We had lots and lots of fluffy white snow over the last week, and were pretty much snowed in over Christmas. The white stuff covered the entire landscape and covered the branches of the bare trees too. The falling temperatures and the ice rain that followed froze pretty much everything in sight including the snow covered branches, and we felt we were in one of those picture postcards of a winter wonderland!! Sleigh bells ringing, reindeer, hot chocolate, and all!! Ahh Christmas!!
To make things really festive this year, we bought a small Christmas tree. We put it up on the 23rd of December, decked it with lights, a little snowman, candy canes, poinsettias, and gifts and organized ourselves to enjoy the indoors while winter took over outdoors. With everyone at home, I baked and I cooked and we had a wonderfully hearty Christmas lunch.
Cookies generally move fast around here, but they seem to move faster still in the chill:) So this year I made a batch of cookies on Christmas day too. These were a very special recipe of Chocolate Surprise Cookies - simple shortbread cookies filled with dark chocolate. Yumm. I was so happy with them I decided to frost them too - well at least the ones that survived. These cookies are really crumbly and melt in the mouth - and if you eat them warm (very carefully) you will love the soft chocolate centers too.
Ingredients:
11/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
2-3 tbsp milk (or as needed)
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
For the Frosting:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tsp cornflour
1 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 tsp milk
Colored sprinkles, as needed
Method:
- Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the sugar and blend in. Now chop the butter and rub it into the mix using your fingertips.
- Add the vanilla extract.
- Then using a teaspoon, spoon in the milk a teaspoon at a time, to make a soft and pliable dough.
- The dough should be soft but not sticky so be very careful when adding the milk.
- Divide the dough into 16 - 18 equal parts.
- Take one part of the dough, press the center and place a couple of the chocolate chips, then cover completely with the dough.
- Form a ball, press gently, and place on a prepared baking tray.
- Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies begin to brown gently.
- Remove from the oven, cool completely before you frost them
- Prepare the frosting by sifting the cornflour and confectioners' sugar together.
- Add the lemon juice and blend in. Now add the milk literally a few drops at a time to get a frosting of a thickish consistency.
- Pick a completely cooled cookie. Dip the tip of it into the frosting, then place on a wire rack.
- Repeat for all the cookies. Sprinkle immediately with sprinkles as desired.
Good to Know
- Be very careful when adding the milk into the dough, even the tiniest bit extra can result in a sticky dough.
- You can replace the vanilla extract with a citron extract or cinnamon for a variation in flavour.
- I like dark chocolate chips. Replace with milk chocolate chips or even caramel chips for a sweet tooth.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting. Also while the cookies are yummy when still warm, remember you could burn your tongue with the molten chocolate on the inside. Bite at your own risk!!
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