Donut Cookies

Now, these were a bit of an experiment, I must admit. I covered mine with strawberry flavoured chocolate, but I think plain or orange flavoured chocolate would work better. I’m not sure if you’d class is at a cookie or a biscuit really… but they look great, are fun to make and would be perfect for kids parties!

Ingredients:
4 tbsp vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
200g plain chocolate (or orange infused chocolate)
Hundreds and thousands to decorate

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the vegetable shortening and sugar.
Add in the egg, evaporated milk and vanilla and mix until combined.
Sift in the flour, coco powder and baking powder and mix in well. Use your hands to form the dough into a sticky ball. Wrap it in cling film and refrigerate over night.

Pre-heat your oven to 180c and line your baking tray(s).*

After the dough has rested, roll it out onto a lightly floured surface, to about 1cm thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out your donuts shapes, re-rolling any off-cuts until all the dough is used up.
Space the cookies out onto your tray(s) and bake for 10-12 minutes, until they are firm to the touch. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

While the cookies are baking, slowly melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Leave to one side to cool with the cookies, and tip your hundred and thousands into a small bowl ready.

Once everything is cool, take a cookie and first dip the top of it in the chocolate, letting any excess drip off, and then dip it in the bowl of hundreds and thousands, so they stick to the chocolate. I actually found this a bit easier (and less messy) when the chocolate had cooled enough to spread it on rather than dip it, but do whatever works best for you. Place the cookie back on the wire rack and leave the chocolate to set again before serving.

(* You can also fry these to make cake donuts! To do this, you need to roll your dough to 2cm thick before cutting out your donuts. Heat enough vegetable oil for the donuts to float in to 190c, and fry for 1 minute on each side. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to cool, and to soak up any excess oil. You can decorate these in the same way as the cookies.)