Leftover Blackberry frosting cookies with white chocolate

Quick post today to tell you about a little experiment in the kitchen. I made some chocolate and blackerry cupcakes recently and had some leftover frosting. I've used leftover frosting to make cookies previously and as I've never had a blackberry cookie I thought it would be interesting to try. The frosting is made of blackberry puree, icing sugar and butter. Butter and sugar are basic ingredients for cookies so I added in flour and and an egg. The mixture then looked a little grey so I added a handful of fresh blackberries as well which I managed to get in the reduced aisle for 10p a box! It gave the mixture a lovely purple hue and boosted the blacberry flavour. I added in about 50g of white chocolate chips to give some contrast and sweetness. The cookie dough was really soft - in hindsight I should have added more flour but I baked them anyway and they turned out like soft baked cookies. They tasted like a cross between a cookie and a cake. It was slightly crispy around the edges but soft in the middle. The flavour combination of blackberry and white chocolate was delicious! I will now have to experiment with making actual blackberry cookies. Has anyone tried a blackberry cookie before?

I'm sending this to the No Waste Food Challenge guest hosted this month by Claire from Foodie Quine on behalf of Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. This recipe uses up leftover blackberry frostings and part of a reduced box of blackberries which have just gone past their sell by date. 

I'm also sending it to Credit Crunch Munch as this is quite a frugal recipe using leftovers and store cupboard ingredients. The challenge is hosted by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla from Fab Food 4 All. 

 leftover blackberry frosting 

 adding a handful of fresh blackberries as the mixture looked a little grey

 

 adding in white chocolate chips

 Blackberry and white chocolate cookies! 

3 nut butter chocolate cookies with marshmallow

The cookie monster is back! This is an absolutely delicious cookie which incorporates all of my favourite flavours. The base is a chocolate and 3 nut butter cookie with the addition of peanut butter chips and hidden marshmallows inside. I felt like baking cookies one evening and had a look in the pantry to see what was available and this is what I came up with. I overbaked my cookies a little but luckily the marshmallow was still ooey and gooey as you can see! It has a dark chocolate base paired with saltiness from the nut butter and peanut butter chips and sweetness of the marshmallows.

I'm sending this to the No Waste Food Challenge hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary as I used up the end of a jar of 3 nut butter and opened packs of mini marshmallows and peanut butter chips.

 adding the lovely nut butters

 adding peanut butter chips 

 place a small scoop of cookie dough on a baking tray and flatten it. Top with mini marshmallows. 

 Cover with another flat disc of cookie dough and press together 

 melted marshmallow inside!

Makes approximately 20 cookies of the size shown

113g butter

50g brown sugar

50g caster sugar

125g three nut butter (use any nut butter as an alternative)

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

125g plain flour

50g cocoa powder

100g peanut butter chips (you can also use white chocolate chips or plain chocolate chips)

approximately 100 mini marshmallows (I used about 4-5 per cookie) 

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper.
• Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
• Add in the nut butter and egg.
• Stir in the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda.
• Finally add the peanut butter chips.
• Place a small scoop of cookie dough on the lined baking tray and flatten with your palm to form a disc. Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough.
• Place 4-5 mini marshmallows on top of each flattened cookie dough. Cover with another piece of cookie dough and press to seal the edges.
• The cookies look quite large so allow enough space for spreading between each cookie before baking.
• Bake for approximately 10 minutes.
• The cookies will still be soft when you take them out of the oven but will harden as they cool on the sheet. 

Triple Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies

A quick and easy recipe today. I love chocolate chip cookies and usually bake them for bake sales or group events. I tend to avoid putting nuts in case there are any nut allergy sufferers. So far, my favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe is this one but I have to say these are a close second. I saw this recipe on Averi Cooks blog and just had to try it out. She replaces some of the butter with cream cheese and it gives the cookie a lovely, soft and creamy texture. I used triple chocolate chips - milk, dark and white and omitted the nuts. This cookie got lots of rave reviews and they kept well in an airtight container for up to a week. I can imagine that the cookie dough would work well with leftover Easter chocolate.

I'm sending this to Tea Time Treats hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage and Jane from The Hedgecombers. The theme this month is Chocolate!

Recipe adapted slightly from Averi Cooks

113g butter
50g cream cheese
125g brown sugar
50g caster sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
315g plain flour
2 teaspoons cornflour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
100g milk chocolate chips
100g dark chocolate chips
100g white chocolate chips

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Cream the butter, cream cheese, sugars, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy.
• Add the flour, cornflour and bicarbonate of soda.
• Mix well then stir in the chocolate chips by hand. 
• Place small scoops of cookie dough spaced apart on a lined baking tray.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 9 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. 
• It will still be soft but will harden as the cookies cool.
• Allow to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Snickerdoodles

I've been waiting for the letter 'S' in our second round of AlphaBakes as I've been wanting to make Snickerdoodles. I've never tried them or baked them before but I like the sound of it. It's basically a sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar. It's supposed to be cracked and crispy which mine turned out to be so that's a relief! They really taste of cinnamon and are perfect with a cup of tea. 

I used a recipe from a book that my dear friend JL sent all the way from Australia! Thank you :) It's a lovely little book of cookies and I can't wait to try more recipes from it. I won't publish the recipe as I don't have permission but there are lots of recipes you can find online. I followed the recipe exactly and it worked beautifully. The main thing to remember is that these cookies really do spread a lot so make sure you leave plenty of room in between! 

I'm sending this to AlphaBakes which I am hosting this month. Caroline from Caroline Makes hosts on alternate months. The letter is S for Snickerdoodle.

I'm also sending it to Tea Time Treats hosted by Janie from the Hedgecombers and Karen from Lavender and Lovage as the theme this month is Biscuits and Cookies!

 cookie dough 

 you have to refrigerate the dough until firm. I used a small ice cream scoop to make a small ball of dough which is then rolled in cinnamon sugar 

 Place them spaced well apart and press down gently with a fork

2 minute chocolate chip cookie

Earlier this week, I had a real craving for cookies. It was late at night and I didn't want to bake a whole batch so I decided to try out one of the 'cookies in a mug' recipe. I've made 5 minute mug cakes in the microwave before and although not as good as a proper baked cake, they are great for when you really, really need cake. Well I really needed a cookie so I baked 1 cookie just for me. And another one for J as I was feeling generous :) 

It's a one bowl recipe with minimal preparation or washing up. If you bake regularly then you will have all of these ingredients to hand. The cookie was really good especially when warm and served with ice cream. It tastes like a soft, chewy chocolate chip cookie with a slight cake like consistency. I tried 2 different methods of making this cookie. The first was to melt the butter and then whisk in the sugar and other ingredients into a smooth paste. The second was to use softened butter and a fork to add in the other ingredients and surprisingly the second method worked better. The first method produced a cookie that was more like a cake with a smooth texture whereas the second method gave it more of a rough, cookie texture. 

 adding egg to the butter and sugar mixture 

 adding flour 

 ready to cook 

 served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

Makes 1 cookie

15g butter

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

30g plain flour

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

25g chocolate chips

• Place the softened butter and sugars in a bowl and mix roughly with a fork. 
• Add in the egg and vanilla extract and stir.
• Add in the flour and stir.
• Add in the chocolate chips and stir.
• Place the bowl in a microwave and cook on high for 40 seconds and check. Mine took 50 seconds to cook but as microwaves vary, I suggest checking from 40 seconds and adding on 10 second increments until the cookie is cooked. 

Matcha and Pistachio Cookies

Today February 19 is Chinese New Year. Happy New Year to all my readers who are celebrating. May this year of the Goat or Sheep bring you lots of happiness, health and prosperity. I decided to make some cookies for the occasion as I am going out for a celebratory meal with some friends so I wanted to make little gift bags. These are not traditional chinese new year cookies but I thought they would suit the occasion. It's a recipe that I saw online and I was intrigued by the flavour combination of matcha and pistachio. I also wanted something that was easy to transport and give as gifts. 

I love this recipe as it's so quick and easy to make and the results are fantastic. It's a mix all in one recipe (with a food processor) and you can keep the dough in the fridge until you are ready to bake. You can also freeze the dough and bake cookies when needed. I added a sprinkling of sesame seeds for aesthetic reasons and was really pleased with how it turned out. I also experimented with chia seeds but the sesame seeds looked better. 

The cookies are really buttery and crunchy and the predominant flavour is of the matcha powder. The pistachio complements the green tea flavour well and added a layer of texture to the cookie. The cookies are not sweet at all which helps the green tea flavour shine through. 

I'm sending this to Foodie Friday hosted by Helen from Casa Costello.

#FoodYearLinkup hosted by Charlotte from My Recipe Book. The link up is open to any foodie posts related to events in the Food Bloggers Calendar for February. These are for Chinese New Year. 

 plain flour, icing sugar, matcha powder , pistachips, butter, egg 

 dough wrapped in cling film. It should be a square shape but mine is quite uneven! 

 Optional toppings - sesame seeds or chia seeds 

 I love the vibrant green colour of the dough 

 I love how the sesame seeds look 

 little gift bags 

Makes 40-45 cookies depending on the size of your cookies

350g plain flour

15g Japanese matcha powder

250g unsalted butter, cut in cubes

150g icing sugar, sifted

1 egg, lightly beaten

50g pistachios nuts, lighty toasted - I'd suggest increasing the amount if you want a nuttier bake

Optional - sesame seeds or chia seeds 

• In a food processor, mix the flour, matcha powder, icing sugar and butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. 
• Add in the egg slowly and continue mixing. 
• Finally add in the pistachio nuts and blitx until a smooth dough forms.
• Roll the dough in a log or square shape and wrap in cling film.
• Refrigerate for a few hours or preferably overnight to allow the flavours to develop. 
• When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 200C.
• Slice the dough and arrange on a lined baking tray.
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds if using.
• Bake for approximately 13-15 minutes or until just brown.
• Allow to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Peanut Butter m&m's and chocolate chip cookies

Yes it's another peanut butter recipe but I make no apologies for it as it's amazing. I found a bag of peanut butter M&M's at the back of the cupboard and instead of eating the whole bag myself (which was tempting) I decided to bake them into cookies. I found a great recipe online from Sally's Baking Addiction and knew I had to make it immediately. It has peanut butter, peanut butter M&M's, chocolate chips and oats. Absolutely delicious! The cookies were really tasty and it was hard to stop at one. Needless to say these did not last long! I'm going to try these again with some Reece's pieces and maybe chopped up peanut butter cups. 

 adding the chocolate chips and peanut butter M&M's 

 I put an M&M on top before baking and I love how colourful the cookies look 

 

Recipea adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

115g unsalted butter
100g light brown sugar
50g caster sugar
1 large egg
185g smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
160g all purpose flour
300g peanut butter M&Ms

100g chocolate chip

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
• Cream the butter and sugars for a few minutes.
• Add in the peanut butter, egg, vanilla extract.
• Add in the flour and bicarbonate of soda.
• Finally stir in the peanut butter M&M's and chocolate chips.
• Drop small scoops of dough spaced apart on the baking tray.
• Press an M&M on top of the cookie before baking.
• Bake for about 9-10 minutes or until golden brown. 
• The cookie will be soft but they will harden as they cool.
• Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.