Koya Kisses

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serving size: approx. 16 cookies

Keeps for up to 1 week in an airtight container

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

-180g room temperature butter*

-1 tsp vanilla extract

-1/3 cup powdered sugar*

-1 cup self-rising flour

-1 cup all-purpose flour

-1/2 cup custard powder*

For the filling:

-250g powdered sugar*

-40g room temperature butter*

-2 tsp vanilla essence

-1/2 tsp lemon juice

-1 drop of blue food coloring

For the face:

-Candy icing pens/writing icing tubes (Wilton or cake mate are great choices)

**Vegan: These can be substituted with vegan options

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 160C/ 320F for a fan-forced oven or 180C/350F for a conventional oven.

2. Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.

3. Sift the powdered sugar for the cookies in a large bowl.

4. Add the butter and the vanilla essence to a sifted powdered sugar and beat with hand-held beaters or a stand mixer until smooth and creamy.

5. Sift the self-rising flour, all-purpose flour, and custard powder into the bowl. Stir well to combine, ensuring that you scrape the sides of the bowl.

6. Roll the mixture into teaspoon-sized balls and place the cookie balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets, to allow for spreading.

7. Press the tops of the cookie balls lightly with the back of a measuring cup. If there are any cracks, lightly press the cracks back together with your fingers.

8. Bake for 10 minutes, until slightly golden (they will continue to cook when they are taken out of the oven)

9. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then transfer to the wire cooling rack.

To make the filling:

1. Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl.

2. In another bowl, add the butter, lemon juice, and vanilla essence.

3. Beat the butter mixture using a handheld mixer or stand mixer, until smooth and creamy.

4. Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar to the butter mixture, continuing to beat well in between additions. Ensure to scrape the sides with a spatula.

5. When the filling mixture is completely combined and smooth, add one drop of blue until the color is evenly dispersed.

To assemble the cookies:

1. Take one tsp of the filling fixture and spread it on the underside of the cookie.

2. Sandwich another cookie together with the first cookie.

3. Decorate the top of the cookies using the writing icing pens.

4. Allow for the filling to firm up before serving.

**Tips and tricks:

-Self raising flour: if you don't have self-rising flour, you can make it by combining 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp of salt.

-Cookie sizes: When rolling out the cookies, ensure they are only small balls. You will be sandwiching them together with some filling so avoid them being too big.

When pressing the cookies flat, have your palms or the base of a lightly floured measuring cup.

-Make sure your oven is not too hot: in order to avoid cracks in the cookies, don't overheat your oven and ensure to turn your baking sheets halfway through cooking.

-Don't over-cook: the cookies don't take long to back so remember to remove them from the oven at 10 minutes, as they'll be soft and will need to cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

-Filling: it's best to use powdered sugar, as it will make the filling firmer. Confectioner's sugar has cornstarch added and will lead to a softer filling. For the cookies, either powdered sugar or confectioner's sugar will be suitable.

-Serving ideas: This cookie is a nice accompaniment alongside a nice beverage for morning or afternoon tea. Have a look at our drinks for some ideas!