Mermaid Kitchen: Versatile (Vegan!) Cookies

My partner and I like to have sweet treats in the house. Because we don't buy them from the store anymore (other than the occasional comfort food fueled need), I tend to make things which are quick, easy, and adaptable. Cookies are a firm favourite of mine, as we know from previous posts. I love a good bit of cake, but only every now and then. Cake is not an everyday snack, in my eyes, but cookies are.

So I took to the internet to find a good cookie recipe. I found this one from GoodtoKnow.com. My initial cookie desire was to make Ginger Crunch Creams - try and curb a craving, avoid buying the real thing and whatnot. The original recipe was for chocolate chip cookies, but I just didn't include them and poured in the ginger. (Thankfully, not three tablespoons this time!) This recipe also says to include an egg as the dough is forming but when it came to adding it, I felt it wasn't necessary. The dough was forming nicely enough and it meant this recipe was now vegan!

Ginger Crunch Creams, a la me!

INGREDIENTS

• 225g Caster sugar
• 300g Plain flour
• 200g Soft butter
• 1tsp Vanilla extract
• 1tsp Baking powder
• Pinch of salt

FILLING

• 200g Icing sugar
• 100g Soft butter
• 1tsp Vanilla extract

FLAVOURS

• Ginger: 3tsp Ground ginger (or free pour like I do!)
• Chocolate: 3tbsp Cocoa powder
• Choc-chip: 100-200g Chocolate chips (original recipe)

The great thing about these cookies is that they are versatile. I have made them in ginger, vanilla, and chocolate. Sometimes I make them just as cookies, others I go Full Crunch Cream! When I do, I match the filling flavour to the biscuit flavour. I have yet to mix and match, but maybe next time! I have even made cookie dough ice cream using this recipe. The lack of egg makes the dough safe to eat raw.

We had enough dough left over to make giant cookie plates!

METHOD

1. Weigh out the sugar and the soft butter (from the first list) into a bowl and combine. It can be done with a wooden spoon, but I tend to use an electric whisk to make life easier.
2. Next, sift in the flour and add the baking powder, salt, and vanilla.
3. Add your flavour of choice now too.
4. Mix it all together until it forms a dough. I start with the whisk and then stick my hands in when it starts looking a little breadcrumb-y. 
5. Once the dough has formed, this is when I preheat the oven to 160C and prep my baking sheets. Obviously, this can be done sooner but I usually end up using at least three baking trays and that takes up a lot of space. But it all depends on how big or small you want your cookies.
6. With your trays ready, start making dough balls! I tend to make them small so there are lots of them. Especially if I am going Full Crunch Cream, as my cookie total will be halved in the end. 
7. Place your dough balls onto the tray and gently press them flat. I use my hands, but a fork or spoon would work just as well. I have found the pattern left by my fingers does get cooked out, so I don't know if using an implement would change this.
8. Once you have divided your dough up fully (and definitely not munched on the dough, nooo, never!), they are ready for the oven. Pop them in for 10-20 minutes. I like my cookies to have some crunch to them and because I make them so small I tend to put them in for 17ish minutes. If you like them gooey, leave them in closer to 10! It also depends on your oven. Their edges should be golden, according to the original recipe.
9. After they've been cooked for as long as you desire, they need to left to cool. I let them set on the tray first before moving onto a cooling wire. It helps them keep their shape and reduces the risk of being singed on the tray. (Yes, this is a worry in my life because I am that clumsy.)
10. While they cool, if you are going Full Crunch Cream now is a good time to make the filling which, yes, is just butter icing.
11. Like the first step with the dough, mix the icing sugar and soft butter together - the quantities from the filling list. Add any flavours you'd like to include. If I was making icing for a cake, I would add milk now too, but this needs to be more paste-like so I leave it out. Also, I tend to opt for a flat wooden spoon when combining butter icing - because electric whisks and icing sugar make biiiiigggg, sugary clouds of mess. But that's just me.
12. Thankfully, these cookies cool quickly. You may have time for a cuppa once the filling is made, but chances are they are ready. Make sure you have an even number of cookies. If you are lucky enough to have an odd number, feel free to taste test this one. Quality control, and whatnot.
13. With assembling the Crunch Creams, I use a spoon or a flat icing tool thing to scoop out a little blob of the filling and spread it on the underside of a cookie. Then I pick a similarly sized and/or shaped one and press it onto the filling. Voila! You have a Crunch Cream.
14. Repeat with the rest of the cookies and store in an airtight container. I have kept them in both the larder and the fridge. In the fridge, they tend to stay crunchier but if you don't have space they are still delicious if kept in the larder - just a little softer.
15. Side note: You can pipe the filling in, I can just never be bothered with the faff of cleaning the damn bag!

They never last long...

These cookies are so quick and easy to make, they have become somewhat of a staple in my house. And because I can make them vegan, by excluding the egg and using baking marge, I can share them with all my family and friends. (They made a tasty leaving gift for my vegan colleague!) If I was ever to follow the original recipe closer and make them chocolate chip, I would definitely make them bigger and gooier. Because what self respecting chocolate chip cookie is not large and gooey? 

But as Crunch Creams, I'll be interested to see if I can make coffee flavoured ones. I have coffee flavouring but would rather use concentrated instant - but how would the extra moisture affect the dough? I'd probably have to add extra flour. If I experiment, I'll be sure to post pics to the Insta!

And the recreation of one of my favourite biscuits has inspired me to try it with others. I'm thinking bourbons next. The dream is, of course, to be able to make Lotus Biscoff biscuits because those are heaven. I have a pretty good idea of how I could make Jammy Dodgers, too.

Brb. Need cookies.

What flavour or combination should I try next? And what is your favourite biscuit? Which should I have a go at? Lemme know, below!

Listening to: Daily Mix 4