Mint Chocolate Cookies

Peppermint fans get ready, for my new Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies. Imagine the taste of an Aftereight mint in a ooey-gooey-crunchy cookie. The texture of these cookies is just perfect; the fresh minty taste is something that many people will not have had in a cookie before. Everybody I've tested these on loves them, and they are so easy to make - you can whip them up in less then half an hour. If you can't find dark mint chocolate (I found it in Aldi), try using after eight mints for an even more interesting texture.

Christmas Chocolate Bark

You've seen it, in the likes of Hotel Chocolat and in the "posh section" of your local Supermarket. But why buy it, when you can make your own Chocolate Bark all by yourself and put whatever you blimmin' like on it. Bag it up in little treat bags with ribbon and give it out to your friends and family as gifts. It's so easy and you can make it in minutes.

Mince Pie Christmas Fudge

Deliciously sweet melt in your mouth fudge laced with little moorish crumbled up pieces of mince pies. I've never tasted such Christmassy fudge before! Crumbly, perfectly spiced, with a dreamy texture (yes I said dreamy). These are perfect bagged up and given as gifts to any mince pie lover. Perhaps you bought too many mince pies, you're fed up of eating them already and you don't know what to do with them. This fudge recipe will transform them into a sweet tooth's delight.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

"Oh all right then Mr Chocolate Pecan Pie, as you offered so politely, I will have another slice" ...I wouldn't want to hurt his feelings, I couldn't possibly live with myself if I did that....

Try out my spin on a pecan pie with a bourbon biscuit base and hidden chocolate chunks under a smooth layer of caramel. This makes for a deliciously decadent pecan pie.

Raspberry & White Chocolate Layer Cake

This is some serious cake! The sponge is beautifully moist, made with cream cheese and laced with raspberries. The white chocolate ganache-like icing is deliciously creamy and sweet with vanilla beans. I've topped this cake with fresh raspberries, white chocolate curls and dried raspberry flakes for what I think is a very sophisticated finish. White chocolate and raspberries, what an awesome combo.

Children's Butter Biscuits

This is the perfect recipe for making butter biscuits (or sugar cookies). They are so simple yet deliciously buttery and vanillary and are just as good for kids as for adults! You don't even need to chill the dough before you cut out your shapes and bake them (although if you have the time go ahead! It will make the edges a little more defined). You can use any shaped biscuit cutter you like - get creative. Why not try making biscuit sandwiches?

Cranberry & White Chocolate Couronne

I don't do much bread, but when I do, I try to make it as much like cake as possible. This sweet golden crown of glazed dough is stuffed with the wonderfully tasty and perfectly complimentary flavours of cranberries, macadamia nuts, apricots and white chocolate. It is fruity, sweet, moist, crunchy - and unlike a lot of fruit loaves, it actually tastes as good as is looks. As far as bread goes, this is a sweet tooth's delight and is great for any occasion, at any time of day.

Toffee Apple Cake!

Oh my goodness... I have been searching the internet for the perfect toffee apple cake and couldn't find what I wanted. So this is a combination of about 4 different recipes... and it's delicious!! I have never eaten a piece of cake so fast. Perfect for Autumn and Halloween, this cake will really impress. It's a combination between sticky toffee pudding and a toffee apple. Gooey in the middle, caramelized on the outside, with a sticky toffee drizzle. I really hope you enjoy it too, it's worth the effort.

How to Make Perfect Chewy Cookies

How to make cookies. I think we all know that the best kind of cookies are the "crunchy on the outside soft on the inside" kind of cookies. Warm, soft, chewy, gooey, deliciously morish cookies with a little bit of a crunchy buttery bite on the outside. Here are my top tips on how to bake perfect chewy cookies including what ingredients and equipment to use, how to mix them, how to bake them, and how to store them. I've also got lots of easy cookie recipes for you to try.

Ingredients

Why do my ingredients need to be at room temperature?
Butter and eggs must be at room temperature before creaming, this allows them to combine easier and makes for even cooking. The softer the butter, the softer the cookies will be and the flatter they will spread out.

What's the best sugar to use for cookies?
Use a light muscavado sugar, soft light brown sugar or golden caster sugar. This will give your cookies a richer fudgier flavour, a caramel colour, and a more gooey texture.

Equipment

What kind of baking trays should I use?
Ideally you want three good quality, flat, heavy, non-stick baking sheets. If they are good quality you shouldn't have to grease them. Alternatively use re-usable silicone baking paper.

Should I bake cookies in one batch?
It is best to bake your cookies in the centre of the oven. If you have a small oven and can't bake your cookies in one go, cool the trays down in between batches under cold water.

How do I keep my cookies soft?
To keep your cookies soft, make sure to store them in an airtight container. Cookies are nicest eaten when they are still a little warm. You can rewarm cookies in the oven for 5 minutes at 170°C. Or, make your cookie dough in advance and bake when you are ready to eat them.

How hot should my oven be?
Temperature is crucial to a desirable outcome. Pre-heat the oven to the temperature indicated in the recipe. If you're oven is unreliable or if you are not getting the desired cookie texture, invest in an oven thermometre.

Making

How much do I need to mix cookie dough?
Don't overmix. Beating too much air into cookies will make them rise too much resulting in a more "cakey" texture. It's important to cream your butter, sugar & eggs well for an even texture but once you add the dry ingredients, beat as little as possible. If you do it by hand as opposed to using a mixer you shouldn't have any problems.

What is the best texture for cookie dough?
Cookie dough should be sticky and firm so it doesn't spread too thin when baked. If you refrigerate the cookie dough for a little before baking it will hold it's shape more, deflate less, resulting in a thicker and chewier cookie. The warmer the dough, the more it will spread out during baking, which will make them thinner. Thin is sometimes desirable, but be careful as they will cook faster and go crunchy quicker.

Baking

How much cookie dough do I need for each cookie?
You want to use a heaped tablespoon amount of dough, so roughly the size and volume of an egg. The best way is to use a small trigger-style icecream scoop to make sure that you get equal sized amounts of cookie dough for each cookie. You can then flatten the dough into nice round disc shapes using the back of a fork or your hands.

How far should I space my cookies apart?
You should leave at least a 10cm gap between each cookie to prevent them from running into each other and to allow enough heat to reach each cookie. Most cookies will double in diameter during baking.

How do I know when my cookies are done?
The only answer here is, when it looks right. The best indicator is the edges. The edges should be light golden brown, yet the centre should still look slightly undercooked and puffy. This is a vital step to making gooey cookies. I like to give cookies the shine test; when the shininess from the butter has just disappeared from the centre of the cookie, I know they are done.

How long should I bake my cookies for?
Always set your timer to the lowest suggested time in the recipe. You can always add a few minutes if the cookies look too raw, but there is nothing you can do to save an overbaked cookie!

What do I do when I think they are done?
When you think they are ready, take them out of the oven and leave them to cool on the baking sheets for at least 5 minutes. The residual heat from the sheet will continue to cook them. You'll know when to transfer them onto a wire cooling rack when the centres of the cookies have fallen and they have a golden brown rim around them.

They're still not gooey. What can I do?
You can try using melted butter, or try using a little less flour.

Rosie Bakes It Easy Cookie Recipes

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Imagine the taste of an Aftereight mint in a ooey-gooey-crunchy cookie. The texture of these cookies is just perfect; the fresh minty taste is something that many people will not have had in a cookie before. Everybody I've tested these on loves them, and they are so easy to make - you can whip them up in less then half an hour...

Peanut Butter Cookies

Oooooo these are good. Crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside cookies with crunchy peanut butter, chunks of dark chocolate and wholesome oats. The combination of saltyness and chocolateyness is what I think makes the tastiest, most addictive "I need another one" cookie...

Dark Chocolate Cookies

Described by many (i.e. my best friends) as being "the best cookies I have eaten in my entire life", this really is my ultimate double chocolate cookie recipe. These really do beat supermarket cookies. Trust me, these cookies will impress people...

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Here is a nice and easy chunky chocolate cookie recipe for you to try. When making cookies, I always strive for the perfect texture above anything else - gooey in the middle, crunchy on the outside, with oozy bits in between. The key to this is to ever so slightly underbake them...

Oat and Raisin Cookies

Oats and raisins, a match made in heaven and also slightly nutritious (well I like to think so!).  I love these cookies at any time of day - they are my all time favourite cookie. If you like your cookies gooey, make sure to take them out of the oven as soon as they start to go golden on the edges...

Apricot and Almond Cookies

These look so perfect with flaked almonds on top and taste delicious. They are crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside - how a  cookie should be! What's more they are so easy to make...

Easy Mississippi Mud Pie

Often I find myself craving something bad... and this is what I make to fulfill that desire. This is a good pie for men to make - they get to look all manly as they bash up the biscuits with a rolling pin. That and it's so easy to prepare - even my husband can make this all by himself. It's rich, chocolatey, and a fantastic dessert served cold with whipped cream. If you want a chocolate base, use bourbon biscuits instead.

Children's Fairy Cakes

Kids just love making these, ok so they might cough and sneeze all over them but it's the process that's important - not the outcome! Decorating fairy cakes is a really fun activity for kids and if you're lucky they might save one for you. This recipe for fairy cakes works every time and makes beautifully fluffy and vanillary fairy cakes. If you don't like cupcakes with masses of butter icing on this will be perfect for you too.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Oooooo these are good. Crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside cookies with crunchy peanut butter, chunks of dark chocolate and wholesome oats. The combination of saltyness and chocolateyness is what I think makes the tastiest, most addictive "I need another one" cookie. If you want a more wholesome cookie, use raisins instead of chocolate. Go on, give these a go, it'll make your family and friends happy all weekend.

Recipe Book Review: The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

The Hummingbird Bakery are most famous for their cupcakes, but this recipe book has a lot more to offer than just perfectly fluffy cupcake recipes; an incredibly tasty selection of American style classic cakes and deserts. This is one of my favourite recipe books of all time and is in my opinion the best Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, despite it's two thicker successors.

What makes this book a lot handier than the other two more recent books by Hummingbird is that the recipes are grouped into categories: cupcakes, muffins, pies, brownies, cakes, cookies and cheesecakes. This makes navigating through the book and finding what you want a lot easier. The other major perk of this book is that the majority of the recipes include common ingredients that the average home baker will be likely to have in their pantry. The two more recent books have many recipes using ingredients that are either hard to come by, or that are just unrealistically expensive. Ok so they are wonderfully unique and exciting but in reality will only be baked on rare occasions.

The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook includes staple cookie recipes such as double chocolate cookies and oat and raisin cookies which I go back to again and again, as they make for the most perfectly "crunchy on the outside gooey on the inside" cookies. It also contains some fantastic and impressive larger cakes like their lemon and poppy seed cake and the famous Hummingbird cake which is the most deliciously moist layer cake made with pineapple, bananas, pecans and a cream cheese icing.

Now, it does make me giggle how although this recipe book contains some of the most sickly sweet and fattening recipes I have seen (which I am definitely NOT criticizing), they do make an effort to include a couple of token "healthy cakes". What surprised me is that their carrot and courgette muffin is an actual real favourite of all of my skinny friends and family members.

I have had this book for years now and I still haven't tried everything in it, because I can't stop baking my favourite ones. They are totally addictive, especially the blueberry cake with cream cheese icing. If I have learnt one thing from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, it is that life is so much better with cream cheese icing on it.

Related Books

Blackberry & Apple Cakes

These yummy little squishy cakes are a great way of using up summer hedgerow fruits and also a really easy way to get fruit into kids. Made with Bramley apples and blackberries, orange zest, a delightful vanilla batter, and toasted hazelnut crumble on top. Best eaten still warm from the oven, but trust me, if you're anything like me they wont last long enough to cool down anyway.

Nutty Caramel Cheesecake Bars

I desperately wanted to make something with peanut butter this week, as well as using up some cream cheese. So here is my extremely tasty recipe for peanut butter cheesecake traybake, with a chocolate biscuit base and salted caramel topping. The biscuit base and the salted caramel can be made in advance too. If you have any plain or lightly salted peanuts lying around, chop them up and sprinkle them over the top for extra crunch.