Smartie Cookies

Looking to bring a bit of brightness to your day? Well try these bright smartie cookies! They prove that even the simplest sweet can be very much savoured...




Ingredients
175g caster sugar
110g brown sugar
225g unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (or 2 tsp vanilla essence)
450g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
55ml milk
+ smarties for decoration

Method
Beat together the sugars and butter until pale and fluffy. In a seperate bowl, use a whisk to beat together the vanilla and eggs. Gradually transfer this egg mixture to the creamed mixture, beating between each addition. This will prevent the mixture from curdling. Over this mixture, sift the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Use a metal spoon to carefully fold together until no lumps remain. Gradually add the milk and stir until soft dough forms (be careful not to add too much milk or dough will be too sticky). Leave in fridge for 20 minutes, covered. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (fan-forced) and prepare 2 large cookie trays. Remove from fridge and roll small balls of mixture; put on prepared tray and flatten slightly. The cookies will spread a fair bit when cooking. Continue rolling balls until no mixture remains. Decorate the balls of dough with as many smarties as you desire. Bake biscuits for 8-9 minutes or until they are golden brown, but still slightly soft. They will harden slightly upon cooling. If you want a crunchier cookie, then cook for longer until brown and rather firm to touch when removed from oven.