Melting Moments

These biscuits are cute! Sweet, creamy lemony filling sandwiched between soft, buttery shortbread biscuits. And they do literally melt in your mouth! I made these for a morning tea and they were very happily devoured. Plus, they are so easy to whip up :)



Melting Moments

Ingredients:


Cookie:
355g butter, softened
100g icing (confectioner’s) sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
300g plain (all purpose) flour
90g cornflour (cornstarch)

Filling:
130g butter, softened
320g icing (confectioner’s) sugar
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (if you don’t have any fresh, the bottled kind is fine too)


Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line two baking trays with baking paper.


Cream together butter, icing sugar and vanilla until light. Sift over both flours, then stir gently until just combined.


Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a fluted tip, then pipe onto trays – small circles about 3cm (1 inch) wide, leave a bit of space for spreading. (Note: I found the cookie dough a bit too solid to pipe well, however I found warming the dough up while in the piping bag softened it enough to pipe fairly well – I held the bag in front of the hot oven for about 30 seconds. Next time, I may even add a little more butter, maybe even melted to help make the mixture easier to pipe.)


Bake for about 12-13 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on trays then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.


Meanwhile, make the filling by beating together butter, icing sugar and lemon juice with an electric mixer until combined and creamy. Fill a piping bag fitted with a small round, plain tip and pipe a small amount onto the flat surface of one biscuit, then sandwich together with another.


Makes about 26 filled biscuits.

Source: Adapted from Donna Hay Modern Classics Book 2

Chewy, Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

These brownies are gorgeous. Crinkled and flaky on top, thick, fudgy and chewy inside. It's definitely my favourite brownie recipe so far. These would also be amazing with added nuts, like macadamias or walnuts, or even choc chips for a super chocolate hit. It is a little hard to tell when they are cooked, but I find taking them out sooner rather than a bit later ensures they aren't dry. Enjoy!


Chewy, Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

200g chocolate, chopped (I use whatever I have on hand, milk or dark – or a bit of both!)
120g butter, chopped
20 grams cocoa powder, sifted
3 eggs
280g sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
135g all-purpose (plain) flour
Icing (confectioner’s) sugar, to serve

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 20cm x 30cm (8 x 12 inch) tin with foil and spray with cooking oil spray (I often forget and automatically line the tin with baking paper – it works fine too.)


Combine the chocolate and butter in a small heatproof bowl set up over a saucepan of just simmering water, stirring until melted and smooth. Whisk in the sifted cocoa powder, then set aside to cool.


In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla until combined. Pour in the luke-warm chocolate mixture, whisking constantly until mixed through. Sift over flour, then stir until just combined.


Transfer mixture to lined tin, and use a spatula to smooth the surface. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until tested with a skewer or toothpick – it should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, and the brownie should be slightly thick and puffy.


Move pan to a wire rack to cool fully, then remove brownie from tin and cut into desired slices. Serve with icing sugar sifted over the top. Store in an airtight container.



Source: adapted from Annie's Eats, originally from Baking Illustrated