This year I made cookies, but not just ANY cookies.  I wanted these cookies to be gutsy, bold and shamelessly vibrant.  I wanted them to scream overindulgence and Christmas excess.  Each learner would only get one cookie, so I might as well make that cookie exceptional!

Here is my recipe-  You might need to double/treble it according to the number of students you have or your boyfriend’s appetite.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup M&M’s/Astros

20ml syrup

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Method (Yields 25 cookies)

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees centigrade and grease a baking tray
2. Soften the butter and cream it with a whisk
3. Mix in the eggs (doesn’t matter if mixture curdles)
4. Add the flour, baking soda sugar and cocoa powder slowly
5. Add the syrup and vanilla and mix well (Thick creamy consistency)
6. Pour in all the chocolate chips and sweets, roll up your sleeves and work evenly into mixture.
7. Spoon out about a table spoon of mixture for each cookie and flatten with a fork. (Not too flat!)
8. Bake for approximately 15 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to become cool and crunchy.

I know I should probably stick to decorating all of one batch in the same style, but I have too much fun and end up giving each cupcake its own, individual character!

]]> http://www.kerrydunkley.com/crafting-with-cupcakes/feed/ 0 http://www.kerrydunkley.com/tomboy-cheese-straws/ http://www.kerrydunkley.com/tomboy-cheese-straws/#comments Tue, 22 May 2012 15:11:18 +0000 kerrydunkley http://www.kerrydunkley.com/?post_type=quote&p=951  Ingredients

• 1 and 3/4 cup flour

• 1/3 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder, or to taste

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper or 1 teaspoon Paprika.  Or both!

• 1 and 1/4 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated, room temperature

• 1/2 cup (1/4 pound) butter, softened

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180′ C

1. Mix dry ingredients together

2. Add cheese and mix

3. Add softened butter and knead until well mixed

4. Roll out onto a floured surface until approximately 1/2 cm in thickness

5. Cut into thin strips/ribbons of about 1cm in width

6. Place on a greased oven tray and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown

Add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese before baking for a smoky richness.