One dough ...Lots of Variations

I often get asked about how I choose which recipes to cook, mostly by people who find the whole process overwhelming. My advice is always...find a few recipes that you like, that work and that you can change around easily. Use them often until you become confident. Hunting for a recipe, shopping for the ingredients and then making the dish all eat into your time. This applies to both sweet and savoury foods. I have many recipes that I use over and over. One of these is this Vanilla Cookie dough. It is my favourite for cookies that need to be cut out into shapes but works just as well for the usual style of cookies. Sometimes I just roll the leftovers into balls and make a few variations. I have written about this dough here and here. 

Here are some ideas for making the basic dough into a variety of biscuits

This platter was made for a post Easter afternoon tea when the request was for anything except hot cross buns. I would normally only make one or two variations at a time.  

It is a simple matter to roll small balls and flatten with a fork. 

your fingers or the bottom of a glass

Sandwich pairs together with icing such as lemon, or perhaps a chocolate ganache or a buttercream filling.

Roll the dough into balls, flatten as you press into coffee sugar crystals and top with a nut (possibly my favourite variation)

Or maybe some glacé ginger (next favourite)

No sugar and some glacé pineapple

Swap the castor sugar to brown sugar, add some choc chips or currants.

Add some jam

This is easier if you make a little indent or well with the back of a spoon

Add a chocolate button

Small chocolate eggs also work well, if you have any left from Easter.

Macadamia nuts are also delicious

Vanilla Cookies

These biscuits are very easily made in a food processor. Place all ingredients except flour and process together, and then add flour and pulse until the dough forms a ball

Ingredients

250 g butter

3/4cup caster sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

coffee sugar crystals  and other items to decorate

Method

Cream the butter and the sugar together.

Add eggs, vanilla, baking powder and mix well

Stir in flour and mix well until dough forms a soft ball.

Divide dough into two balls; roll out between two sheets of baking paper. Place on a tray and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Remove top layer of baking paper. Use cutters of your choice and stamp out cookies. Place on a tray lined with cooking paper. I use the top sheet that I removed when cutting the cookies.

Optional – decorate with some coffee sugar.

Freeze cookies, this helps prevent the cookies from spreading. Preheat oven whilst waiting for the cookies to freeze.

Bake at 170 Deg C until pale golden brown

Re roll leftover dough between two sheets of baking paper, refrigerate and proceed as before.