CHRISTMAS PUDDING COOKIES

MAKES 24 PREP + COOK 40 MINS + REFRIGERATION + STANDING

◆ 60g butter, room temperature

◆ 1 egg, room temperature

◆ ¼ cup caster sugar

◆ ½ tsp vanilla extract

◆ 1 cup plain flour

◆ 2 tbsp cocoa powder

◆ 24 large white and pink marshmallows

◆ 300g dark eating chocolate

◆ 150g white chocolate melts

◆ 12 red glace cherries

◆ 6 green glace cherries

1 Beat butter, egg, sugar and vanilla extract in a small bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Stir in sifted flour and cocoa. Knead until dough forms. Enclose dough in plastic wrap, refrigerate 30 min. 2 Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line 2 oven trays with baking paper.

3 Roll dough between sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Using a 4.5cm round cutter, cut 24 rounds from dough, re-rolling dough scraps as necessary. Place rounds about 2.5cm apart on trays. Bake 10 mins.

4 Remove cookies from oven, immediately press a marshmallow on top of each hot cookie. Return to oven 1 min. Cool on trays.

5 Meanwhile, melt dark chocolate in small heatproof bowl over small saucepan of simmering water (don’t let water touch base of bowl). Place cookies on wire rack over baking paper-lined tray. Spoon chocolate over biscuits to completely cover marshmallows. Stand at room temperature until chocolate sets.

6 Melt white chocolate melts as in step 5. Cut red cherries in half. Cut each green cherry into 8 wedges. Working with one cookie at a time, spoon a small amount of white chocolate on top of each cookie, position one red cherry half and two green cherry wedges on each cookie. Stand cookies at room temperature until set.