Cookie Cornucopia

I made cookies today.
By this, I mean eighty cookies (give or take a few).

This baking frenzy was the result of a few recent happenings:

1. Purchasing a lot of French AOP butter at the recent Simon Johnson sale. I'm not going to specify the quantity because that will probably cause your arteries to seize up and nobody wants that.
2. Discussing - at great length, and to fairly impressive detail - the question, 'If you were a cookie/biscuit, what would you be?' Try it: it's surprisingly fun.
3. A genetic/social/imagined predisposition to doing things ludicriously over the top. The last time I did something of this scale was probably my birthday smörgåsbord, after which I swore I'd never do anything like that again. I guess we all betray ourselves in the end...

Anyway, I swear this time, I'm not doing anything like this again. The amount of incidental cookie dough and butter I ingested is probably illegal in several countries. I'm pretty sure my evening run was powered purely by cookie.
 
I digress. Here are the cookies, in no particular order:

Passionfruit melting moments

I discovered custard powder (yes, such a thing exists!) is actually pink. Luckily, these melting moments turned out a more natural colour. 

Chocolate and sour cherry shortbread

Sour cherries aren't really the prettiest member of the dried fruit family, and, let's face it: dried fruit aren't really that visually attractive to begin with. However, they do make for a delicious contrast to a rich, sandy, chocolatey biscuit.

Peanut and almond cookies

I nabbed this recipe from a Donna Hay magazine; that woman is a styling legend, turning the ordinary almond into decorative cookie centrepiece. Am I being sarcastic? I'm not sure...
(Note the apples placed strategically in the background to deceive passersby into thinking this cookie is healthy.)

Monte Carlos

This recipe is from the Sydney Morning Herald - coconut cookies with a vanilla bean buttercream and  raspberry jam filling. I found the buttercream on the sweet side, so I neutralised it with a thicker than usual slather of raspberry jam. Problem fixed slash masked.

Cranberry and pistachio shortbread with white chocolate drizzle

I got lazy and stopped taking nice photos of my cookies.

Last week, I also made some orange shortbread with candied peel and fresh zest. Drizzled with dark chocolate, naturally.

 
Okay, self-indulgence over. I promise to next post pictures of food made by actual professionals, and duly documented in an amateur manner.

Final point to ponder: what cookie are you?