I am the first to admit that I have a major sweet tooth, and probably spend way to much money on chocolate at the shops. This past semester, with more time in my flat, I decided to try baking more and thereby avoid storebought treats. I found a couple cookie recipes that I really enjoyed and were super quick to make. The baking also was a great stress reliever after hours typing away on another assignment. Below, are two of my favouite cookie recipes. And with so many of us stuck inside for significant periods of time right now, why not give them a try.

To start, here is a yummy recipe for some classic chewy chocolate chip cookies. They are super quick to whip up so you can be enjoying them within 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 150g salter butter (softened)
• 80g light brown sugar
• 80g granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 225g plain flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 200 g plain chocolate chips or chunks

Steps

1. Preheat oven 190C (fan 170C)
2. Mix the soft butter and sugars together for a creamy mixture.
3. Following that mix in the vanilla extract and egg.
4. Finally just mix in the flour, bicarbonate of soda, a pinch of salt and all the chocolate chips together.
5. I personally find it easier to mix the dough with my hands. If not, a wooden spoon works great to.
6. Placing the dough on baking trays, the cookies only take about 10 minutes in the oven.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/vintage-chocolate-chip-cookies

If you’re like me and love cinnamon then have a go at making some Snickerdoodles. Typically an American cookie, the Snickerdoodle is basically just a simple sugar cookie with some cinnamon mixed in.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter (227g)
• 1 ½ cups (white) sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ¾ cups flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C
2. Mix the butter (would recommend softening beforehand), sugar and vanilla extract together.
3. Add in the remaining dry ingredients; flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and a pinch of salt. (I also like to add some extra cinnamon into the dough at this stage, but this is up to you)
4. Once mixed, chill the dough into the fridge for around 10 – 15 minutes. You can also chill the baking trays, but this isn’t absolutely necessary.
5. While the dough is chilling, mix a recommended 3 tablespoons sugar and 3 teaspoons cinnamon into a small bowl (but you can adjust this as you wish, I normally put in more cinnamon than recommended just to make sure the flavour comes across).
6. When the dough is ready, make approximately 1 inch balls of dough and roll these in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Once the whole dough ball is coated they can be placed on a baking tray and put into the oven for 10 minutes.

Unfortunately, I can’t find the original recipe. But, there are lots of snickerdoodle recipes available online.  

Hopefully this gives some ideas for some great cookies to bake and some things to keep you busy during these cold winter months. Happy Baking!