All That Glitters - Cookie sandwiches

I'm spending this weekend at my country house which means lounging around watching recorded episodes of Masterchef, eating chocolate buttons and trashing the kitchen with baked treat detritus. Friday evening has been no exception and after a particularly stressful week, getting stuck into mounds of butter and muscavado sugar couldn't have been a more therapeutic solution. What better to start with than some kitschly decorated cookies. These are a winner because they look like they require a lot more effort than they do and nothing says 'I care' quite like a complicated homemade confection..just in case any of you have some sucking up to do.

Seeing as I enjoyed the cookie sandwich at Otto so much, I decided to create something similar replacing ice cream with buttercream and coating the biscuits in sprinkles. This recipe couldn't be more basic giving you the freedom to add in your favourite cookie ingredients and omit the sprinkles. Depending on your audience, white chocolate and macadamia nut is a chicer alternative for impressing your friends parents whilst smarties are great if you need to be a hit with the kids.
Begin by mixing 200g of softened unsalted butter, 140g of icing sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract in a food processor until smooth. Add in one egg and pulse until incorporated. Next sift in 350g of plain flour and blitz until a soft dough is formed. I also added in about 150g of of chopped up Kinder Maxi bars but this is the point where you can feel free to get creative. Next, wrap the dough in cling film and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the over to 180°C and dust two large baking trays with a little flour. When the dough has cooled, divide it into large cherry sized pieces, squashing the balls down slightly with your fingers. Space evenly on the trays and bake for 8 minutes in separate batches.

Take the tray out of the oven and whilst they're still hot, brush each cookie with a little beaten egg and then dip in the sprinkles of your choice. I used white and pink edible glitter, heart sprinkles and hundreds and thousands. (You can of course forgo the sprinkles but don't forget the egg wash as it gives the cookies a lovely glossy top) Next, place the cookies back in the oven and bake for a further 4 minutes and then allow to cool on wire racks. Repeat with the second batch.

To make the icing, beat together 140g icing sugar with 100g of softened unsalted butter and a teaspoon of vanilla extract, using a food processor if you have one. If you're feeling flirty, add a drop of scarlet food colouring to make it pink or you could scrap the buttercream all together and replace it with Nutella. Once your beautiful biscuits have cooled, spread a layer of icing on the flat sides and sandwich together. Arrange on a suitably naff plate and wait for the inevitable torrent of compliments from appreciative family/friends/boyfriends and then bask in a cloud of self congratulatory smugness.