Polka Dot Cookies

This cookies are from Rachel Allen's Food for Living. They are remarkably straightforward to make. They are crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle . Cookies would absolutely be one of my favourite treats.

Rachel Allen's Polka Dot Cookies

Ingredients
225g (8 oz) Butter
375g (15 oz) Soft Brown Sugar (or light muscovado sugar)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs, beaten
350g (14 oz) Plain flour
½ tsp Salt
1 Level tsp Baking Powder
1 Level tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
150g (5 oz) Smarties / Chocolate Chips

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 ̊C / 350 ̊F / Gas Mark 4 /
2. Cream butter and sugar together. Add in the vanilla extract and eggs.
3. Mix the flour and salt into a bowl. Sift in the Bicarbonate of soda and Baking Powder and mix well.
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet.
5. Add the smarties last.
6. Roll into little balls (walnut size if you want small ones or golf ball size if you want larger ones. I pressed in a smarty on the smaller ones so that there would definitely be a smarty on the top of each cookie.
7. Bake for 12 – 16 mins. If you want chewy cookies, bake until the edges are turning brown but the middle is still pale. If you want crunchy all the way through then bake until golden all over.
8. Cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Last night, Me and my Brother Tiarnán were watching Junior MasterChef and we went to bed dreaming of desserts. This morning, Tiarnán asked my Mam if we could make Chocolate Muffins. So I searched for some Chocolate Muffins and the first one I found was this one. These muffins are simple and its something everyone loves.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients
250g (8oz) Self Raising Flour

125g (4oz) Caster Sugar                        
12g (¼oz) Cocoa
50g (2oz) Chocolate Chips
1 Level Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Large Egg
150ml (¼ pint) Milk
½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
125g (4oz) Margarine

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175°C/325°F/Gas 3.    
2. Melt margarine and allow to cool.
3. In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients.  
4. Mix the egg, milk and vanilla extract into the cooled margarine.
5. Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix to make a very soft mixture.
6. Spoon into bun cases, making each case about two thirds full.
7. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.