Thin Mints

If you thought the Week of Cookies had already peaked with homemade Oreos, take a look at these beauts!

I was always mystified by these American Girl Scout cookies so I took the plunge and baked some up! Think of an After Eight mint, in cookie form. *salivates* These are decadent, and reminiscent of the After Eight Cupcakes I featured here for St. Patrick's Day!

The best part is these are made with cookies, left over from yesterday's post sans buttercream. 

I got this chocolate in ALDI for 89c if I remember correctly? It's fab! Great for melting down, tastes amazing and not overtly bitter like some high cocoa chocolate!

Some recipes advised using a fork to dip the cookies into chocolate (by resting on the fork like rice, not spearing the cookies) but I found it easier to dip one cookie in, slather it up and rub off the excess chocolate onto another cookie! Messy and yummy! Definitely fun to do with kids!

All you need is... 
Single homemade Oreo cookies *without buttercream*
1 bar of 74% cocoa solids chocolate
Peppermint essence

1. Melt chocolate in short bursts in the microwave, stirring often (or over a double boiler if you prefer).
2. Add in 1/4tsp peppermint essence, stir, taste.
3. Add in more peppermint if you wish. *Be careful!! This is deceivingly potent!*
4. Dip in your cookies, covering with chocolate on both sides and allow to dry on wax paper.
5. Enjoy!

So, that's the end of the Week of Cookies here on Milis! I can't wait to do something similar next year! Again, if you missed any posts you can find the link below.

• Week of Cookies featuring tips, Nutella Pillow Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Nutella 3 Ingredient Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies.
• Jammy Dodger Hearts
• Vanilla Chocolate Swirl Cookies
• Scrumptious Oat-Rolled Cookies
• Marshmallow Malteser Cookies
• Ory's Oreos

Which are your favourites? Let me know in the comments box! :) 

Stay sweet! x

Ory's Oreos

Oh yes, you thought it couldn't get any better than Marshmallow Malteser Cookies? You thought wrong!

These are amazing, much tastier than the real deal! It's always a good sign when the dough tastes amazing raw!

This is super fast to make, and so easy to do! It only takes the bowl in your mixer so there's less washing up to do as well! 

I used a shot glass as a cookie cutter (classy!!) But be warned the yield here is four dozen cookies plus! So if you're not feeling Oreos that much, keep some cookies back and I'll show you what to do with them tomorrow! :)

Let me know what you think of these bad boys! Very messy bad boys it has to be said!

You will need:
Cookies
1 cup Butter (softened)
1 cup Icing Sugar
1 cup Cocoa Powder
11/2 cup Plain Flour
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Buttercream
1 cup Icing Sugar (sieved)
Knob Margarine
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tbsp Boiling Water

1. Beat butter until fluffy.
2. Add icing sugar and mix until combined.
3. Add vanilla and cocoa powder, mix until combined.
4. Sieve in the flour and mix until combined yet crumbly in texture.
5. Cover with cling film and chill for 20 minutes in the fridge.
6. Line three baking trays with baking parchment.
7. Preheat the oven to 175degrees Celcius.
8. Lightly flour a worktop and rolling pin.
9. Knead the dough twice to loosen up.
10. Roll out to 1/8inch thick.
11. Cut out with cookie cutter/shot glass.
12. Bake in oven for ten minutes (centre will have risen but the edge will be baked, do not judge on colour because these bake the same colour as they are when raw!)
13. Allow to cool while you mix all buttercream ingredients together with a hand mixer.
14. Sandwich together.
15. Enjoy!

If you run out of buttercream, save the cookies! I'll be back tomorrow with another use for them! ;) 

I love this meme! #YOLO
Stay sweet! x

Marshmallow Malteser Cookies

These are the stuff of dreams, the ultimate weekend cookie!! Perfect for the Week of Cookies here on Milis!

I wanted to make a new cookie and my boyfriend had recently asked if I could put marshmallows into brownies, so with that in mind I created this bad boy!

I used the successful cookie dough from the Nutella Pillow Cookies, added in some broken up Maltesers and chopped marshmallows at the last minute (I gently mixed these in using a dessert spoon) et voila!

These are not for the faint-hearted! The marshmallow brings a sweet candy-floss like flavour to them, but the Maltesers added great depth to the cookies and I will definitely be using them again to flavour recipes in the future!

I wanted to leave some chunks of Malteser in the cookies so I roughly bashed them with a mallet! I didn't have any ziplock bags so I made an envelope out of baking parchment, taping up the sides. 

For the marshmallows, I used mini ones (I got these in Aldi, perfect for hot choc!) I halved them using a scissors which easily the most efficient way to halve marshmallows!






You will need:

1 1/2 Cup Self-Raising Flour, sieved

1/2 Cup Butter at Room Temp.

1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Medium Eggs

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 Cup Marshmallows (Mini, halved)

1 Cup Maltesers (Bashed)

1. Preheat your oven to 170degrees Celcius.
2. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
3. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the sugars and butter until fluffy.
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract while beating.
5. Once incorporated, turn off mixer.
6. Sift in 1/4 cup of flour. Beat until incorporated.
7. Repeat step four twice more so that all of the flour is added.
8. Sprinkle some sea salt on the cookies before baking, this really adds depth to the flavour.
9. Bake for 14minutes, until slightly golden at the edges but still spongey/soft in the middle. These cookies continue to cook once you remove them from the oven so DO NOT OVERBAKE. Removing them any later than 16minutes will result in rock hard, inedible cookies trust me! Allow the marshmallows to caramelise but not burn.
10. Leave to cool on the baking tray for 5-10minutes.
11. Remove onto a wire rack.
12. Enjoy!

Come back tomorrow for delicious dark cookies!

Stay sweet! x

Scumptious Oat-Rolled Cookies

These beauties are insane! I know, you're looking at them saying "a porridge cookie, really??" But they're nothing like what you would expect! As a self-proclaimed chocaholic I actually love these, sans the brown stuff. They're buttery yet crunchy, fast to make yet scrumptious, drool-inducing... ENOUGH! Make these now! :)

They're whipped up in less than twenty minutes, are a fraction healthier with the addition of oats plus, when can you go wrong with a cherry on top? ;)

Plus, I think kids would enjoy making these as there's a bit of fun to be had with the oats!

These came courtesy of Mary Berry's The Baking Bible (with a few alterations). I implore you to take time out of your weekend and enjoy these with a cup of tea! 

   

You will need
8oz Butter (softened)
6oz Caster Sugar
2 large Egg yolks
Few drops Vanilla Extract
10oz Self-Raising Flour 
2oz Old-fashioned Porridge Oats (on a separate plate)
12 Glacé Cherries (chopped)

1. Preheat oven to 190degrees Celcius (fan-assisted) or 170degrees Celcius (minus the fan!)
2. Line trays with baking parchment.
3. Chop cherries into 3-4 pieces, whatever's easiest for you!
4. Mix together butter, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla and flour.
5. Form little balls out of the dough.
6. Roll these balls in the oats until covered.
7. Place in tray, flatten slightly and top with a piece of cherry.
8. Bake for 20minutes or until golden.
9. Allow to cool on trays for a few minutes before removing to wire rack.
10. Enjoy!

Come back tomorrow for another fab cookie recipe!

Have a great Saturday and stay sweet! x

Vanilla Chocolate Swirl Cookies

The Week of Cookies continues, today with an eye-catching cookie that's so impressive looking but only requires minimum effort!

I just finished reading The Great Gatsby, and although I detailed how to host the greatest Gatsby party here, I think these monochrome treats would look fab in a 20's themed party!

I sliced these cookies up using unflavoured dental floss, major trick of the trade! It's quick, pain-free as there's no chance of chopping a finger off, plus you get uniform slices. Just put the dough on top of the floss, drag the two ends of the floss to meet at the top of the log, overlap them and pull! Et voila!

Confession: When I made these cookies I found the chocolate part to be overly bitter, so perhaps using your personal favourite chocolate biscuit recipe would be advisable... I've included this one from Mary Berry's Baking Bible below nonetheless.


You will need:
For the Vanilla Biscuit-
2oz Butter (softened)
1oz Caster Sugar
1oz Cornflour
2oz Plain Flour
1 Small Egg
A few drops Vanilla Extract

For the Chocolate Biscuit-
2oz Butter (softened)
1oz Caster Sugar
1oz Cornflour
2oz Plain Flour
1 Small Egg
1/2oz Cocoa Powder

1. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.
2. Mix ingredients for vanilla biscuits in a stand mixture to form a soft dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Repeat step 2 with ingredients for chocolate biscuits.
4. Flour your worktop and roll out both pieces of dough to oblongs about 10x7inches.
5. Place vanilla dough on top of chocolate dough and roll together to form a kind of sausage shape.
6. Wrap in clingfilm and chill again for 30 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 180degrees Celcius. 
8. Using a sharp knife, or tooth floss, cut the roll into about 20 slices and place on baking trays.
9. Bake for 20 minutes until the vanilla is lightly golden.
10. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
11. As my chocolate section was quite bitter I melted some white chocolate in a double boiler and drizzled (well smothered!) over the top, bellissimo!
12. Enjoy!

Let me know what you think of these pretty pinwheels in the comment section below! :)

Stay sweet! x

Jammy Dodger Hearts

To continue with the Week of Cookies to celebrate Milis' one year blogoversary I'm sharing with you one of my most popular recipes!

Confession: my boyfriend berates me for naming these jammy dodgers as there's no buttercream in the filling. If you want to add in a dab of buttercream, be my guest- just let me know how it goes! ;) Personally, I think these are perfect just with jam!

These are a major crowd-pleaser and have a huge yield! The buttery crumb of the cookie is complimented brilliantly by the tang of strawberry jam! Bonus points, these are super easy to make!

These would be perfect for Valentine's Day, an anniversary or just to say 'I Love You' to someone special! 

I made them originally to celebrate my sister's engagement (very appropriate!) but if you don't have heart-shaped cookie cutters, a large glass and bottle cap would make equally pretty cookies. 

I kept the innards of my cookies (the tiny hearts) and served them in small bowls, they were yummy and great to pick on, sans jam! 

You will need:
1 cup of butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
2 tbsp light brown sugar
2 cups plain/cream/all-purpose flour
1 egg
1/2 jar of your favourite spreadable strawberry preserve

1. Preheat your oven to 176degrees Celcius.
2. Line two to three baking sheets with baking parchment.
3. In a stand-mixer, beat together butter, sugars and flour together until partially combined with the rest resembling a dusty-sand.
4. Add in the egg. Beat until combined.
5. Flour a counter top and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick.
6. Cut out shapes and transfer onto baking sheets. *I cut out the large hearts first, then counted them, and used the tiny heart cutter to cut the centre out of half of the batch.
7. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes (this prevents spreading in the oven).
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
9. Leave cool for ten minutes before transferring onto a wire rack.
10. Piece together using your strawberry preserve.
11. Enjoy!

Come back tomorrow for #3 in the Week of Cookies!

Stay sweet! x

One Year Blogoversary... A Week of Cookies!

First off, a big apology for slacking on the blog front!! This has genuinely been one of the busiest Augusts ever for me- days in Dublin, leader at a camp in Limerick, the flu, GAA matches, and a little bit of thesis writing. Just some fifteen hour days at the laptop, running on three hours sleep thesis writing!! I've been so busy that my one year blogoversary completely passed me by! I felt so cheated that I missed it!

To celebrate, I wanted to give you a week's worth of cookies... But every Monday has been crazy (I'm being a little OCD here!) So, from today until Sunday stay tuned for everything you could dream of in the world of cookies!! :)

As it is the big one-year, I felt so overwhelmed!! I've come so far from the sweet little Banana Crumb Muffins I first blogged about! Blogging was so new and challenging to me last year I never imagined I could have kept it up! I've published seventy-nine posts, thirty-four podcasts, and who knows how many photos! Milis has really encouraged me to push my boundaries and try experimenting with my baking. I've come to love baking so much more and developed so many skills, just from blogging and reading other peoples' blogs- check out my favourite blogs on the left hand side or my reading list in the 'About me' tab! 

Thank you so much for reading Milis and listening to sUCCulent! 

Your comments, subscriptions and Facebook likes mean so much to me and give me so much satisfaction!

Without further ado, it's cookie time!!

******************************************************************************

Here is an amazing guide I found recently that shows how ingredients and techniques affect the outcome of your cookies! 

Other top tips I've accumulated through the blogosphere...

• Jenny Flake suggests using Jell-O pudding in cookies
• Averie Sunshine chills her cookie dough to prevent spreading in the oven
• Amanda Green Bottoms uses box mixes to create fudgey cookies
• While Maria Lichty adds cornflour to produce soft-batch bakery style cookies
• My top tip? Don't overbake your cookies! They should be only pale on the outside and soft in the middle, as they will harden up when cooling.

If you missed it back in May, check out the National Cookie Day post and podcast on the history of the chocolate chip cookie and the story of Ruth Wakefield- including the original Tollhouse recipe!

Short on ingredients traditionally used in cookies? Check out my 3 Ingredient Nutella Cookies (feel free to omit the white chocolate buttons!)

Or if you're looking for a sugar rush try these White Chocolate Snickerdoodles!

These super sugary Chocolate Chip Cookies have a huge yield and taste better the longer the dough is chilled!

Or everybody's favourite cookie...

If you have yet to bake my delectable Nutella Pillow Cookies, make your Wednesday amazing and pop these babies in the oven!

Come back tomorrow for a brand new cookie recipe to continue the one-year blogoversary celebrations! :)

Stay sweet! x

Last sUCCulent show!

This week was the 34th and last sUCCulent show, tear! :'(
I've been involved in loads of societies throughout my four years in UCC but Cork Campus Radio was definitely the most challenging, and rewarding! I never thought this time last year that I would have had thirty-four broadcasts! You can find them all here on the blog by searching 'podcast'.

I hope you enjoyed listening even half as much as I enjoyed doing them! To hear the last show, which includes a round-up of my favourite blogs, recipes, music and a discussion on Celebrity Master Chef Ireland click here!

Thanks so much to all of my guests throughout the year, my family for giving me some inspiration, Cork Campus Radio staff and volunteers, and of course everyone who tuned in! Especially Claire who yesterday tweeted this...

To tweet, follow on facebook or instagram click the new fancy (home-made!) icons on the top right of the page. 

Enjoy the bank holiday weekend I'll be back next week with some tasty recipes!

Stay sweet! x