James & the Giant Peach:

Cookies


Ingredients:

  • 187.5g all-purpose flour

  • 1 3/4 tsp baking powder

  • 1/4 tsp salt

  • 149 g butter , softened

  • 67g granulated sugar

  • 55g packed light-brown sugar

  • 1 large egg

  • 2 Tbsp sour cream

  • 3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Filling and Coating:

  • peach jam or preserves

  • 6 Tbsp milk , divided

  • red and yellow food colouring

  • 100g cup granulated sugar

  • fresh mint leaves , for garnish (optional)

  • you'll also need a clean paintbrush

Method:

  • Preheat oven to 190 celsius.

  • Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

  • In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, granulated sugar and light-brown sugar on medium-low speed until well blended, about 1 minute. Mix in egg and vanilla. Add sour cream and mix until blended.

  • With mixer on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated.

  • Scoop dough out 1 even tablespoon at a time and with buttered hands roll dough into a ball.

  • Place balls on cookie sheet (can fit 15 per sheet)

  • Bake in preheated oven 14-15 minutes until bottoms are lightly golden brown.

  • Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

  • Allow cookies to cool completely then spread about 1 teaspoon of peach jam evenly across the bottom of one cookie then gently press another cookie over the jam layer to sandwich them together. Repeat.

Decoration:

  • Pour 3 tbsp of milk into two small bowls.

  • Tint one bowl of milk with red food colouring until it reaches a vibrant pink, then tint the other bowl of milk with yellow food colouring until its reaches a vibrant yellow.

  • Take a paint brush and dip into the yellow tinted milk then paint randomly across both cookies leaving some areas unpainted.

  • Then dip paintbrush into red tinted milk and paint randomly across unpainted areas and blend slightly LESS MILK OR ELSE COOKIES BECOME SOGGY

  • Immediately after painting cookie, dip and coat entire cookie with sugar. Insert one or two fresh mint leaves into the side of each cookie if desired

History of Cookies:

The word "cookie" is derived from the Dutch word, "koekje", which means “small or little cake.”. Whilst the word "biscuit" originates from "bis coctum" a latin word meaning “twice baked.”.

The first cookies were thought to be used to test oven temperature. However, dating back to 7th Century A.D. Persia, soon after sugar was common throughout the area due to exploration. They later became the ideal food for travelling due to its compact size and ability to stay fresh for a prolonged period of time. Such as the ship biscuit, which has the potential to last even months, or years if the right conditions are present. By the end of the 14th century cookies were very common, with cookbooks at the time often filled with many different cookie recipes.


References:

https://whatscookingamerica.net/history/cookiehistory.htm