Happy Monday everyone! Well done for making it through the most dreaded day of the week! As a treat, I decided on Vanilla & Raspberry cookies for you today. Although I usually prefer strawberry for most fillings, today I opted for raspberry as it balances the sweetness better in my opinion. The best thing about the dough in this recipe is that it stores really well. I would recommend you to divide it into 3 halves and keep it refrigerated. That way you can just take out each half whenever you decide to bake these cookies. That’s exactly what I did, and have been baking these fresh since the last 2 days (they’re a favourite at my place). This recipe can easily make around 50 – 60 normal sized sandwiched cookies. If you opt for bigger one’s, then just divide the recipe into half. Go on then, put on your apron and get rolling as these are perfect tea time cookies ever!

Serving: approximately 50 – 60 sandwiched cookies

Ingredients:
Unsalted Butter (at room temperature): 200 grams
Caster Sugar: 1 cup
Egg Yolks: 2
Vanilla Essence: 4 tsp
Milk: 2 tbsp
All Purpose Flour: 3 cups
Baking Powder: 1 tbsp
Raspberry jam: for the filling

Method:

• In a bowl, whisk together the unsalted butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg yolks (one at a time), followed by the vanilla essence and milk.
• In a separate bowl, add all the dry ingredients together i.e. all purpose flour and baking powder. Remember to mix the dry ingredients with a spoon otherwise it will leave a bitter taste in the cookies.
• Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and give the batter one final mix.
• Divide the dough into equal halves, wrap it in cling film, and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight. Tip: the more you refrigerate, the easier the dough will be to roll out. It will also prevent the cookies from spreading too much while baking.
• Pre-heat your oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Line your baking tray with parchment paper.
• Gently flour your baking mat to roll out the dough.  Tip: you can leave the dough on the counter for a few minutes if you find it is giving you trouble rolling out. Likewise, if the dough gets too soft, then pop it back in the fridge for a while.
• Use your favourite cookie cutter to roll out different shapes and transfer to your baking tray. Tip: as these are sandwiched cookies, do not leave each shape too thick.
• Bake the cookies in your pre-heated oven for approximately 10 – 15 minutes or until the edges turn light golden in colour.
• Once the cookies have baked, transfer them to a cooling rack, and allow them to cool completely before adding the raspberry jam filling in the centre.
• Now it’s time to declare cheat day and get munching!

Note: Store the cookies in an airtight container and keep them refrigerated for best results.

Can it possibly get any easier? Which are your favourite cookies?

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Until the next post, ‘Let’s Keep It Strictly Lighthearted!‘