By Vickie Liu
As a kid, I found it mesmerising to watch matchsticks burn. I think of birthday cakes, parties and good company, so it was inevitable that I would eventually make them in cookie form. This is a sweet idea for special occasions such as weddings, or even just as gifts to friends and significant others (your perfect match)! Have a go at them - I know they will light up someone’s day!
Ingredients
- 170g slightly softened butter
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1.5 cups plain flour
Decorations
- White chocolate melts
- Food dye suitable for chocolate
Directions
1. Cream butter and powdered sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy, then add in vanilla essence until combined. Add the flour and beat on low, until the dough comes together.
2. Divide dough into two, and roll out each half between plastic wrap. The thickness will depend on the size of matchsticks you are making. I rolled the jumbo ones to approximately 0.5cm, and the smaller ones to around 0.2cm. Be warned – if you are making the small ones, a lot of patience is required!
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Pre - heat oven to 175
oC and line baking trays with baking paper. Take the dough out of the fridge and place on a clean surface dusted with powdered sugar. Use a knife or pizza cutter to cut out sticks in your chosen sizes as uniform as possible. To make things easier, you can use a clean ruler to ensure all matches are the same size
Carefully transfer onto the baking trays and bake until edges begin to slightly brown. This can take anywhere between 7 – 15 minutes depending on the size of your cookies, so keep an eye on them!
4. Melt chocolate in the microwave in 25 – 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Divide chocolate into a few separate bowls if a variety of colours are to be used. Dye the melted chocolate with oil or powdered based food colouring, and dip the tips of the cooled cookies into them. Place on baking paper until they dry.
You can get creative with the colour combinations, sizes and even use different flavoured dough! Just ensure the cookie recipes used won’t lose much shape after baking.
Notes:
* This recipe makes approximately 85 jumbo matchstick cookies, but will vary depending on size.
* Best eaten within 3 – 4 days.
Happy Baking!
By
Vickie Liu
