Recipes - Cookie Cups

What do you get if you turn a muffin tray upside down?  A cookie cup tray!  I saw this on some random internet site somewhere and thought it was pure genius.  After keeping it in mind for several months I thought it was finally time to get a basic cookie recipe and give them a go.  Such a cool idea, super versatile and great to get kids involved in the making of them and of course, they'll want to eat them afterwards!  

Ingredients

185g butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups plain flour

extra flour

Step 1 - In a large bowl cream butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until pale.  Add egg and beat until incorporated.  Sift flour over the mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Step 2 - Use your hands to bring the mixture together into a soft dough in the bowl and transfer to a lightly floured surface.  Flour your hands and knead dough for a few minutes until flour in incorporated, adding a little more as you go if need be.  Roll into a sausage shape, wrap in glad wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Step 3 - Preheat oven to 180.  Turn two 12 hole muffin trays upside down and grease every second mound. Cover in foil, wrapping tightly around each mound.

Step 4 - Remove dough from fridge and unwrap.  Cut in half, wrap one portion and return to fridge.  Cut remaining portion into 12 rounds. Place each round between two sheets of baking paper and using a rolling pin to roll out into a circle, approx 3mm thick and 70mm in diameter.  Place dough over a greased mound and repeat.  Bake for 12 minutes, swapping trays halfway through.  

Step 5 - Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the tray before transfering cookie cups to a wire rack to cool completely.  Repeat step 4 with remaining dough.

Step 6 - Serve warm or cold, filled with ice cream, custard, jam and cream or anything your heart desires.   

Variations:

For chocolate cookies add 2 tbs cocoa powder with the flour. 

For confetti cookies add 1/4 cup of 100's and 1000's with the flour.

For coconut cookie add 1/4 cup desiccated coconut with the flour.