Advent day 14: Filling the cookie jar

Today, we made a simple cookie dough base and turned it into different kinds of cookie. Minimum effort, maximum effect. 

We made a sugar cookie base, and turned one quarter of the dough chocolate by substituting the flour for cocoa, and rolling it flat.

Then hatchling no2 smashed up some candy canes with a rolling pin, and we mixed those into another quarter of the dough.

We laid the candy cane dough over the chocolate dough, and rolled it into a log. Sliced it, and baked it in the oven for 12 minutes. It tastes far better than it looks.

This is a cookie after about 4 minutes out of the oven. These cookies come out soft and squidgy, and then firm up to be soft and chewy.

Then we took another quarter of the dough, and cut it up with cookie cutters.

The remaining hatchlings took their turns to bash up hard boiled sweets.

They put the smashed up candy in the centre of their cookies,

 and we baked them for about 10 minutes.

they came out looking like this,

and are almost see through. (maybe we used a bit more than we needed...)

Then we baked up the middles in little star shapes and filled them with chocolate gnache.

And we still have one quarter of the dough left to roll out for the hatchlings to cut up and decorate with sprinkles tomorrow.

Our base sugar cookie recipe

1 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

3 cups of flour

Divide into quarters and place in the fridge for an hour ahead of rolling out.

This makes about 60 cookies.