Lauren Davis
King’s Cake Emporium
07731 800129
Gorleston, Norfolk
Lauren from King’s Cake Emporium spends her free time creating delicious, fantastically decorated bakes for special occasions. One day she’ll open her own bakery, but for now, she’s sharing her baking tips, tricks and know-how with Places&Faces.
I am a self-taught home baker who loves nothing more than feeding my family and friends sweet treats. Throughout the pandemic, I have been doing weekly doorstep deliveries to loved ones so they could continue to get their sugar fix. I love to try out new recipes but feel frustrated when the recipe lists endless ingredients I don’t have or are so niche that you know they won’t get used again. A short but sweet recipe (pun intended!) always draws me in. Not only is it great for beginners or children but perfect to have in your back pocket when you need to rustle something up last minute.
Mix’n’Match Cookies
This recipe is simple, delicious and versatile! You can use any chocolate of your choice or can swap out the chocolate chips for Smarties, M’n’Ms, Mini Eggs, or if that’s a bit too sweet for you, some dried fruit will also be great!
Ingredients:
Makes approx 30 cookies – quantities can be halved
• 200g butter/baking spread, softened
• 200g soft light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 300g self raising flour
• 180g chocolate chips/sugar coated chocolates
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 180˚C/Gas Mark 4 and line a few baking trays with baking paper.
Beat together the butter and sugar. Once this turns pale in colour, add the golden syrup and beat until smooth. Add approx half of the flour and stir until mixed. Add the chocolate and remaining flour. Once mixed, pop the dough onto a lightly floured surface and
knead for 1-2 minutes by hand until smooth.
Roll small pieces of dough in your hand to form a ball, I find 40g is a good size. Place these on the baking sheets spaced well apart, pressing each down slightly. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and leave on the trays for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Now, if you fancy making these cookies extra special, scoop 30 individual teaspoons of your favourite spread such as Nutella, Biscoff etc onto a chopping board and freeze for approx 30 minutes. Once you have formed your balls of cookie dough, flatten them slightly in your hand and wrap this around your frozen spread. This will give you slightly larger cookies with a delicious, surprise filling!