Valentines Smarties cookies

My favourite condensed milk cookie dough base, studded with colourful Smarties and milk chocolate chunks and baked with love into thick, chunky, golden cookies. The condensed milk adds sweetness and moisture, helping the cookies bake up soft and tender with a cakey centre.

Time to prep : 15 minutes + 1hr chill time

Time to bake : 15 minutes

Servings : 6 large cookies

Ingredients

180g butter, softened

35g light brown sugar

150g condensed milk*

225g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla paste or essence

160g smarties*

100g chocolate chips or chunks

Method

1. Cream the butter, sugar, vanilla and condensed milk together in a bowl until soft and smooth with no clumps.

2. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and stir to mix everything together, then tip this into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to mix everything together until a cookie dough forms. The dough should be firm and sticky to touch.

3. Gently fold in ¾ of the Smarties and ¾ of the chocolate chips or chunks, mixing until evenly distributed. Set the remaining Smarties and chocolate chips aside to press into the tops of the cookies.

4. Divide the dough into 6 portions and roll each one between the palms of your hands to form a ball. This is easier to do with washed, still slightly damp hands to stop the dough from sticking to your hands. They don't need to be exact but if you want to weigh them, they should be roughly 120g each.

5. Place the dough balls onto a plate lined with baking paper, then transfer to the fridge and chill for at least 1 hour*.

6. Just before you're ready to bake, preheat a fan oven to 180ºC and line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

7. Remove the cookie dough balls from the fridge and place onto the prepared baking sheets, I fit 3 x cookies per tray - as they do spread slightly in the oven. No need to press the cookie down at all, in the oven the dough ball will melt down to create domed, thick, New York style cookies.

8. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes, until the edges are just lightly golden. The cookies will continue to bake on the hot tray once out of the oven, resulting in soft, chewy centres once cooled. If you prefer a crunchier cookie, leave them in the oven for 2 minutes longer.

Nutritional Information

(per cookie)

420 calories

6g protein, 45g carbs, 25g fat

Good to know:

• Giving the dough time to 'hydrate' by chilling in the fridge (for at least 1 hour) is really important to create thick cookies with soft centres and less spreading. If you're in a rush, you can put them in the freezer for 30 minutes. Chilling the dough

• Cookie dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Store in ready made cookie-dough balls then bake straight from frozen for about 15 - 18 minutes.

• This recipe requires condensed milk. There is no alternative swap out - make sure you don't accidentally pick up evaporated milk which is sold in a similar tin often next to condensed milk.

• Use red and pink smarties, M&Ms or any chocolate beans.

• To store once baked, keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.