I didn’t do a lot of baking in the past. Personally I have always had more of a savory tooth (bring on the cheese and crackers any day) and I really don’t need the temptation of sweet things in front of me at home. However … my four year old son has taken a real interest in the kitchen of late and one of his favorite activities is to bake cookies with mum.
So, I have been dusting off my baking cookbooks and he and I have been experimenting. Here’s one recipe I would like to share – a basic cookie recipe that you can eat plain, iced, with cinnamon and sugar or with “sprinkles” (100’s and 1000’s) on top. (Today we did half with sprinkles and half with cinnamon and sugar.)
Vanilla Cookies
Ingredients
- 250 g (9 oz) softened butter
- ¾ cup (75 g) caster sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk (save the egg white for later)
- 2 ¼ cups (225 g) plain (all purpose) flour, sifted
Instructions
- Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until pale and creamy.
- Add the vanilla and egg yolk and beat until well combined.
- Add the flour and beat until a smooth dough forms.
- Divide the dough into 2 portions and flatten into discs.
- Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough out between two sheets of non-stick baking paper to a thickness of 5 mm and cut out cookie shapes of your choosing.
- Bake on baking paper in a 180C/355F) oven for 8-10 minutes or until a light golden color.
Cooking Tips
- You can serve these biscuits plain or plain iced or perhaps iced with decorations or brush with the egg white and lightly sprinkle with a mix of ¼ tsp. cinnamon and ½ cup (50 g) sugar.
- If you don’t use the egg white, save it to make a meringue or add it to an omelet or frittata.
- To freeze the cookie dough, wrap the portions tightly after step 4 and freeze for up to 1 month. To defrost, remove the dough from the freezer and allow it to defrost at room temperature. Once defrosted continue the process from step 6.
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