Candy Cookies by my little baker

My five year old daughter Sofia recently announced her grand career plans. On Mondays she wants to be a nurse, on Saturdays she wants to be a Quran teacher and on Sundays she wants to be a baker. I guess she is yet to make up her mind about the remaining four days of the week 🙂 Since then, she had been asking me to bake something so that she can “help” and learn. My previous experiences had taught me that while baking is a fun activity to do with kids, it really involves a lot of patience because with all their “help” it takes twice the amount of time that it normally takes, plus you sometimes have to contend with not so perfect results. So, lazy old me had been putting off my little baker’s plans until a couple of days ago when she came back from school and put her foot down . I had just finished baking a loaf of Banana Nut Bread and dinner was yet to be fixed but I didn’t have the heart to say no to her. I chose these colourful cookies which is a sure kid pleaser .These cookies have crispy edges and soft and chewy centres. This time I made them into giant cookies, about 4 inches in diameter but you can of course make them into smaller ones. You can use any small candy coated milk chocolates like M&Ms, Smarties or Gems .

Ingredients: Makes about 9 giant cookies or 15 large cookies
All purpose flour – 2 cups (260 grams)
Baking soda – 1 1/4 teaspoons
Salt – 1/4 teaspoon
Unsalted butter – 3/4 cup ( 170 grams ), slightly softened
Granulated white sugar – 2/3 cup ( 130 grams )
*Light brown sugar – 2/3 cup firmly packed ( 140 grams)
Eggs – 1 large + 1 egg yolk
Vanilla Extract – 1 1/2 teaspoons
Candy coated milk chocolates ( M&Ms/ Smarties/Gems) – 1 cup

* I did not have light brown sugar, so I substituted with 1/3 cup dark brown sugar and 1/3 cup white sugar.

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/ 180 degrees C and place rack in centre of oven.
2) Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
3) With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment , cream the butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4)  Add the egg ,egg yolk and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined.
5) Slowly add the flour mixture and stir just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides. If the dough is soft , refrigerate for 30-60 minutes or until firm.
6) Divide the dough into 9 equal pieces  for giant cookies or 15 pieces for large cookies. Roll them into balls and press very gently to flatten them slightly. Cover the tops almost entirely with the candies and press them down gently into the dough.
7) Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure to keep sufficient space between them as these cookies spread a lot.
8) Bake for 14-17 minutes just until the edges are set and the cookies turn light golden brown. They will be quite soft in the centre while hot but will firm up a bit after cooling.
9) Cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer on to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Tips:

• For these cookies the butter should be just slightly soft, so that when you press it lightly with your finger you can just see an imprint. If it’s too soft you will have to chill the dough, otherwise your cookies will spread a lot while baking and turn out thin and flat.
• If you are using the same cookie sheet to bake the next batch make sure to cool it completely before using again.
• If you are lucky enough to have two cookie sheets you can bake two batches simultaneously by placing one in the top third of the oven and the second one in the bottom third. Rotate halfway between baking .

I’m linking this post to the following event:

Bake Fest #12 guest hosted by Fun and Food Cafe and started by Cook’s Joy