I don’t normally rave about certain ingredients. More likely a must visit cafe or pub, but today I’m going out on a limb – buy this!
The this being Smoky Brae smoked sugar. It’s delicious. You know when you go to food shows and you buy something and it sits there and you forget about it ? Well that was me with the smoked sugar. I won’t even admit to you how long it has sat in my cupboard….OK a little bit longer than it really should have…but now I’m a convert.
Its colour is a golden brown and just like normal brown sugar it is moist and sticks together. When you open the tin it’s like sticking your head into the embers of a bonfire (just don’t go doing that eh?) It can be used to flavour popcorn (my next use), meat or as I’ve done cookies!
These cookies are really simple to make, kids or grandkids or even a Mr Foodie can make these 😉 . Just try not to munch all the raw cookie dough! They are crunchy but a bit chewy as well, and go well with a cuppa be it tea or coffee.
You can add different flavourings such as 1 tablespoon of Amaretto and 100g of almonds of broken walnuts; 1 tablespoon of instant coffee powder and 100g of chocolate chips; 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 100g of sultanas; 100g of chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon of cocoa (not drinking chocolate) or 2 teaspoons of powdered ginger and 50g of chopped crystallised ginger. The possibilities are endless! If using the flavourings above, I would omit the smoked sugar as it would just make the flavours far too crazy, so 275g of brown sugar.
Ingredients
- 170g of unsalted butter at room temperature
- 150g of brown sugar -the darker the sugar, the darker the biscuit.
- 110g smoked sugar
- 1 large egg.
- 275g of plain flour
- 2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350C 177F Gas Mark 4
- Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
- Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and creamy - about 5 minutes.
- Add the egg an beat until combined - about 1 minute.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt and beat until combined - about 2 minutes.
- Add the vanilla essence or your preferred flavouring and beat until combined - about 1 minute.
- Roll tablespoons of the dough into balls.
- Place them on the baking tray.
- Flatten the balls gently with your fingers
- They should be about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes or until they start to colour at the edges.
- Leave them to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to complete cooling.
Smoky Brae smoked sugar can be found here.
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