My Favourite Recipes!

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (230g)
• 1/2cup granulated sugar (100g)
• 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar (330g)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp greek yoghurt
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (130g)
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (85g)

You need the nutella if you want a gooey chocolate filling, but all of the other ingredients are optional as you can choose what to top your cookies with. Mix and match the following toppings to your taste.

• 1 tbsp Nutella per cookie (for stuffing)
• 1/2 cup mini marshmallows (approx. 20g)
• 1/4 cup chocolate caramel candy(40 g), chopped
• 1/4 cup oreos(25 g), crushed
• 3/4 cup rainbow sprinkles(130 g)
• 1/4 cup pretzels(40 g), crushed
• 1/4 cup potato chip(25 g), crushed

Method

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and toast for about 5 minutes or until it turns brown and smells nutty. Pour the brown butter into a large bowl and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to cool down before starting to make the dough.
2. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and yogurt to the bowl with the cooled brown butter. Using an electric mixer, beat for 2-3 minutes until fluffy
3. Add the egg and egg yolk and beat again until well-combined and fluffy.
4. In a different large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, but by bit. Beat until incorporated, then scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula between each addition to make sure none of the dough is stuck to the bowl. Take care not to overmix.
5. Add both types of chocolate chips to the dough and gently fold to incorporate. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. You can also store the nutella in the fridge so it's easier to work with later.
6. Two hours later, preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. To form each cookie, scoop out 3 tablespoons of chilled dough and flatten out into a 1/4-inch (6 mm) thick circle.
8. Add 1 tablespoon nutella to the center of the flattened dough and fold the edges of the dough around the stuffing. Seal tightly and roll into a ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough and nutella.
9. Add your choice of toppings to the outside of the stuffed cookies. Press the toppings firmly into the dough so that they don't fall off. Repeat with all of the stuffed cookie dough balls.
10. Place the stuffed and topped cookie dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets approximately 3 inches (7 cm) apart so that the cookies don't spread into one another.
11. Bake for 11-14 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown and evenly spread.
12. Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack for at least ten minutes before eating them.
13. Enjoy your stuffed cookies!

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups standard white flour
• 3 tsp icing sugar
• 2 eggs
• 500g sour cream
• 3 tsp baking powder


• 3tbsp castor sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon (you can adjust the cinnamon to sugar ratio to your taste, or make more with the same ratio if you do not have enough to coat all of your donuts). Alternatively, you could sieve icing sugar or castor sugar on top of the donuts, or coat them in just sugar if you do not want cinnamon sugar.
• 400ml oil (for deep frying the donuts. You do not need exactly 400ml, but make sure you have enough to fry the donuts. The oil should go half way up the donuts in the pan)

Method

1. Use an electric mixer to beat eggs, icing sugar, and cream cheese together.
2. Gradually add flour and baking powder, mixing in between each addition. When the dough becomes too tough to use the electric mixer, use a wooden spoon to make sure everything is combined.
3. In a deep pan, heat oil on medium high heat.
4. Take the dough out of the bowl and put it on a clean, floured surface. Use a floured rolling pin to flatten the dough to between 0.5 and 1cm thick. You can dust slightly more flour on the top of the dough if it becomes too sticky, but make sure to work fast and don't add too much flour otherwise the dough will dry out. If your hands become sticky, it is better to wash them with cold water rather than adding more flour to the dough. This is so that heat from your hands doesn't melt the dough.
5. Cut the dough into circles using a cookie cutter or a round glass. You can choose however big you wish to m,ake the donuts depending on what you use to cvut them. Be aware that the donuts will expand when you fry them, so do not make them too big.
6. Make sure that your oil is hot enough before you start to fry the donuts. It should be gently bubbling. If it is boiling, the oil is too hot and you must turn down the heat and wait for it to cool down before adding the donuts.
7. Fry the donuts in small batches. Turn them when they are light golden brown and cook both sides until they are this colour.
8. When they are ready, take the donuts out of the oil and put them on a cooling rack lined with a paper towel.
9. After at least a minute, you can coat each donut in the cinnamon sugar individually. To do this, mix the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and place a donut in the bowl. Use a spoon or your hands to gently toss the donut through the cinnamon sugar until it is evenly coated. Take the donut out of the bowl and place it on a plate, then coat the rest of the donuts.
10. Enjoy your fresh cinnamon donuts!

Ingredients

• 160g tapioca starch
• 60g Taiwanese brown sugar for the boba
• 1/2 cup Taiwanese brown sugar for sugar syrup
• 80ml water

Method

1. Preheat a stove to medium-high heat.
2. In a medium-small pot, mix 3 tbsp of Tapioca Flour, 80 ml of water, and 60g of Taiwanese brown sugar. Make sure everything is thoroughly combined before bringing it to the stove.
3. Put the pot on the preheated stove and keep stirring until the mixture becomes a thick and sticky consistency. Turn the heat off, and add in the remaining tapioca starch. Mix until slightly cooled down and pour onto a clean surface (Not everything will be mixed well, but it's ok).
4. Once it has cooled down and is safe to knead, take the dough out onto a clean foured surface and knead the dough until it becomes a smooth consistency with no lumps. This process takes around 5 minutes but may take longer if you have to add the rest of the tapicoa starch. If it is too sticky, you can add in a bit of bit more Tapioca Starch, but make sure to keep kneading.
5. Cut into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece and cut it into small pieces. The size depends on how big you prefer your pearls to be. The pearls do expand a little bit once you cook them, so keep this in mind when rolling the balls out.
6. Roll the pieces into a ball and coat with tapioca starch. At this point, you can freeze the tapioca balls in the freezer for up to 1 month.
7. Boil a big pot of water and once everything is simmering, add in the boba pearls. Cook them on medium heat for 25 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally, so they don't stick to the bottom. After 25 minutes, put the lid on, turn the heat off and let it rest for another 15 minutes. (If you prefer your boba to be on the softer side, simmer for an extra 5 minutes, and rest for another 5 minutes.)
8. Drain the boba and let it rest in cold water until ready to use. It is okay to just drain it and leave it in a sieve if you are making the sugar syrup straight away, but if you leave it without soaking for too long, the pearls will stick together.
9. To make the sugar syrup / brown sugar glaze, add 1/2 cup of brown sugar into a small pot and turn the heat up to medium. Heat the brown sugar and mix for 2-3 minutes or until slightly melted. Add in drained boba and mix till it becomes a thick consistency, around another 2-3 minutes.
10. You can choose to make your favourite type of tea to have with these pearls, or eat them as a treat on their own. However you choose to have them, enjoy!