i used to (and yes, i still do) cheat. i keep a box or two of cake mix in the pantry on days when i want to spoil them with dessert. its nothing much, its nothing great but they do like a slice of cake or a plate of brownies every now and then.
ok, so its not really the baking that irks me, its actually the cleaning up. bowls of eggs plus butter plus flour are just too much for me to handle. when i was younger, my sisters and i would stay up late (late like 1am, 2am) to bake. but the good thing was leaving the mixing bowls, the spatulas, the weighing scales in the sink for the maids to clean up the next day or for the cats to lick clean. now…to clean up on my own, that takes the fun out of baking.
but, slowly, i'm starting to warm to the idea of baking. mainly because of mr google who comes back with loads of quick and easy recipes. there's two cookie recipes that i've tried, that's been given the seal of approval by our resident taster, asyraf. out of the four boys, asyraf is the one who gives the final say on the dishes i cook. its not ariff, who loves to cook but will not critique. maybe that's why they work well together (and plan to stay together when they are older) - one cooks, the other one eats and gives feedback.
anyway, at the top of asyraf's 'cookies i love most' is the peanut butter cookies. he helped me bake this. he's not very helpful around the house but he's pretty handy to have in the kitchen. second on his list is the m&m cookies. both are higher than the ever famous famous amos chocolate chip cookies, so yeay.
peanut butter cookies - from sally's baking addiction
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups + 2tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and both sugars on medium speed until smooth. add the egg and mix on high until combined. scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. add the vanilla and peanut butter and mix on high until combined. set aside.
in a separate bowl, toss the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. add to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. dough will be thick, yet sticky. cover dough tightly and chill for at least 3 hours (and up to 2 days) in the refrigerator.
preheat oven to 180c. roll balls of dough (about 1.5 tbsp of dough per cookies) and place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. press fork into the tops to create a criss-cross pattern. bake for 11 minutes or until very lightly browned on the sides. remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring onto wire rack to cool completely.
soft and chewy m&m cookies - from the brown eyed baker
1 cup unsalted butter
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp whole milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup m&m candies (this i don't follow though, i just use how much i want)
melt butter and set aside to cool slightly. sift together the flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl, set aside. beat together the melted butter and both sugars on medium speed for 2 minutes.
whisk together the whole egg, the egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract in a small bowl. reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the egg mixture. mix until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.
gradually add the dry ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
preheat the oven to 180c. scoop the dough using ice cream scoop onto baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. press the m&m candies onto the tops of the cookies. bake for 15 minutes until cookie dough turns brown. remove from oven and transfer onto a cooling rack.
i have amended bits and pieces of the recipes, however, to suit our taste but essentially the recipes are from the 2 bakers, who have a lot of lovely recipes on their websites.
