got the original idea for these cookies from the fabulous book Cookie Swap, and then borrowed a few tips from Bakerella who also made them a couple years ago for Easter.  

I loved making these cookies - they were so fun and easy to make, and I really think they're just perfect to help celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.  Seriously - how cute would they  look alongside a nice cup of tea, or arranged together on a stand at your local street party.

Queen's Diamond Jubilee Hat Cookies

To make these cookies you'll need a few things:

Sugar cookie dough - I use Peggy Porcshen's recipe that can be found in this post here.

A small amount of Royal Icing - Peggy Porcshen's recipe that can be found in this post here.

Double sided pastry cutters - I used these.  

Mini flower plunger cutters - I used these. 

White fondant - I used white Renshaw brand

Sugar paste / flower paste - I used Squires Kitchen Sugar Floral Paste

White nonpareils 

Instructions:

1.  Make your sugar cookie dough according to the recipe and instructions here.  Once your dough is chilled, roll it out to the appropriate thickness (about 4 or 5mm).  Using the scalloped edge of the 68mm (2 5/8") round pastry cutter, cut out as many circles as you think you'd like hats.  These will be the base of your hats.  I think you could make at least 20 hats with the cookie dough recipe - probably more.  Next, use the 38mm (1 1/2") plain edged round cutter to cut out twice the number of circles as you did with the scalloped cutter.  These will make up the top of your hats, and each hat top requires two smaller circles. Bake according to the instructions in my original recipe post, and then cool.

2.  While your cookies are baking you can start to make the little sugar paste flowers that will decorate the brim of the hats.  Take a small amount of the Sugar Floral Paste and tint it whatever colour you'd like - I used Wilton gel paste colours.  Roll the sugar paste out, and use the flower cutters to cut out various sizes of flowers. It's easy - honest!  I used some royal icing to attach the white nonpareils to the inside of the flower, but if you don't have any nonpareils, then a dab of royal icing will do just fine. Set the flowers aside to dry.

3.  Once your cookies are nice and cool you'll need to start building your hats.  First you'll need to roll our your fondant, and use the same sized scalloped edge pastry cutter you used for the base of the cookies to cut out the fondant circles that will sit on top.  Use the end of a paintbrush or chopstick to make small indents around the scalloped edge.  Put a little royal icing on the scalloped cookies and then place the matching fondant pieces on top making sure to line up the scalloped edges.

To make the second part of the hat you'll need to glue two of the smaller circles together by adding a dab or two of royal icing on the top of one of the small circles.  Next, use another dollop of royal icing to fix the bottom of the smaller stacked circle to the scalloped fondant covered cookie base.  Using the small cookie cutter, cut out enough fondant circles to cover the tops of the smaller circle stacks.  

Next you'll need to cut some fondant strips to wrap around the stack of small cookies - use a small ruler to make sure the fondant strip is the same width as the cookie stacks, and long enough to wrap around them.  Fix the strips around the cookies using royal icing.  Use your fingers to smooth out the fondant strips and blend them into the fondant tops.

Lastly, it's time to add your sugar paste flowers - simply glue them on in whatever arrangement you like, and there you have it - little Queen's Diamond Jubilee Hats!

I'm sure it's pretty safe to say that these hat cookies will likely end up inside your tummy - but I'd really like to know what's happened to all of the Queen's own hats?  Seriously - Buckingham Palace must have one gigantic room filled with 60 years worth of the Queen's hats!

Because my hat cookies have flowers on them, I'm also sending them over to The Tea Time Treats monthly challenge hosted this month by Karen of the blog Lavender and Loveage, and other months by Kate of What Kate Baked.  This month's theme is floral, so I think they're a perfect fit!

Hanging Mug Sugar Cookies

A few months ago I was walking through Clapham Junction - an area just south of London that I don't really frequent that often. It's a pretty area lined with cutesy shops and funky eateries. It's also where I found the cutest little cookie cutters.  You see, I was walking along when all of a sudden I noticed a pink store.  Yes, a PINK store!  How could I not take notice of a pink store?!?  It wasn't just any pink store either.  It was one of Jaime Oliver's Recipease stores.  Recipease isn't just any old store - it's a cooking school, a kitchen store, a cafe and a prepared food store all in one.  How did I not know about these before??? Note to self - I must go back and take a cookery lesson there.  The pasta making ones sound like great fun! 

image source 

I had a little wander around the store which sold loads of cool things like freshly baked bread,  food storage containers with pastel flip lids, kitchen gadgets and the cutest little cookie cutters. Cookies cutters which I just had to have!  

These weren't just any cookie cutters - they were hanging cookie cutters!  Don't laugh.  I'm easily excitable when I find cool new kitchen "thingys".

The cookie cutters are sold in a set of 6, although 2 of the cutters are a pair.  There's a heart, a star, a circle, a little bird and a pair of angel wings.   And they're all designed to hang on the side of your coffee mug or tea cup.  

I've never been one to fall into the English habit drinking a cup of tea, alongside a biscuit (cookie) but lately I've found myself wanting to enjoy just a tiny treat with my afternoon coffee.  These little cookies are the perfect solution.  Simply make yourself a cup of coffee or tea and hang one (or two!) of these fun little cookies on the side of your mug, pop yourself in your favourite chair, put your feet up, relax and enjoy!

You definitely don't have to go crazy and decorate them like I did, but I saw a fun opportunity and I took it!  I used royal icing to flood all of my cookies, and then I did something a bit different to each of them.  I shook some opalescent edible glitter on one pair of angel wings while the royal icing was still wet, and I used a silvery pearl lustre dust on the second pair once the icing was dry.  I kept the birds fairly basic and just added some yellow beaks and drew on black eyes with a food marker.  I used gold lustre dust on the star and I pink lustre dust on the hearts and circles, and tried out a new royal icing painting technique that I'd been wanting to try for ages now.  

The painting technique is so simple and just involves piping a curved line of royal icing on your cookie, and then taking a dry paint brush and dragging the royal icing inwards.  Although I thought my first try turned out ok, I wasn't entirely happy with my painted cookies as I think my icing consistency was a bit off.  Coincidentally the weekend after I made these cookies I saw this same painting technique being demonstrated at the Cake International Show, so I picked up some tips there.  I will definitely be making some more of these pretty painted cookies that I'll share with you soon.  I think my pink one matches the flowers on my mug!

I used Peggy Porschen's sugar cookie recipe which is a favourite of mine.  Her dough holds it's shape and doesn't spread while cooking, plus it tastes great too.  You can get the recipe for the sugar cookie dough along with Peggy's royal icing recipe and all my cookie decorating tips and tricks  here. 

Ultimate Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have a confession to make.  I'm a hoarder.  No, not one of those crazy hoarders that you see on the show actual TV show Hoarders (no offence to anyone reading this who is!).  I'm a hoarder of baking stuff.  Mainly things like chocolate chips, M&M's, Jello, Oreos, marshmallows, etc. Things that I see on my travels that I can't get in the UK, so when I see them I kind of go into this panic buying mode as if I will never ever see them again.  So then I buy them.  And then they sit there.  On my baking shelf waiting to be used.  Sometimes for months and months.  

During a recent trip to the US a few weeks ago I found some super cute little mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - prefect for baking.  I had to have them!  Chocolate, peanut butter AND mini!  What's not to love?  

When I got back home from my trip, I started unpacking my new purchases. I lined them up alongside the stuff I already had and started thinking about potential recipes.  I noticed a theme - mini Reese's peanut butter cups, mini Reese's pieces, peanut butter and chocolate chips, and a GIANT jar of peanut butter.  Cue light bulb moment!  I had been wanting to make some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for ages, but had never got around to it - until now.

I call these the Ultimate Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookie.  They're amazing.  I love them.  And I think you'll love them too!  

UK residents!!! I realise that this recipe's main ingredients are sourced from the US, but you can also get them here now in the UK at your local supermarket.  They won't be the mini versions of the peanut butter cups and pieces, but YOU CAN BUY the regular and small sized versions of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and the regular sized Reese's Pieces at Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda.  It's fine to use regular sized peanut butter cups, just cut them into smaller chunks (approx 9 pieces).  If you'd prefer to use the mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups that I used you can buy them here and you can also buy Reese's peanut butter chips similar to the ones I used here.

Made With Pink's Ultimate Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 20 large cookies


Ingredients:  

2 1/2 Cups (310g) Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

3/4 Cup (210g) Smooth Peanut Butter (not natural)
1/2 Cup (115g) Butter, softened
1 1/4 Cups (250g) Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup (55g) Castor Sugar
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp Milk
2 Tbsp Corn Syrup or Golden Syrup
2 tsp Vanilla
1 Cup Peanut Butter and/or Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
1/2 Cup Mini Reese's Pieces


Instructions:  


1.  Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).  In a small bow combine the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. 


2.  In a large bowl combine the peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and white sugar together.  Cream together with an electric mixer until smooth.  Beat in the eggs one by one.  Add in the milk, syrup and vanilla.  Stir the flour mixture from step 1 into the peanut butter mixture.  Fold in the peanut butter and chocolate chips, Reese's Pieces and peanut butter cups.  Drop the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet by 1/4 cup fulls and flatten slightly.  

3.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are just slightly golden.  Leave the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes to firm up before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Sainsbury's Cookie Review

Way back in August when I was still 9 months pregnant, the fabulous folks over at Sainsbury's contacted me to see if I'd like to try out some of the new cookies they were launching.  They thought it might be nice for me to have some cookies on hand to offer my guests who were going to come and visit my new baby.  How nice of them to realise that I wouldn't have the time to bake anything.  Heck, it's now 6 months later and I still barely have time to bake!

I was thrilled (and slightly relieved) when I received a big box containing 6 different types of cookies.  Seriously, isn't that every pregnant women's dream???  There were Butterscotch Shortbread Thins, Mini Milk Chocolate Butter Biscuits, Giant Raspberry and White Chocolate Cookies, Lemon Curd Shortbread Sandwiches, Raspberry Whoopie Pie Biscuits, and the ever popular Pink Wafer.

So what did I think?  

Giant Raspberry and White Chocolate Cookies & Butterscotch Shortbread Thins

Well, let's start with the Butterscotch Shortbread Thins (£1.59).  As the name suggests, these were a thinner shortbread cookie/biscuit that had crunchy melted butterscotch bits scattered throughout.  I'm usually not a fan of shortbread cookies, but these were different as the whole cookie offered up a nice crunch.  These wouldn't be my first choice when it comes to a cookie, as I usually like something a bit richer and more decadent, but if I was looking for a nice cookie to savour with a cup of tea, these would be it.

The Mini Milk Chocolate Butter Biscuits (£1.00) were more my thing.  Mainly because they had chocolate on them.  Have I mentioned before that I like chocolate? :-P  These cookies were perfect for sharing.  Although they came in a fairly small bag, there were a lot of little cookies crammed in there.  These are the type of cookie you'd keep in your office desk and much on when you get a craving or need a little pick me up.  Or, if you're feeling generous you could share them as well.  There's plenty to go around. 

The Giant Raspberry and White Chocolate Cookies (£1.99) had a really nice flavour to them.  What I liked the best was the suggestion on the package to pop them in the microwave for a few seconds just before you eat them.  The result is a warm and soft cookie with a pleasant raspberry and white chocolate flavour.  Although I did really like the raspberry and white chocolate combination, I think I would have preferred the triple chocolate version (Giant Extremely Chocolatey Cookies) even more.  You know, cuz I like chocolate!

Pink Wafers & Lemon Curd Shortbread Sandwhiches

Then there were the Lemon Curd Shortbread Sandwhiches (£1.99).  I couldn't wait to try these, but unfortunately I was a bit disappointed with them.  They looked delicious, but my husband and I both agreed that there just wasn't enough lemon curd in the middle to pack a nice lemony flavour.  I think they would be better if there was a little less shortbread and a little more lemon filling.  I did like the sugary tops though. 

The second cookie to have raspberry in it were the Raspberry Whoopie Pie Biscuits (£1.49). This name threw me off a bit, as I thought that the biscuit would have been soft like a whoopie pie, not crunchy and crumbly like it was.  The whoopie pie biscuits were raspberry flavoured swirl cookies with a vanilla filling sandwiched in between.  Surprisingly my berry hating husband really liked these.  While I thought they were good, I don't think they deserve to be called whoopie pies  when they're really just a fancy sandwich cookie.

Finally were the classic Pink Wafers (£0.55).  These were peachy coloured layered wafers with a vanilla cream in between each layer.  You can't really go wrong with wafer cookies.  Although these were also good, but I would have liked them to have a pinker colour and maybe filled with a strawberry cream rather than vanilla.

Thanks again to Sainsbury's for these delicious cookies.  My guests loved them, as did my husband and I.  Most of the cookies above are available in a variety of different flavours, so check in store or online to see if they have your favourite flavour combination.

Happy munching!

Chocolate Chip Cookies YOU Don't Have To Bake

It's Christmas party season at the moment, and if you're looking for the perfect hostess gift baked goods always seem to go down well.  They're thoughtful and homemade, but sometimes - especially around Christmas time, we literally just don't have the time (or energy) to sit around baking.  If this sounds like a dilemma you have, then these cookies my friends are for you!  They look amazing, taste delicious, and only take about 5 mins to make - not bake!  That's because you don't do the baking, they do!  Just include a little card with the baking instructions so the recipient knows what to do.  

I had actually made these cookies in a jar way back in the summer as a hostess thank you gift, which is why they don't exactly look very Christmassy.  I'd used a spring mix colour blend of M&M's and some fun white and dark chocolate swirl chocolate chips I picked up in the States - why don't we get these cool things in the UK?!?!?

I love these cookies because not only are they easy to make, but they just look so pretty in the jar, especially with seasonal coloured M&M's, and a nice bow tied around them.  For some strange reason here in the UK M&M's do a Christmas blend of red and green M&M's, but they're only available in peanut flavour, and in a little 125 gram tube.  BUT - the good news is, if you're looking for fun and seasonal colours of M&M's, they are available at the M&M store in Leicester Square (I bought a variety of blue M&M's for my baby shower there).

To make these Cookies in a Jar, you'll need a jar (duh!), chocolate chips, M&M's (or other candy coated chocolate candy - you could also use raisins or nuts, but those aren't nearly as fun) and then the usual ingredients flour, sugar, oats, etc, and then layer them neatly in the jar.  Include a little instruction card letting your friends know they'll need to add in a bit of butter, an egg, and some vanilla to the mixture before baking.

Cookies in a Jar

Adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients:

1 1/3 Cups (166g) Flour 

1 1/3 Cups (120g) Rolled Oats  

3/4 Cup M&M's, Chopped Nuts, or Raisins 

3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips 

1/2 Cup (100g) Brown Sugar, packed

1/2 Cup (112g) White Sugar

1 tsp Baking Powder 

1 tsp Baking Soda 

1/4 tsp Salt

Instructions:

1.  Layer the ingredients in a 1 quart jar (I think I got my jars from Ikea) in the order given above. Make sure to press each layer firmly in place before adding the next layer, otherwise it may not all fit. 

2.  Include a card with the following instructions: Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix in a Jar: 

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Grease cookie sheets.  2. In a medium bowl, mix together 1/2 cup (115g) melted butter, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Stir in the entire contents of the jar. You may need to use your hands to finish mixing. Shape into walnut sized balls. Place two inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. 3. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes in the preheated oven. Transfer from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

And there you have it!  A delicious home prepared Christmas (or anytime) gift that tastes amazing, and takes virtually none of your time!

Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundaes and a Giveaway!

Yesterday was my 3rd wedding anniversary, and to celebrate I made an extra special dessert that my husband and I fell in love with while on honeymoon at Disneyland.  During our time there we took a break to explore the other areas in Disneyland and went off in search of some food.  We ended up at an ESPN Zone sports cafe (we'd never been in one, as they don't have them in Canada).  I can't remember what we got for lunch, but I sure do remember what we had for dessert.  In fact, I haven't stopped thinking about that dessert for the past 3 years, so finally decided the buy the necessary equipment to make my own mini versions of it.

The dessert I'm talking about is simply called the Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae.  It's actually a warm and gooey chocolate chip cookie that's been freshly baked in a cast iron skillet.  Just after it's taken out of the oven, and while it's still piping hot, a few scoops of ice cream are added on top along with whipped cream and chocolate sauce to create the ultimate sundae.  

 ESPN's version

The combination of a warm chocolate chip cookie along with the slightly melted ice cream and chocolate sauce makes this sundae one of the most delicious and decadent things I've ever had.  So when I came across these mini cast iron pans at TK Maxx, I just had to get them as I knew they'd be the perfect size to replicate a single serving of ESPN's Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae.  Plus they're just so darn cute!  I'm also slightly obsessed with anything mini, so I just couldn't resist.

To make these yummy little sundaes you can either use mini cast iron skillets like I did, or use a slightly larger one (like the size you'd use for a fried egg) and share it with someone else - or if you're feeling particularly sinful - just eat it all yourself!  I promise I won't tell!

Making these chocolate chip cookie sundaes couldn't be easier.  All you'll need is some chocolate chip cookie dough - I used the same Jacques Torres cookie dough I used for the cookies I made here.  Take enough cookie dough for a single cookie (or double if you're using a larger skillet), place it in the center of your cast iron skillet and cook it at 350ºF (175ºC) for about 8-10 mins (or 13-15 mins if using a larger skillet).  

When the cookie is done baking the edges should be golden brown, but the center should still be nice and gooey.  Let the cookie cool slightly - only a minute or two so your ice cream doesn't totally melt into a liquid pool.  After the minute or so, simply drop a scoop of ice cream on top of the warm cookie, and top with chocolate sauce and/or whipped cream, caramel sauce, sprinkles, nuts etc.  It's up to you, just use whatever you like. 

That's really all there is to it!  Make sure you place the pan on a heat prof surface like a pot holder, wooden cutting board or plate so you don't burn yourself, and eat immediately.  I found that baking the cookies in the cast iron skillets resulted in them having a delicious chewy caramelized edges. SO GOOD!!! Sooo good!!

Now, I understand that eating something like a warm and gooey freshly baked cookie fully loaded with chocolate, and covered with melting ice cream & chocolate sauce may get a little messy, so I've got the perfect solution for you.

The lovely ladies from Cooking Gorgeous have kindly offered to giveaway one of their beautiful aprons to one of my lucky readers.  

The entire range of aprons from Cooking Gorgeous are made in the UK, and they're also expertly designed. 

Their apron waist ties are longer than average (to tie in front or behind), the women's aprons are adjustable (to suit any décollotage) and the men's pockets are tapered (a must for manly hands).  They select high quality natural fabrics with a softness that belies their strength and retains the characteristics of natural fibers.  They don’t compromise on quality or design – everything needs to be up to the job and, naturally, cooking gorgeous. 

The apron up for grabs is from The Bottom Line range, and is valued at £31.99.  It comes in two different accent colours - pink or teal.  I think you all know which one I'd choose!  And don't you just love the cute little bow?  They really are gorgeous!  

If for some reason you'd prefer to have a different apron style other than The Bottom Line, you may choose whichever one you want provided that it is of equal or lesser value.  If you prefer an apron of a higher value you may pay the difference and choose whichever one you'd like.

To enter leave a comment below telling me what Cooking Gorgeous apron you would choose.  Additional entries can be earned by doing the following:

• Become a follower of Made With Pink using Google Friend Connect
• Become a fan of Made With Pink on Facebook 
• Follow Made With Pink on Twitter and tweet the following message: I've just entered to win a #CookingGorgeous apron from @Made_With_Pink and you can too. Enter here: http://tiny.cc/5vfgf

Links to all of the above are in the right hand column.  Maximum of 4 entries per person.  The winning comment will be chosen at random.

Open to Mainland UK residents only.  Contest closes at 11:59pm Friday July 22nd.  Winner will be announced shortly after.  

*** Please note that you MUST leave a comment below in order to be entered into the prize draw, otherwise I have no way of keeping track of who tweeted, followed etc.  If you make a comment anonymously then please leave an email address so I can contact you if you win. You should leave a separate comment for each of the 3 things listed above if you want to be entered more than once.  I will be using random.org to choose a number from all of the comments listed below in order to determine the winner. *** 

Good Luck!

Chocolate Chip Cookies by Jacques Torres

The instant I saw a picture of these cookies online I knew they were going to be something special.  And they are!  These cookies by Jaques Torres are special enough to be crowned the New York Times BEST Chocolate Chip cookie, and I can see why.  They aren't just studded with dinky little chocolate chips like most chocolate chip cookies, these ones are fully loaded with chocolate.  Seriously!  These cookies use chopped chocolate rather than chips, which really boots the chocolate flavour.  Just as I was about to dump all of the chopped chocolate into the dough my husband gasped and said "You're not going to put ALL of that in there are you?  It won't all fit!"  To be honest I had my doubts as well, and even double checked to make sure I didn't mis-read the recipe.  Nope!  These cookies had 1 1/4 pounds (nearly 600 grams of chocolate) of chocolate folded into the dough!  

So lets face it - realistically these can't really be considered a chocolate chip cookie.  They're more like a chocolate bar with a bit of chewy dough wrapped around it!  Mmmm delicious!  These cookies are a whole lot of amazing wrapped up in a little package.

The key to what makes these cookies so unique and delicious is that the dough is aged for at least 2-3 days.  Yes, that's right - these cookies are like a fine wine, they get better with age.  The only unfortunate thing is knowing that you've got to live with the fact that there's a big batch of cookie dough in the fridge that you can't bake and eat for a few days.  Talk about torture!  The other key to these cookies is that they use 2 different types of flour - bread flour and cake flour.  For some strange reason cake flour isn't available in the UK, but the standard substitute of a little cornstarch (aka cornflour) mixed in with plain all purpose flour works just as well.

There actually is a scientific reason why these cookies get better with age, and you can read about it here if you're interested.  

The recipe below was originally published in the New York Times back way back in 2008.  I made my cookies a bit smaller than the recommended size, so adjusted the cooking time accordingly (see my notes below in grey).

Jacques Torres' Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 Cups minus 2 Tbsp Cake Flour 

or 

1/4 Cup (35g) Cornstarch/Cornflour plus 1 3/4 Cup (225g) Plain All Purpose Flour*  Sift the cornstarch and flour together so they're mixed well and then remove 2 Tbsp of the flour mixture to reach the original required amount.

1 2/3 Cups (210g) Bread Flour 

1 1/4 tsp Baking Soda 

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder 

1 1/2 tsp salt 

1 1/4 Cups (284g) Unsalted Butter 

1 1/4 Cups (250g) Light Brown Sugar 

1 Cup + 2 Tbsp (195g + 2Tbsp) Castor Sugar 

2 Large Eggs 

2 tsp Vanilla Extract 

1 1/4 Pounds (570g) Dark Chocolate Disks - at least 60% cacao content.  I used a combination of chopped 70% dark chocolate squares from about a few good quality chocolate bars, and some giant Cadbury Chocolate Buttons. Each square was roughly 1"x1.5". 

Fleur de Sel or Kosher Salt to sprinkle on top

Instructions:

1.  Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2.  Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. (Best at 36 hours!). Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours. (I ended up refrigerating mine for 72 hours as I just didn't have time to bake them!)

3.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4.  Scoop 6  3 1/2oz (100g) mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.  *Since UK cookie sheets are smaller than North American cookie sheets I made my cookies smaller, and even then I could only fit 3 per sheet.  I opted to make my cookies using dough balls that weighed 75g each and reduced the baking time to approx 12 minutes - just until the cookies began to brown around the edges. My cookies were still pretty big.  I can't imagine how big they would have been if I made them 100g as originally called for.  Eat warm, with a BIG napkin.

These cookies really are the best chocolate chip cookie I've tasted (I mean regular chocolate chip cookies, and not double chocolate chip cookies because my favourite chocolate dough based cookies are my Quadruple Chocolate Chip Cookies that I blogged about in May).

Peggy's Favourite Cakes and Cookies Review.... And Some News!

If you're a fan of cake and cookie decorating, then you'll no doubt have heard of Peggy Porshen before now.  Peggy is an absoloute master at cake and cookie decorating.  Her designs are simple, yet elegant, which makes them the perfect learning tools for people wanting to learn about cake and cookie decorating.  

Photo courtesy of Peggy Porschen

Peggy has released numerous cake and cookie decorating books, and her latest book titled Peggy's Favourite Cakes and Cookies is essentially that - a compilation of her favourite cakes and cookies from her previous books.  This means that there really isn't any new material in this book, which is perfect if you don't own any of Peggy's other books, or have been trying to decide on which one of them to get.  

Peggy's Favourite Cakes and Cookies is broken down into four main chapters - Cookies, Cup Cakes, Miniature Cakes and Large Cakes.  There is also a chapter at the back called Basics where you will find all of the recipes and key decorating techniques.

Photo courtesy of Peggy Porschen

A few of the projects featured in the book are the: Rosebud Sugar Cookies and Wedding Cake Cookies, Ruffle Rose Cupcakes and Butterfly Fancies, Pansy Pots and Mini Tea Rose Wedding Cakes and the larger Romantic Rose Tower and Peggy's signature Neapolitan Monogrammed Cake.

Photo courtesy of Peggy Porschen

There are so many gorgeous cookies and cakes in this book it was hard to choose what to make.  For my first project, I could't decide between one of Peggy's mini cake designs (my favourite chapter in the book) or her gorgeous decorated sugar cookies.  In the end I choose to make the sugar cookies.  

Photo courtesy of Peggy Porschen

I've made decorated sugar cookies a few times before, but never using Peggy's recipe and never putting as much effort into them as I did with these.  I can definitely say that her sugar cookie recipe is the best I've ever used.  They kept their shape perfectly and tasted great as well.  I had also planned on making Peggy's Royal Icing, but in the end laziness got the best of me and I opted to use the Tate & Lyle Royal Icing mix that only required me to add a bit of water before mixing it up.

So what sugar cookie design did I end up baking?

Well, it's about time I let you all in on a little secret I've been keeping.  Despite all the gorgeous sugar cookie design's in Peggy's book, I choose a very special design - the "Baby Shower" cookies.  Why?  Because I'm pregnant! 

Despite a few complications during the first few months (hence the lack of posts & tweets earlier in the year) I'm pleased to announce that my husband and I are expecting our first baby  at the end of August, so I made these cookies to celebrate! 

These cookies were really fun to make - although they did take a lot of time as Royal Icing can be a little finicky to work with and they needed to be iced in layers, so I actually made them over a period of 2 or 3 days.

Peggy's Sugar Cookies

Makes about 25 medium cookies   

Ingredients:

200g Unsalted Soft Butter  

200g caster sugar

1 egg lightly beaten  

400g plain flour, plus more for dusting   

Optional flavours:  For vanilla cookies, add seeds from 1 vanilla pod.  For lemon cookie, add finely grated zest of lemon.  For orange cookie, add finely grated zest of orange.  For chocolate cookie, replace 50g of the plain flour with 50g of cocoa powder   

Instructions:

1. With paddle attachment of electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar and choosen flavouring until well mixed and just creamy in the texture.  *Do not overwork, or the cookies will spread during baking.   

2. Beat in the egg until well combined. Add the flour and mix on low speed until a dough forms. Gather into ball, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 1 hour.   

3. Place the dough on floured surface and knead briefly. Using marzipan spacers, roll out to an even thickness.   

4. Use cookie cutter to cut out shapes and using a palette knife, lay on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Chill again for about 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 375ºF (180ºC).   

5. Bake for 6 - 10 minutes, depending on size, until golden brown at the edges. Let cool on wire rack before decorating.

Peggy's Royal Icing 

(note: I have not tried this recipe)

Ingredients:

25g Merriwhite (dried egg white powder)

150ml Water

1kg Icing Sugar, sifted 

1 tbsp Lemon juice

Instructions:

1.  Mix the merriwhite with 150ml water and pass through a sieve to get rid of any lumps. 

2. Place the icing sugar in the clean bowl of an electric mixer, add about three-quarters of the merriwhite mixture and the lemon juice, and start mixing on low speed. 

3. Once the sugar and the merriwhite are well combined, check the consistency. If the sides of the bowl still look dry and crumbly, add some more merriwhite until the icing looks almost smooth but not wet. 

4. Keep mixing for about 4-5 minutes, until it has reached stiff-peak consistency. 

5. Spoon into a plastic container, cover with a clean damp j-cloth and the lid. Store at room temperature.

Royal Icing Consistencies: Simply thin down your basic royal icing with water, a little bit at a time, mixing with a palette knife, until you have the right consistency. Keep your icing covered with cling film or a damp cloth when not using it, to stop it from drying out. Stiff-peak consistency: for piping sugar flowers and leaves Soft-peak consistency: for piping lines, dots and borders Runny consistency: for filling in the centres of spaces.

*** While making these cookies I discovered the following things to be very helpful ***

Made With Pink's Top 5 tips for baking and decorating sugar cookies:

1. Use disposable chopsticks on either side of the dough to help ensure an even consistency when rolling out your dough.

2.  Instead of using flour to prevent sticking when rolling out your dough, use icing sugar.  This will prevent your cookies from absorbing too much flour and becoming tough, and will also sweeten up your cookies a tad more.

3. To save time, instead of refrigerating the cookie dough cut-outs for 30 mins in the fridge, pop the whole cookie tray in the freezer for 10 minutes to prevent them from spreading while baking.

4.  After you've made your Royal Icing, take the bowl and give it a few really hard taps/bangs on the counter top to bring any air bubbles to the surface.  This will prevent any tiny air bubbles appearing just after you've pipped your cookies. 

5.  When filling your cookie with a base colour, work quickly.  First pipe the outline, and then fill the inside of the cookie.  Give the cookie a few good shakes side to side in order to help spread the icing evenly and fill in any little gaps.  

Good Luck!!!

These cookies were absolutely delicious, but unfortunately they gave me horrible heart burn.  Other pregnant ladies, you know what I'm talking about!!!

If you're pregnant you may need to serve these with a side of Gaviscon or Tums!

Overall I've been very impressed with Peggy's book.  Despite there not being any new content in the book, the designs are beautiful and the directions and recipes are easy to follow.  When I wrote a previous review for Bake and Decorate by Fiona Cairns I mentioned that I had assumed there would be more decorating techniques given the title of the book.  I do admit that although the recipes in Bake and Decorate were delicious, I was a bit disappointed that there were so few advanced decorating techniques in the book, so I felt it was much better suited to a beginner or someone just looking for nice recipes.  Peggy's Favourite Cookies and Cakes was much more suited to me - I enjoy trying new decorating techniques, and there are countless designs and ideas in this book.  It also makes a beautiful coffee table book.

Oh, and one other piece of news......

Peggy's Favourite Cookies and Cakes is published by Quadrille Publishing, and is available now.